Maybe, just maybe, I could say I was multitasking as I had to mix school with religion and politics. How would a student union leader be a religious leader and yet be studying medicine? That was it! Prior to the state I found myself in, I had undergone a process of class repeat in medical school; perhaps it's the only course at the undergraduate level that supports such cases as repeats.
Nonetheless, I needed to win, which meant passing my final examinations. It didn't come easy either; my success came after a resit of the final papers, and rather than get inducted alongside my new classmates, I had to wait for a second batch where the numbers were few.
The moment was a highlight for me. The reflection of the past years was tortuous and depressing. Here, I graduated with a testament to serving in other aspects of my life. It was one of those celebrations you needed to choose to do low-key or high-key. I wanted to be low-key, but my family, friends, and comrades will not hear such from me.
Wale Adegbola happened to be a 200-level law student who got mobbed when he went to a less-populated area to get inspired by nature for his artistic designs. Unfortunately, the murded corpse of a motorcyclist (popularly called Okada) lay close to him without him knowing. He was mobbed, and thanks to the quick intervention of the police, he was rescued and whisked to the hospital. I was called to look after him as he was admitted to the hospital where my campus was, and because I was the student leader on campus, my heart broke into many pieces when I saw him handcuffed to the hospital couch in an emergency. I encouraged and prayed with him. His family came around and gave him a lot of support as well. Thankfully, the police investigation vindicated him as the culprit in the murder. The police officer attached to him while in the hospital during that 2016 incident, yet he remains my close ally to date.
Little wonder that when I had my induction ceremony, my family was overwhelmed by the many people that came to celebrate with me. One of them was Wale Adegbola, who publicly shared my role as a supporter for him on his sick bed as an accused, even though I was a stranger. I was not perfect, but I received many goodwill messages. Of course, the student union comrades displayed their comradeship by singing aluta praises to the leader I was. There, I realized a different phase lay ahead of me—a transition from studentship to adulthood. My younger sister always accused me of being too popular on the main campus despite being a product of the mini campus, which was the health faculty. Giving a speech made me feel honored, as though I were the senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that I hoped someday to become. This was a mini-achievement and a reminder to keep track of my long term goals and desires as an influencer and policy changer in my country in the near future.
I enjoyed the little of everything rather than the everything of little. I saw the benefits of multitasking, which had fewer chances of optimum results in all fields but had a significant impact in all.
Thank you for reading. I would love to have your comments and contributions.
ALL IMAGES ARE MINE