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When disabled Abdulsalam Idowu got admission to the University of Lagos to study Political Science in 2006, it appeared it would be difficult for him to complete the course. But with the help of kind-hearted Nigerians, he has not only completed the programme, he has also secured admission to study Law, SEGUN OLUGBILE reports.
Many readers are likely to be familiar with the story of Abdulsalam Idowu, the disabled man who begged his way to become a Political Science student of the University of Lagos in 2006. His story was exclusively reported in THE PUNCH edition of January 23, 2007.
Idowu has just completed his bachelor’s degree programme. His ambition then was to study Law so that he could be an advocate for the less- privileged in the society. But he had to opt for Political Science because he could not meet the admission requirements to study Law. Apart from not having the cut-off points for Law, he did not have Literature, a compulsory requirement to study Law in UNILAG. But to demonstrate his commitment to his dream, ID, as he is popularly known at UNILAG, sat for the November/ December West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination in 2009, 10 years after he fled his village, Erinle in Kwara State via a Lagos-bound train because he could not pay for the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination form. He got a credit in Literature in English and secured admission to study Law a few weeks to his graduation. He will start the law programme in the 2010/2011 academic session.
Born into a polygamous home, Idowu lost his mother at the age of three and became crippled at the age of four after a malaria attack. But in spite of his poor parentage and physical disability, Idowu has exhibited a great courage and a strong determination to survive. He had opened a bank account with the proceeds of his alms begging and saved enough money to obtain the WASSCE examination form. He failed the November/December WASSCE twice. He also failed the Universities Matriculation Examination twice. But these challenges did not discourage him. Eventually, he got admission to UNILAG but not to study Political Science.
But since his admission to the university in 2006, Idowu said he had been taking steps that would enhance the realisation of his dream of becoming a lawyer.
Speaking with our correspondent at the Jaja Hall of the university on Saturday, Idowu’s will power was intact. Now more refined and exposed, he said the admission to study law was God’s best gift to him.
“I cherish all that God has done for me. I admire all the people He has used to take me off the street- begging business and I appreciate all the institutions particularly THE PUNCH for cleaning up my life. But I want to thank God specially for this admission to study Law because I’ve realised that one can be his best in a programme that one loves and not in a programme that one embraces by accident,” he said.
Speaking on how he got the admission, Abdulsalam said he never for once lost sight of his ambition to study Law even after he gained admission to study Political Science.
“I know my limitations. I’m disabled and therefore I cannot do everything that the able- bodied can do. But I know that with Law, I won’t be involved in too much physical exertion. I see Law as a life career. So, when I was in 100 Level, I bought the November/ December WASSCE form but I could not sit for the examination. I did the same thing in 200 Level. The same situation arose. My semester examination timetable always clashed with the WASSCE,” he said.
But in 2009 when he was in 300 Level, the strike embarked upon by workers’ unions in universities including the Academic Staff Union of Universities provided him another opportunity to write the examination.
“I seized the opportunity provided by our lecturers’ strike to sit for the 2009 November/December WASSCE. Thank God I made six credits including Literature. This year, I sat for the UTME and I scored 264. I was invited for the post-UMTE and I scored 68. My aggregate score was 67 and with this I was offered admission to study Law after over four years of attempts,” he recalled.
Idowu’s 2009 November/December WASSCE results show that he has A1 in Mathematics, C4 in English, B3 in Literature, B3 in Government, C4 in Economics and B3 in Commerce.
He identified three people- Justice Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court, Abeokuta , Ogun State , Dr. Derin Ologbenla and his room-mate, Dike Godwin, as some of the people that kept the fire of his ambition burning.
“So many people and institutions helped me. THE PUNCH Newspaper, Publisher of The Source Magazine, Mrs. Comfort Obi, wife of the Kwara State Governor, Chief Oluwatoyin Saraki, Mr. Peace Omokaro, mosques, churches, men and women of God, UNILAG, Intercontinental Assurance Plc, and a whole lot of Nigerians including my classmates and roommates deserve my appreciation.
“But Mama Ajumogobia and Dr. Ologbenla are my motivators. Mama was always calling me to remind me of the need to study Law. Though Ologbenla never called me aside one day to encourage me, each time he came to class, he was always using himself as an example to challenge us. He had five degrees in various disciplines and he got his Ph.D before he enrolled for the Law programme.
“He is a son of a top class traditional ruler and had the opportunity to school outside the country. Each time he spoke, something told me that if the son of a wealthy man could achieve all these feats, why not me? I’ve decided to lay the foundation of a solid future for my children and to break the cycle of poverty in the family. To achieve this, I have to read. University education is the best for any individual and in fact, anybody that does not have a university education is missing a lot,” he said.
He added that he was also encouraged to further his education because of the response of some of the street boys to his admission.
“Some of the street boys that knew me as a beggar were stunned when they heard my story. They came to me to verify whether it was true. I used the opportunity to talk to them and even allowed them to make use of my one room apartment at Ajegunle. Now I’m happy that they are responding very well. Two of them are now in UNILAG. One is in 200 Level studying Economics while the second one has just been given admission to read educational administration,” he said.
On how he was able to cope with his academics on the campus, Idowu said that he was too focussed to see distraction.
“I was on campus to fight for my life and the future of my family. I was not concerned with what people were saying about me because most of the students on campus already had the foundation of their future laid out for them. I was determined to lay a solid foundation for my children and to break the hold of poverty on my family. Therefore, I was not in any way distracted.
“The only challenge that I had was that my poor primary and secondary education affected my performance in 100 Level. You know I had to do all the reading by myself. I combined this with begging and it affected me, otherwise I would have made a first class or at worse a sound second class upper. But as at the first semester of my 300 Level, my CGPA was at 3.3. To make a second class, I must make 3.5. From the results of the second semester that had been released, I scored four Bs and a C. The only one that I have not seen is the result of the project,” he said.
Asked how he intended to cope as a law student with no source of funding, he said, “The God that has seen me through the first one will also see me through this stage. However, I plan to get a job possibly on campus and then continue with the programme. I have weighed all the options and I have concluded that even if I don’t get a job, I will not abandon the programme because abandoning it is not sensible. What is the essence of being at home jobless when you have an opportunity to run a programme you have been dreaming to study?’’
Though he is into a relationship, Idowu said he was not in a hurry to get married. “Marriage is good, most especially early marriage, but I must be very careful about that issue. My poor father bit more than he could chew, I don’t want to make a similar mistake. If marrying late is one of the prices that I have to pay to deliver my family from poverty, I’m ready to pay the price. But one should not rule anything out as everything is in the hands of God,” he said.
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