EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
I was born in a family of four(two boys and two girls). I attended a very good primary school where I gained a solid academic background which was almost quenched in the primitive secondary school I attended.
I graduated from this remote secondary school in the year 2010 where we lacked most core subjects teachers. We had no physics teacher until when we wanted to write waec when our principal invited an external teacher to revise what we weren’t taught with us…Lol
My chemistry teacher doesn’t teach but dictates and play with girls…Lol. So when it was like 3 months to my waec some set of persons (now Dr Azeez, Uncle Yemi and Uncle Jt) came to my school to advertise their tutorial, so the next day I decided to give it a trial, I attended the tutorial (true levellers tutorial by name) at the time I wanted write my waec, this decision of which reshaped my academic background that was already inching towards deterioration… To God be the glory I passed my waec(we were only two who passed our waec, myself and my senior prefect boy)…. First phase was cleared but I never knew the others were going to be damn lengthy
THE QUEST’S PHASE FOR AMBITION
I continued with this tutorial for my first jamb because the tutors were adding values into us. I wrote my first jamb in 2011. I picked OAU (Great Ife) for medicine (MBChb)… I was so much obsessed about the school then… I had 255 in Jamb…I put in for the post utme then I had 214 because OAU’s post utme then was over 400… But I didn’t meet up with the cut off mark… I picked OAU first and second choice then, cos the obsession was too extreme
I tried OAU again in 2012 but by this time I already started working to make money ( I had 233 in jamb and I had 227 in post utme) this time I also picked unilag as my second choice… I wrote their post utme( I had 22/30 in the post utme) for medicine too but I didn’t meet up with the cutoff…but I was given cell biology in Unilag, I
I tried OAU again in 2013(229 in jamb and 252 in post utme) but this time I chose UI as my second choice but I wasn’t called up or shortlisted to come write the post utme then (maybe coz I chose them as second choice)… that was UI’s modus operandi then (they shortlist candidates that would write post utme then)… I didn’t meet up with the cut off mark for OAU again… I was fucked up mehn…😬😬😬
My mum said must I go to OAU that why can’t I change my school of choice and course? I insisted that NO, that I ain’t changing any school… that it’s either OAU or nothing. But I decided to change my course of choice to Pharmacy that time but I still insisted on picking OAU again…
So in 2014, I picked OAU(first and second choice again) and chose Pharmacy this time, we wrote the Jamb, I had 256 and had 294 in post utme… I passed the cutoff mark for Pharmacy by 20 points.
I wasn’t happy(I wish I chosed medicine coz I met the cutoff mark, which was 275 then) but I was happy on the other side coz I gained admission after a long while waiting
Everyone was happy for me😁😁… Because one day I will become a Pharmacist… But not knowing it was gonna end in tears😢😭😰😥
THE DARK PHASE
Hmmm…..
I resumed OAU to study Pharmacy… My 100l was smooth with a CPGA of 4.67. We crossed to OAU Pharmacy school in 200l, I started Pharmacy school with great excitement, then in OAU, my friends in other departments would refer to me as PHARMACO… Pharmacy as a course in OAU is so much respected and reverred… I was respected and reverred so much in church at home and in school, in my hostel, in my street and amongst my friends… My parents were proud of me… (You know that stuff nah… My child is studying Pharmacy in OAU, the premier school of Pharmacy, the first Pharmacy school in West Africa)… To cut it short I wrote my first Pharmacy school examination, I failed and repeated the class… In OAU Pharmacy school when you fail more than 3 courses, that’s an automatic repeat…
But when you fail one or two or three courses, you will write resit exam for any of the failed courses but it must not pass 3 courses and if you pass any of those you failed, you did promote to the next class but if you fail any of the resit exam, you did repeat the class, the pass mark is 50%
I was so much filled with shame because I was going to join my junior colleagues and the pain that I was gonna pass through what I have done before was hitting hard on me… but I moved on… my course mates left me… (but I wasn’t the only person affected by repitition, a good number of us though)
In 200l (the repeated class), I prepared and wrote the exams… I passed the repeated class with distinction and I got promoted to 300l….
The confidence came back as a result of my 200l results… We began 300l… Everything became gloomy and different again😢😢😥… I wrote the 300l exams, I failed and repeated again😥😥😢😭… What happened this time again… Is it that I can’t cope with Pharmacy school again… I questioned myself plenty times😭😭
Then I was gonna repeat again but with my 2 years juniors that time… I was doomed… 😥😥…
Gadamn, can I do this again? I was unsettled
My mates that we entered 100l as freshers together then were now in 500l(final year) and me I was in 300l💔💔😭😭😥
So I decided to repeat the class again (300l)… After a number of persons encouraged me… I strive hard because I musn’t repeat again coz another repitition would cause me a withdrawal from the faculty of Pharmacy…. But deep inside me I was tired and weak especially when I see my mates already in 500l doing final year stuffs…(you get nah) I was affected psychologically… So I couldn’t focus again…
I wrote the 300l examination again and my mates wrote their final year exams…
Unfortunately I failed again and I was WITHDRAWN from the Faculty of Pharmacy…😭😢😢😭😢
NOW I HAVE FAILED SO MANY THEN…
MYSELF
MY PARENTS
MY FRIENDS
MY MENTORS
THOSE THAT WERE LOOKING UP TO ME… (I WAS A TUTOR THEN)
All of a sudden my dream to become a Pharmacist shattered within a twinkle of an eye… I told myself, my world has ended, my self-esteem is gone… My pride has gone, I have been humiliated. My confidence as a stain has been removed
I have disappointed myself and many others… I cried all day and night… It was like the end of the world… Suicide thoughts were loomimg all day and nights…. But I didn’t give up
THE FUNNY THING WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE NOW ASKING AFTER HOW FAR I HAVE GONE WITH MY PROGRAM IN SCHOOL… especially in my church at home…geez😬😬… at some point I stayed in Ife… I didn’t go home at all until December, and by January I left home again… Omoo, it really choke o gaddamn😬😬
Questions like
You should be in your finals now right?
What level are you now?
We can’t wait to come eat induction rice o… And so many other questions I tried to avoid…
But for most of the questions being asked I used Corona virus and Asuu strike to cover up…
THE GLEAM PHASE
After our results came out last year February and I met my Waterloo.
But thanks to God that Jamb form was still out then… I picked up the Jamb form then… (I fasted and prayed for 3 days and 3 nights)… coz I needed to dedicate this my new phase of journey to God… Coz all these things can’t go without fasting and praying… The last time I wrote Jamb was in 2014 and I wanna write Jamb again in 2020… Steve, how’re you gonna do this, you have just 3 weeks… So I asked myself…😢😥…coz it had never crossed my mind that I would write Jamb again.. Lol
I picked up lamlad series and explicit biology and finished them… I wrote the exam and I had just 322… This was a gleam of hope at least…. Some said how did I do it… After getting withdrawn from Pharmacy school you still had the guts and strength to prepare for jamb and have a good score like that… I said it was God…. Just a gleam of shaded hope
MARCH 17, 2020
On this day, my mates that we entered 100l together were inducted into the Pharmacy profession and this was day I wrote my Jamb too
As I was going to ICT centre on OAU campus for my Jamb exam, I met one of my mates in his induction gown, I congratulated him and he invited me for his love feast… He also encouraged me not to give up that it was not the end… Many of my friends invited me for their induction ceremony love feasts… I saw some of my mates taking pictures and behappying😁😄… I was happy for them… Because graduating from OAU Pharmacy school was not an easy task…. I was a very popular guy in Pharmacy school then.
My nickname then was Chromosome… So I knew a lot of people then and a lot knew me too.
After writing my exam(jamb) I took a bike to my hostel with my face cap on… I got the to the hostel, I switched off my phone so no would call me. On that day I cried and wept profusely again😢😥…. Because my mates were inducting and I was writing Jamb that day on March 17, 2020 a fateful day for me that I can never forget🥺😢
THE LIGHT💡 AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
After all these incidences had occurred, I began to prepare for UI post utme.. I read with my last strength coz this was the only avenue and the time to redeem my image and take vengeance upon myself and get UI, MBBS…. Though I was kinda scared too coz the otherwise (maybe I won’t get it) might happen but I was undeterred and I also believed💯
I was asked to go to another department in OAU, so I picked Faculty of Social science, Department of Geography but I told myself that I can’t do this nah (o wrong now) I’m just picking it for picking sake… I didn’t pay school fees sef…. I squandered it😂😂
We wrote the post utme, I had 74 with aggregate of (77.25), MBBS cutoff mark was (76.25)….
Thanks to Dr sugar for your words of encouragement💥
And my world changed from that day😁😁😁…. The bad image was redeemed… My confidence became a stain back and was restored.
A new day has eventually come
The word of NAS came to me👉🏼 I crawled up out of that grave, wiping the dirt, cleaning my shirt, they thought I’ll make another illmatic but it’s always forward I’m moving
The word of NAS👆🏼
No matter the circumstances, the gloomy situations, the bad omens there will always be light💡 at the end of the tunnel… You need to believe, that’s just it💯
I’m Ebenezer Stephen Abidemi,a medical fresher of the prestigious University of Ibadan_
Fearless🦁
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