I started out as an average student - Best graduating student, Federal Poly, Ede

Ben FestusLast Saturday at the fifth convocation ceremony of the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Ben Festus was the cynosure of all eyes as he was called again and again for different prizes. Apart from being the best in his department and school, he also emerged as the best graduating student for the 2007/2008 set. In this chat with Sulaimon Olanrewaju, Ben, who says he was not quite a brilliant boy when he started school, speaks on how he managed to move from the middle of the class to the top. Excerpts.

You emerged as the best graduating student in your set. How did you manage to achieve this?
Well, I will say it was very difficult initially. I remember when I came back for my HND, it was quite difficult because I was just returning from the business world to school and it was not too easy adjusting. At first, it was as if it could not be done. But i believed in myself. I set a goal that I wanted to be the best student ever in the school. I took time to check through the performance of former students and I knew that I could beat the record. So, I set out to beat the record and I achieved that. After setting the goal I found out that there were challenges to overcome but I did not allow those challenges to deter me from my set goal. It was not really a matter of reading and reading. It was more of what I call “creative hard work” because even as a student I was still doing business to get money to settle my bills. I was able to bring the two together and to achieve this feat by the grace of God.

Have you always been a very good student?
Not really, I started as an average student. I wanted to go to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. Ife admitted me for Microbiology but I wanted to study Medicine. So, the frustration pushed me down here. I never really wanted to go to a polytechnic. But when I got to the polytechnic, I decided to give it my best because I did not want my story to be like that of a snake that moved across a rock without leaving an impact. I was an average student but I believed I could be better and that really helped me.

What was your ND grade?
Incidentally, my grades at the ND and the HND level are the same. My CGPA at the ND was 3.89, the highest so far. My grade at the HND was also 3.89.

You said as a student you were running a business. What kind of business were you running?
I am into ICT business. I have my personal company registered with the government. We do telecommunication business and supply ICT materials.

What led you into starting the business?
When I did my industrial attachment, I had a boss who did not appreciate what the staff were doing. He was always complaining and I knew how much the company was making as a result of what the staff were putting in. So, I thought to myself that I could start something on my own and start earning money, especially given the fact that there is a scarcity of employment opportunities in the country. So, I decided to start the company. I got exposed to ICT training in 2000, so I decided to start with that. I saved some money, bought a computer and printer and started running the business.

You said you needed to start a business to support yourself in school. Does that mean there was no support from the home front?
There definitely was support from the home front but I believe in one thing, which is that at this stage of my life I should not be solely dependent on my family. If they give me money, I will take but if they don’t give me that should not stop me from moving forward. I don’t want it to be that if Mummy does not give me money I can’t go ahead. My plan is to get to the top despite what I don’t have.

What was the volume of your business as a student? How much were you making?
Initially, it was difficult because I really did not have many clients. But as time went on, things began to improve. There were months when I made N150,000. There were also months when I just managed to make N30,000. Even as a student, I was supplying some of my lecturers with the equipment they needed.

Your business was in Lagos while you were in Ede. How were you able to manage this?
I invested in a kind of business which I call “mobile business”, mobile in the sense that I take the office with me wherever I go. It is more of an intellectual business. Whoever wants me to offer a service will just call me. The business can be transacted on the internet. If it has to do with hardware, I have suppliers that I can quickly contact to send the supply at a cheap rate.

What price would you say you paid to be the best student in this school?
After my ND, some students asked me how I was able to cope with academics and other things I was involved in and was still able to come out tops. One of the things I told them was that I set a goal of what I wanted to get out of school. Then, I believed in myself. As I said earlier, I was just an average student but I believed I could improve. I spent time more with those older than me. Even in business I move more with older people so that I can learn from them. These people were able to give me useful information and teach me some things. In school also, I have lecturers who I take as role models. So, all that I did was to believe in myself, set a goal and worked towards achieving the goal. In my room then, I used to put on the wall the grade I wanted to have in each semester. So, every time I woke up, there was something to remind me of the goal.

Like how many hours were you spending on reading?
I don’t read more than two hours a day because I read an article about the brain where I learnt that the brain cannot take more than two hours of information at a stretch. Having that information helped me to organise my time very well. It was not even that I was reading two hours at a stretch, no. I understand the way my body functions. There are times that my body wants to read, there are times the body does not want to. To get the best result for my effort, I read when my body wants to read. When it does not want to, I don’t force it.

Any word for students on how to succeed?
I have started compiling materials for a book I want to write. The focus of the book is that academic success is not by hard work but by creative hard work. It is not by how much one reads but by understanding the principles of success and practising them. The first thing to do is to believe in yourself that you can make it. Then, you have to put your goal in writing. Also, you have to choose the kind of friends you have. I have mentors, people above me who I could look up to as role models. To succeed you need somebody you can be accountable to.

After NYSC what do you plan to do?
There are two options. One is to set up my business properly. I intend to pioneer one of the emerging businesses in the telecommunication sector. The only thing now is that the funds are not ready, but I won’t allow that to stop me. The other thing is to take up employment in a place like the Nigerian Intelligence Agency or any of the telecommunications companies where I will have time for research on telecommunication technology.

What role would you say your parents played in your academic success?
My parents are actually supportive. They believe in me. They know I won’t disappoint them. They never interfered, they always encouraged. Then, my mother is always praying for me. At night when I am too tired to pray for myself, my mother is there praying for me.