Dj cuppy matriculation into Oxford university is a great accomplishment, she has done great for herself in the music and entertainment industry and now she is ready to pursue her academic career in the prestigious Oxford university.
This is where I started thinking about others like me who could have loved to pursue the same goal in academics but only see that in dreams, let me inspire you with my story.
After graduating from the University, I said to myself, ‘Immediately I finished NYSC I will go straight for my masters”. I was saying this out of ignorance not knowing the kind of economy I was walking into.
After NYSC the first reality I woke up to was that they will never retain me in my primary place of assignment because there was a pile of graduates waiting out there fighting for limited space.Â
I wrote application letters, mailed it to different jobs in different states but none were forthcoming, then I discovered that the only job a young graduate could get in Nigeria was a private school teaching job or in the banking sector as a teller or marketing officer.
I succeeded in getting a teaching job then tried to raise some money for my Msc, the salary was just 20,000 naira which was almost the highest salary a private school could pay back then in 2016.
I was staying with my parents because I could not afford to rent an apartment for myself but rather saved for my education.
Fast forward to 2017, I gained admission into one of the Nigerian top federal universities for my Msc. I started the program and classes were up and running but there was a problem, the lecturers never went beyond the graduate level.Â
I was still doing the same statistics that I did in my Bsc level. There was no advanced course compared to what my friends that had the opportunity to travel abroad to study. The lecturers did no research and all they knew was to get their monthly pay.Â
I finally struggled to obtain my Msc, but to get a good job in Nigeria you need to know somebody that knows somebody ah…I was tired and wanted to give up.
I started learning how to sow male clothes every Friday and Saturday, I finally learned and opened a shop.
I started getting customers and when I tell them I have an Msc in economics and statistics they started asking questions I could not answer so I was better never to talk about it.
I finally earned a name for myself, Oga tailor,which I openly accepted. Then I continued my life but things changed for me when a female friend of mine who was always bent on coming to gist with me in my shop stumbled on a scholarship opportunity on Facebook.
 It was a UK school that was giving scholarships to Nigerians who wanted to study their Msc. Jokingly I asked her to send me the link and that was how Oga tailor registered and got the admission.
Today I am happily married to the lady that brought the opportunity and I’m working for a good company overseas.
I’m writing this to encourage those who have given up on their dreams in Nigeria to keep hope alive and hope for better days. Never give up, and always try and take every little opportunity that comes your way.
