NIGERIants OR NIGERIANS!

So it’s another day to recall democracy, sometimes I feel Fela was right to have called it demonstration of craze. Little wonder there was demonstration of craze today as  UNILAG students took to the street to protest as the name of their school became MOSHOOD ABIOLA UNIVERSITY,  LAGOS (whether it is MALU OR MAUL na una sabi) by the Federal Government  but then let’s talk about something else, something more important than the ‘swag’ in a name.

            I was listening to the national anthem on the radio today. When the second stanza was sung I reflected on the meanings and I realized this should be our first stanza, this should be the anthem all Nigerians should recite every day especially the innocent children in primary and secondary schools before they grow up and lose their innocence. At least may be God can answer our prayers through them. May God bless whoever wrote the second stanza for that is truly an ANTHEM. So I have decided to do the ‘Tafseer’ of the second stanza and maybe you would concur with me that it should be the first stanza and also a prayer Nigerians should say often. Below is the second stanza and we would go through the explanations line by line

OH GOD OF CREATION,

DIRECT OUR NOBLE CAUSE,

GUIDE OUR LEADERS’ RIGHT,

HELP OUR YOUTH THE TRUTH TO KNOW,

IN LOVE AND HONESTY TO GROW

AND LIVING JUST AND TRUE,

GREAT LOFTY HEIGHT ATTAIN,

TO BUILD A NATION WHERE PEACE, AND

JUSTICE REIGN.

Now for my explanations. I love the first line for it is in this line you find the confirmation of Tawheed (Oneness of God) precisely Tawheed  ar-Rububiyya (maintaining the unity of Lordship). That God created all things. How wonderful a start. Could there be a better beginning for an anthem? Now to the second line, Direct our noble cause. What is our cause? Our purpose? As Nigerians? As a Nation? As a people? To worship the God of creation of course. Do you see the link with the first line? This worship does not have to do with praying to God alone but being good to our neighbors, being kind to the wayfarer, by not being Murderers and thieves, by being of good conduct. What a noble cause we have. GUIDE OUR LEADERS’ RIGHT, what more could Nigerians pray for. Right guidance for our leaders but we don’t. Cursing our leaders is now the normal thing we do, we call them names and see nothing wrong in it and then you say Nigeria is bad, we’re just starting unless we change. No wonder we are Nigeriants and not Nigerians. If the head is good then we know it is most likely the body would be good. Imagine you are travelling by public transport and you then curse the driver of the vehicle you boarded. If you have an accident, remember that you are part of the cause, remember you cursed your driver. The fourth line is a message for me and for you if you are a youth especially those of us who are students of UNILAG or is it MALU or MAUL, for if we know the truth we would not come out to protest and say UNILAG is a brand, as if the name UNILAG would remain forever, even if it is not changed now it would be changed in the future that is one certain thing. By now we ought to  have realized that CHANGE is the only CONSTANT thing. As youths we would we should not act and think later but think before we act because tomorrow is ours.

            IN LOVE AND HONESTY TO GROW, this is the fifth line. Now I want you to imagine a Nigeria where we all grew up with these two cogent ingredients LOVE and HONESTY. These are the things we need in the basic unit of a society, the family. Love and Honesty between couples, between families, between tribes, and then as a nation. These are strong foundations on which relationships should be built: LOVE and HONESTY. The sixth line further buttresses the line before it. We need to LIVE JUSTLY and also our love for one another should be TRUE and not I scratch your back you scratch mine love. Following the message before it this line tells us where we would be: LOFTY HEIGHT. Of course we would attain lofty heights if we followed the messages in the line before it to the letter and then the concluding part, TO BUILD A NATION WHERE PEACE, AND JUSTICE REIGN. What more do we want in Nigeria, We all want a Nigeria where PEACE and JUSTICE shall reign. What a wonderful anthem. So tell me, my fellow Nigerians do we know this stanza by heart? Do we recite it often? Are we NIGERIants or NIGERIANS?

THE FUN THEY HAD

It is funny how Agricultural Science students in LAUTECH travel from Ghana to Nigeria without boarding a plane or a bus, their 'leggedizbenz' must be hyper-super but we all know their secrets (don’t we?). I am starring at the marble which has the details of when Ghana House was commissioned. The name Olusola Alagbe Luther king catches my eye. I know that name.  Seeing the name takes me back to my sophomore year, to the beautiful city of Accra, Ghana’s capital.  Mr. Luther king had hosted those of us who went to Ghana under the umbrella of the SCSN (Students Chemical Society of Nigeria). ‘Bruce’ was then social director of SCSN.  I was not surprised when he became PASSA (Pure and Applied Sciences Students' Association) president. There was no doubt that the journey to Ghana was a real boost to his political career which helped him to become ‘prexy’. I recalled when we were at the border before we entered Ghana officially and we had to sing the Nigerian national anthem to prove that we were Nigerians since none of us had a national passport. No doubt traveling long distances by road is stressful but it sure did have its fun side. 

It was June 27, a public holiday in Ghana. It was Ghana’s republic day, unlike Nigeria, Ghana’s republic day is different from her day of independence. It was our first day in Ghana and most of us were fatigued from the few days journey. It had rained lightly but then we decided to go out. I thought we were just going to take a tour around Ghana’s capital little did I know that my eeman was about to be tested.  I remember there was a little argument about which fun spot we should head to but then I think majority agreed we should go to the beach. ‘The Beach! But it just rained’, I thought. Little did I know that was the beginning of my worries?  It was a long time since I had been to the beach, I think the last time was at Badagry beach in Lagos and it was really a long time. You know Lagos has all the fun spots but then I was young and innocent. The weather became clear and you would think it never rained earlier except for the wet ground and some puddles. We got to the beach and before the bus came to a halt the males in the bus were already screaming and waving like they had never seen girls before(my sisters, you know how boys can be). Then I looked at the reaction of the ladies in the bus, I saw their eyes, I could recognize those eyes anywhere, I had seen them before. It was those same eyes the girls in your secondary school gave you during your school’s inter-house sports if they caught you looking at girls from invited schools or worse still if they heard you say something  nice about them and funny enough when you were together  they didn’t ‘send you’(my brothers you know what I mean ) . Those eyes said only one thing ‘envy’.  I smiled at the drama happening before my eyes, boys and girls, men and women, males and females we would always be different.  The Ghanaian girls waved back and smiled, they liked the attention, (which female doesn’t like the attention?). Though they were amused at first but I guess when they saw the inscription on our bus they knew we were strangers in Ghana.  The sun was out and a lot of people where at the beach, after all it was a national holiday. The boys couldn’t wait to get out, I can’t remember vividly but I think some  of them even jumped out through  the window.  It was nice to feel the sand in between my toes. I looked around  and could see a  lot of boys with Rastafarian hair and Bob Marley tattoos all over their bodies. I thought these guys must be Bob Marley crazy. I looked round trying to find a good sight but everywhere I turned my eyes fell into sin. I decided to return to the bus. I think could hear some of my friends calling,  they were already in the water.  I took a seat at the back and sat close to the window and looked at the Sun, it was going to set soon, may be in a few hours.  I noticed the presence of someone else in the bus, she was a Muslimah. She sat in one of the seats in the front rows. I had noticed her earlier during our journey to Ghana. She was easy to notice since she was the only female donning the Hijab. I think she was  one level ahead of me but I was sure were both in the same department.  I wanted to talk to her, to ask her what she was thinking, to know if our thoughts were similar, if she was thinking of the fun they were having. If a part of her thought like me that life was a prison for the believers and Paradise for the disbelievers. I wanted to talk to her but I decided to stay put. I looked outside  the window and I could see some ladies by the Deejay’s stand drinking and dancing. It was obvious it was alcohol they were gulping since they were holding those amber bottles. Suddenly I got afraid, afraid that what if a tsunami happened here right now and we all died here. What a bad place to die. I recalled the verse in which Allah says:

‘And Guard yourselves against a chastisement which cannot fall exclusively on those of you who are wrong-doers, and you know that Allah is severe in punishment’ Q 8:25

Some punishments affect both good and bad people but was I a good person? I was afraid and yet I wanted the Qur’an to give me hope. I didn’t like the present situation I found myself. I had been in a similar situation in my freshman year when I attended SCSN dinner award.  It was at NUT plaza and a fight ensued. I had decided then that I would not attend such gatherings but here I was in a similar gathering. I want to die in a good place with good people around. My name sake Abdul-Mujeeb Abdul-Razaq experienced what I desired later that semester, May Allah forgive him. That night in Accra, in the beautiful duplex that Mr. Alagbe Luther king hosted us I could hear the boys talking about the fun they had. Everyone had something to say except me and they gave me that look that… that look that said ‘boy, you missed’, like they felt sorry for me . I left the gathering and found a quiet spot in the house; it was easy to find one since the house was big. I reflected on the day’s event, thinking, asking myself if I was up for this, if this is the path I was going to take, if I wanted to become a stranger. Why did everyday seem like a battlefield?  Would I be firm on this path?  Only time would tell but I must try my best and pray that my Rabb keeps me firm on this path.

‘To the righteous (when) it is said "What is it that your Lord has revealed?" they say "All that is good." To those who do good there is good in this world and the Home of the Hereafter is even better. And excellent indeed is the Home of the righteous’    Q16:30

                                                                                                                                                 

FUTURE AMBITION

I can still hear them laughing sarcastically, laughing at my friend, laughing at the elder sister I never had. It was in the staff room. There they were mocking, I was in fury mode but I tried to conceal it. I wanted to defend my friend, to stand up for her, I wished they would stop but they jeered on.  What could I do after all they were all my teachers. ‘Future ambition: Housewife!’, I think one of them said. They were reading an edition of THE BEAM (AFCS IBADAN’S school‘s mag).  I was in my final year in high school and the edition of THE BEAM was the just concluded edition. Some pages, particularly in the middle of the magazine were usually dedicated to the graduates of that year in which the magazine was published. The pages included their pictures, Future ambition, address and phone/e-mail. I can’t recollect what I was doing in the staff room but I remember vividly that I was there. Bidemi had just graduated and her profile in the magazine had caused an uproar. She had put in HOUSEWIFE  has her future ambition and like most  present day educated ignoramus my teachers had thought that was backward just like many people would think. Though back then I might not have had cogent reasons to defend my friend if I was given the opportunity to but now I know better and Bidemi, may Allah bless her wherever she is (sad, that I have lost contact with her)  knew better even when we were that young.  Now, we might think Bidemi is just some ordinary girl that was never exposed or brain-washed by some ‘alfas’, Well you’re very wrong. Kudirat Abidemi  Yussuff was no ordinary lady, she was well exposed. This is late Air Marshall N. Yussuf’s daughter I am talking about here. Her Dad was the former CAS (Chief of Air Force Staff) in the early nineties when the military were in POWER! To me, he practically owned AFCS IBADAN because it was during his tenure as CAS that AFCS IBADAN came to being. (My secondary school used to be a Teacher Training college). I never had the opportunity of meeting Bidemi’s Dad but I knew he was a very PRINCIPLED man and I pray Allah forgives him. This was a man whose son didn’t pass the interview examination to gain admission into AFCS IBADAN, and since he didn’t pass he tried again the following year and then got admission! So Bidemi was not an ordinary lady and if Abdul-Mujeeb Onawole was to give a list of influential people in his life with respect to the deen in particular and he forgets to add Bidemi’s name he should be SPANKED SERIOUSLY.

What could have made me to remember Bidemi’s future ambition after all these years?  Well, it’s Rifdha, a 10-year old wonderful Hafiza from Maldives, (you need to hear her recite the Qur’an). I saw Rifdha in the documentary titled KORAN BY HEART by GREG BAKER (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpO-a8AIz7M). She had the highest score of 97/100 and even before I saw her score, I knew she surpassed all other contestants despite the fact that she was the only female in that competition.  Rifdha is a lovable individual, she’s shy and yet funny in a special kind of way, mama’s best friend and I guess you get the rest of the picture. She tops her class and she wants to become an explorer but her Papa, who repented and became a better Muslim on his Father’s death bed after about 30 years of Jahiliyya, wants her to become a housewife, now this is where Bidemi and Rifdha meet. Rifdha’s father understands that when you educate a female, you educate a nation but when you educate a male, you’ve educated only one individual.  By the way kudos to Lautech sisters, I know a lot of them are striving to be students of knowledge as compared to we, brothers and it gives me this great hope that the future is going to be so bright considering the impacts they would have on their children but then it saddens me that the gap is too wide between the Sisters who know and those who don’t (that’s what I’ve observed and I stand to be corrected). I know some brothers might not attend circles of knowledge regularly but there are some basics of the deen they know but I can’t say the same for the sisters. Sometimes I just get shocked at the level of ignorance. Rifdha’s Dad thought that Egypt would be a good place to migrate to but upon getting there he realized that things aren’t the way you imagine. He found out that they might have good Qaris (reciters) in Egypt but he hardly saw people who practiced the deen from their appearance with respect to the beard and Izbal issues.

The stereotype idea that someone who is going to be a housewife should be uneducated should be DELETED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT from those who still have such in their heads.  If you meet some females and you try to know why they are in school you would realize a lot of them are in school for the wrong reasons. I’ve met ladies who came to earn a degree so that they can have something to ‘fall-on’ when their husbands start cheating on them, some came to do engineering courses  just to prove that what a man can do a woman can do better, can you imagine! I recall during my IT attachment, an Engineer gave me and a lady a lift  his car to the factory as we entered through the factory gates, I could hear the Engineer teasing the lady while signifying to a man who was leaving the factory gates.  The woman was resuming for morning duty while her husband was leaving the factory after working on night duty, little wonder the world is in a topsy-turvy.  I look at A’isha Al-Hajjar , an editor on SAUDILIFE, who HOME- SCHOOLED EIGHT CHILDREN. Do you think she is a block head who doesn’t have a college degree or do you think the job of home-schooling children is a walk in the park? Among the things Islam as taught me is that JUSTICE IS NOT THE SAME THING HAS EQUALITY and when you look at the Qur’an and Sunnah you find places where the men are above women, places were women are above men and places where we’re both equal. Look at people the world refers to ask ’successful women’ you’ll find out that their family life is (or was) trash, is it Oprah Winfrey or Tyra Banks or Queen Elizabeth the first.  During my IT there was this Engineer Obasanjo that specifically said with his own mouth that women were not supposed to be working in factories like this. He further suggested that they should be in the education sector and this is what I tried to portray in Aisha’s  character in my VALENTINE’S STORY:JUST ANOTHER DAY (http://www.mujeebunleashed.blogspot.com/2012/02/just-another-day.html) and in some cases you have SAHM-WAHM(Stay At Home Moms- Work At Home Moms). I do not know where Islam stopped women from working, from earning her own wealth but what I know is Islam greatly encouraged women to stay in their houses and we have people that work from home and are millionaires, some are even more famous than people who go to  another location to work.

I know Rifdha is very smart but I hope she’ll understand that her father wants the best for her. I hope she’ll understand what Bidemi understood. So I’ll conclude with the words of Francesca in the movie, THE PERFECT SCORE when asked what she wanted to be. She said ‘…I’d just be a mom. Not just a mother. I would be a real mom. Who cared more about the title of parent than the one on her business card…’

MY LOVE STORY

MY LOVE STORY

She came into my life, when I needed her the most. When I had lost it all, the trust, the care, emotion.

She taught me that I could trust people again, that I could love and be loved with respect once more. She made me think different to how others would perceive. Whenever  I felt weak, she'd empower me.

Her presence was pleasing and brought peace to my heart. The scenes of the world were colorful now, pure art. She showed me a world I never knew. She encouraged me to ask Allāh, that He would give. So by His Mercy I learnt patience, I learnt to forgive.We'd work together and be strong. Even though our journey was tiresome, and long.But fast forward  and times have changed. The world distracted me. The love didn't increase,it  just conflicted.

“I'm sorry,” I'd say regretfully.

 “Repent to Allāh,” she would reply.

But the love wouldn't rise again and it caused me great pain. Our relationship began to change…

 My heart was greedy, and it wanted more.The gaze wouldn't lower when passers flaunted

 The heart said no, but the desires taunted.The heart covered itself in dirt of black.

 Soon…she left, and didn't come back…

The regret hurt, and loneliness messed my head. I couldnot sleep, I could not rest.I covered the pain with sin. I thought it might remove the pain I was in but it only persisted and increased the desire  to sin more.  So I increased in rebellion but this feeling wouldnot go. I had lost myself.  My regret was overpowered.

I decided to search for her and then I found her with her protector. She stood there waiting to be found, just waiting for me to come around.She missed me too. She still loved me but I couldnot be with her, until I gave her her due.

What is your due, I humbly asked?

“To pray, to obey, and be steadfast

 That's the only way our relationship lasts.”

“To be the friend of Allāh, and think of death often.

 To humble yourself, and do good action.”

“To prepare for that moment, when we all run away

Except the one who prepared for that Day.”

“So fear Allāh and be committed

 To our relationship, so you're admitted…

In the gardens of joy.”

“Don't be the people of hell

the home of destruction, a fire filled cell.”

“Mend your ways now, it's the right thing to do,

 Deep down, you know I care for you…”

I listened attentively, understanding. I was wrong in desiring more.When she was enough for me, when she gave me joy.When she was all I ever wanted, all I ever needed. That smile of that kid, who finds his best toy.The simplicity, the balance, the pact we kept. That's what we wanted – without regret.I asked her Protector, who gave her to me, back. This experience had put me back on track.Except this time I was sure I didn't need to exceed desires for more.The experience gave me fresh strength. The true Joy was in being content.We're now together – together till death.  A promise we've, up till now, kept.

I hope it remains this was cause I love it this way.  Oh Allāh, please don't let us stray from your Mercy and pleasure. Since that's the only way, we'll stay together.Now you know, this was my love story…

This girl, her name was…

īmān*. Except she wasn't a girl, she's my faith – that kept me strong.Īmān is my joy, my love, and pleasure. The one I've tried to find – through many – in Haram, Except this caused the least harm,

 The one I still treasure.

P.S. This was actually a poem which was posted by an anonymous person on MM. I just modified by converting it to a story. Hope you enjoyed it.

CROSSING THE BORDER LINE-The Beginning

                My mom smiled as she read my final year project’s dedication. It read: For those who have learned to love chemistry despite all odds, for it is possible that one dislikes a thing which is good for oneself and that one loves a thing which is bad for one. But Allah knows and we know not. I had returned home to receive her blessings. Seeing her sitting on the praying mat, I knelt before her and hugged her simultaneously while she made dua’ for me. A mother’s love, what can surpass it? She was elated when I called her earlier this week that I had collected my final result and crossed the border line.  I flashback to when I collected my 500L Harmattan semester (was it really Harmattan cos it seemed like Rain semester to me) result, my cumulative GPA was 3.49. Alhamdulillahi ‘ala kulli haal( Praise is to Allah in all circumstances). This was not how I had planned my final year. I had envisaged that I would be in the comfort zone like having a strong 2-1 that practically nothing could happen to. I had imagined that I would have time to do other things than school work. I didn’t want to be reading like I was in 100 level, trying to build a good GP but alas! I was on the border line I had no choice but to still activate READING MODE. I recall telling Dr. Abdulhameed (Abu Rodiah) that I was given a grade E in CHM 545 (Food Chemistry, who would say he got an E? After all the ‘dikoko- dikaka’ Prof. Faboya put my class through in dressing ‘corporate’. He had often said he didn’t like a Dugbe class (large class) and we were many in my class. Abu Rodiah had said jokingly that maybe I didn’t pray well. I think he further said I must have prayed in this format: ‘Olohun je ki gba E ninu ise yi’ ( A in Yoruba language is pronounced ‘ a ‘as in apple and not a as in blade). I think he continued by saying that next time I should say. ’Olohun Jo, je ki gba a’(God, Please let me score an 'A'). There wasn’t going to be a next time. I didn’t do food chemistry the following semester. 

                I tried to think when my plan for final year started to crumble (comfy zone c G.P.A.). It was not news that chemistry department was amongst the ‘crazy’ departments in school. I had tried to cross in my sophomore year to CSE dept. It’s a difficult task when one is trying to cross from one faculty to another. You try to attend the lectures of your department and also try to attend the lectures of the department you want to cross to. It’s like trying to look left and right at the same time. So what I did was I gave myself  a duration and after that duration if my crossing wasn’t sure I will stay put in Chemistry.  Well I’m sure we all know what I did. I had learnt of people who waited till a week before exams began before finally accepting their fate that they could not change courses had bad results that same semester. A good number of them do not recover from the effect that semester had on their CGPA.  I tried hard to think again, to ask myself when going down the hill began. Sometimes Chemistry department makes you think you’re not smart, like you are pouring water in a basket. You think of all the 7 a.m. lectures in the cold Harmattan, the long standings while receiving lectures, the STRESS and then you collect your result. What do you see?  My set is a very special set. We’ve been through a lot but then I’m glad we still achieved some feats (we didn’t lose anybody to death, Alhamdulillahi). I think for most of my classmates our dreams started crumbing in 200L. CHM 231 a 4- unit course dealt greatly with us. I recall the exam vividly. It is one of those few exams I have written in my life that I practically did not KNOW ANYTHING. Worse, it was a fill-in-the gap type of exam. I was really tempted; I thought I was going to cheat. I thought I had to cheat if I wasn’t going to fail but thank Allah I was able to overcome the temptation. I had 59 C when I got my result (trust me I know the value of 1 mark). Then there was CHM 211, another 4- unit course. Inorganic chemistry has always been a mystery to me even till my final year. Sometimes you’re confident that they should go and mark the script in heaven (as if that is possible) that you’ll get an A but when people start collecting results and you realize that ‘DEF jamz’  was distributed around, you’ll be VERY GRATEFUL if you get a C. Then came second semester, the infamous CHM 222(Angel of Chemistry) dealt another blow on us not forgetting other courses borrowed from other departments like PHY 202 ( Dr. Yeye Odu punished us by not giving us constants in the test). Results were so bad generally that people started crossing in the beginning of the third year. I sensed that we just got started in Chemistry department. The coming times proved my thoughts right. I think in every department, if you’re able to survive your third year then you’re a genius.  The third year for my set was the year we became the black sheep of the department. My set became the set practically every lecturer in the department loathed and it all started after we collected our first semester results. CHM 311, an inorganic chemistry dealt another serious blow on us not forgetting Prof. Ige’s CHM 331, I learnt people sneaked out of the exam hall after seeing the his own section of the exam. They sneaked out to go and delete the course. I recall a lecturer that invigilated and saw the CHM 331 question paper,I think she said, ‘se masters ni awon omo yi se ni?’(Are these students writing Master's degree exam?). But all this was just the beginning, few days after we collected our 300L first semester result, my set became notorious in the whole of LAUTECH. That incident caused so much pain to the members of my class, such that some of us are still licking the wounds till now.  A list was pasted around Chemistry department with the names of the lecturers alongside grades which included 'courses' like approachability, teaching skills etc. A few lecturers in the department passed according to the list but it was unanimously concluded that my set was responsible for pasting that list. After all, the Yoruba people will say ‘Aje ke lana, omo ku leni, tani o mo pe Aje to ke lana ni o pa omo je’(The witch cried last night, the baby died this morning, who doesn't know that it was the witch that killed the baby). Alas that’s how my set got into a trap we really never got freed from and most of us paid dearly especially with our grades for that semester. I recall Dr. Adeoye when he took us CHM 312. He had just returned from Canada, he wasn’t around when the list was pasted but the news got to him. The first class he took us in CHM 312. I think he said, I learnt you gave me two carryovers, I have come to do them’. Then I knew we were doomed, only Allah could save us. But if you ask me, I do not think we were responsible for pasting the list, what’s my alibi? Well there were some lecturers whose name were  on that list that and they had never taught us, some were not even in LAUTECH anymore so how could we have known. Though the odds were against us since our predecessors were not in school as they were doing their IT (Industrial Training). Worse, our set was not given the opportunity to choose, there was no INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY OPTION or ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY OPTION. There was no escape for us.  To make matters worse there were two important courses that the lecturer who taught us wasn’t the one who set our TEST and EXAM questions. By the time we had resumed for our penultimate year, most of us knew that the question wasn’t about graduating with a first class, 2-1 or 2-2 the right question became ‘when will I graduate?’ . I recall someone told me that 300L second semester alone didn’t make some individuals go for IT.

**********

‘ONAWOLE ABDULMUJEEB’, Dr. Abdulhameed called. ‘Sir’, I replied. He was sitting on the podium in the old chemistry laboratory. My class rep. assisted him in distributing our final results. I could feel my heart beat faster, I had remembered Ukty Monthurat Ogunyemi’s comment on MSSN LAUTECH’S Facebook group . She had talked worshiping God wasn’t a business deal such that it was only when things happened your way you were a true servant and if otherwise you were rebellious. One had to be true to God in all circumstances. May God help us have faith in all circumstances because seriously it's not easy. I flipped through the pages till I got to the last page (all the results right from 100L was printed till date). I scanned through till I saw to the bottom. Cummulative Semester G.P.A =.3.62, Cummulative Semester Class=SECOND CLASS UPPER. Immediately I prostrated not minding that I was still on the podium.  Alhamdulillahil ladhi bini’ matihi tatimus saalihat (Praise is to Allah who by His blessings perfects all good things’. I left the podium and hugged the person that wanted to ask me a question about CATENATE CHEM E-BOOKS he had bought, he was a fine chap in his third year. I called my Mom some moments later and then my Dad. Mom was so glad no doubt and Dad was happy but still I could sense a little bit of disappointment in his voice, he reminded me a little bit of KAMBILI’S father (Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus) when she came second position. I know the idea of having to cross the border line at the final lap makes one sound like an average student but then I can vouch for even those that  will graduate with a third class in my set. We’ve been through a lot and I know most of us were the best in the various industries we worked during our IT. Our results might not say it. But we’re TRULY LADOKITES and I know someday the world would come to give us the positive recognition we deserve. Insha Allah we’ll FLY HIGH. The most important thing is Allah’s blessings. I pray He blesses us in all that we do and I also pray I am one step closer in building the BRIDGE. I am grateful or the friendship of all those wonderful people I have met during my journey in this great citadel of learning. Thanks for proving that water can be as thick as blood. Till we meet again.