10 years of relentlessness

I left high school in 2011 with hopes and dreams of gaining admission to study medicine at the university. My SSCE results were what can be described as perfect because I had the prerequisite for med school.

In the same year, I took the JAMB exam but fell short of the required score to get admitted for the course I choose. Well, that never dashed my hopes of becoming a doctor. Even with the score, I still took the post-utme but for a new course of study, I choose and this time, biochemistry. I did well in the putme, at least I was able to hit above average.

It is now time to wait for the admission list. Hours turned to day and nights became too long. Holla! The admission list is out but I couldn't find my name. What could be wrong? I asked myself. Well, I guess it will appear in the second list. I waited until the supplementary list and my name never appeared. Could this be a waste of an admission year? I asked myself again. Well, that's what it seemed I thought. The joy of finally getting into the university slowly die away and im faced with the reality of seating at home for another year.

Spending a whole year in the house not being in school was just not funny. With the pressure from my thoughts and having to deal with my parent's demands of the home front in terms of chores and also managing the family business without paying for your efforts. You don't even have money of your own to do stuff for yourself and you dare not picking from the sales purse.

Everything became frustrating and all I was thinking was to just leave the house for good. But I need a valid reason to do that.

Browsing the Internet I came across an advert about schooling in Ukraine. And my head started thinking about ways to exploit this opportunity. I applied for admission and was offered to study medicine at Kharkiv medical university in Kharkov Ukraine. My parents were excited when I told them about the admission and they showed their willingness to support this dream and opportunity. However, we were not exactly sure how to go about sending money to retrieve the admission later. At long last, it was decided that using an agent will douse our fears, which we obliged. The admission letter came to me at my residence after paying $120 which was equivalent to #120k as of 2012. We did the payment through the said agent than through DHL.

For once, it looks all was genuine, and it was until we came to the process of securing a visa for my travel, scheduled in September 2012. I followed all processes from documentation to authentication of my documents at the ministry of education, Abuja. After all that, I proceeded to translate my documents to the Ukrainian language because it was a requirement too. My parents were not sure about the visa wahala so they decided to go with the advice of a family's friend brother who became a spanner in the wheels. Although the agent has already applied for my visa interview. Two days after the application for a visa interview, I received a message in my email from the Ukrainian embassy at kparakoo Cresent Abuja. But I checked my email late and realized the moment I saw the email was just the time for my interview. I stood motionless for a while thinking about what to do.

Finally, I broke the news to my agent what happened, and then he re-applied. It was taking too long already and we were growing tired of our patience. So, we decide to use the help of the so-called family friend brother who claims to be a student in Ukraine and knows some prominent persons in the embassy to quickly get the visa, as he claims. #400k naira was demanded to get this done by him. And the money was paid. After sending my documents to him in Benin, I received another email from the embassy for an interview again after the rescheduling. Unfortunately, this time my documents were not with me but in Benin. We begged the one in whose possession the documents were in Benin but for the money he received, he refused to send them and insisted he was going to get it done.

The invitation expired and all hopes were on Jefter. Yes, Jefter is the guy's name whom we gave the money, that promised he will secure my visa. My departure date edged closer and no real update from jefter other than the same excuse over and over again. Then, weeks to my departure yet no visa, and I already secured my flight tickets.

It all happened that I was not going to make it. I couldn't secure the visa and my admission got expired in September 2012. So, we started collecting what was left. We received the refunds on the flight ticket but after paying penalties. The #400k with jefter was forever gone. Although I promised myself, however long it takes jefter will pay back every dime. With the anger and disappointment, the reality of spending another year at home hits me.

Quickly, I took the next available jamb form. It is my third year already and my second jamb. Still, I couldn't secure admission with it. This time I took the IJMB form spent one year to conclude my A-level and applied for direct entry to ABU Zaria in 2014/15 admission year. Yet, it was dead luck.

My passion to study in the university pushed me on. I took jamb again for the fifth time and couldn't secure an admission. Although, I have always hit the cut-offs.

My parents started giving up on me. My dad especially, completely turn deaf ears to my schooling. He just won't care anymore. And I became responsible for financing every other cost that had to do with education. My mum will cry every night in her prayers for me and kept giving me that assurance that I will succeed. Others were thinking my case has become hopeless and maybe na village matter. Though I'm not a believer of this black magic of a thing and my mum will always shush me by yelling at me each time I express the impossibility of dark magic.

I spent the 9year sitting for a jamb and even so no admission was secured. Never for once did I take it as a fate not to go to the university. I became so used to jamb that I don't study before going to write the exam anymore and my worst score is always 240 since the 5th year of writing jamb exams.

I call myself Wole Soyinka, the literary icon rumored to have written waec 9times. Jamb transited with me from the pencil and paper to the dual based (pencil and paper and CBT) and then completely CBT.

My younger sister was in primary 6 when I left high school. She graduated and we both wrote together. That was how bad my situation was. It got to the point I told myself, " enough is enough." I decided to take my destiny into my own hands. Even though my level was ways beyond remedial, I still took remedial in the university of Maiduguri although I applied for remedial in two universities. The first was the newly established Nigeria army University Biu and the second is Unimaid. The remedial offer came at the same time and I had my name on both. I decided to go to unimaid because I had a chance to study anything in the medical line.

I concluded my remedial with 4.5gp and took jamb again for the 10th year and scored 255. Yes, I applied for medicine again. But this time I was called by the school admission office that, I have met all requirements for admission into unimaid college of medicine because as a remedial student 4.0gp is all that was needed but I gave 4.5, plus my jamb score of 255 which only 220 was required. I remembered what professor Guti, the man in charge of admission, told me, that "I'm sorry MBBS admission is completed but you have the options to choose Radiography, MLS, food science tech, geology, or physiotherapy." Well, I couldn't say anything at that moment but went home to think. I finally chose physiotherapy. Here I'm today in my second year in the faculty of medicine, department of medical rehabilitation (physiotherapy). Guess what? for the first time in my life, I hated applying for MBBS when Physiotherapy was available all along. I love this course like the love of a mother to a child. And I'm so glad I chose physiotherapy.