NOT long ago, some concerned scholars in the country conducted a research to find out where exactly the  wealth of Nigeria that could transform it into an enviable position among the comity of nations was hidden.

The research work took the scholars some months to come up with their findings, having ransacked the length and breadth of the country. At the end of the exercise, they discovered that the wealth of Nigeria is not in oil and gas, mining, petroleum, or agriculture.  Rather, they discovered that the  wealth of Nigeria is lying fallow in the various graveyards located across the country.

These were great men and women of repute who had good ideas that could change this nation for better, but did not get the opportunities to serve the nation  before they passed away. It is obvious that the abundant mineral resources in the country are not sufficient to change the nation without somebody with ideas to coordinate and consolidate those   resources for the development of the country.

This prompted some private schools in the country, of which Nickdel College, Ibadan, is one, to put in place facilities that can instill creativity skills and idea generation in children to produce creative leaders for the nation.

Miss Iyioluwa Sopeju, one of the best students of Nickdel College, Ibadan in the 2011 West African Examination Council (WAEC) examination result, in a chat with Saturday Tribune recently,  shared her ideas of  how  academic excellence,  devoid of  cheating could be achieved. Speaking about her primary and secondary education experience, she said:

“I finished my primary education from Nickdel Private, Ibadan in 2005. I proceeded to the secondary arm of the school (Nickdel College) for my secondary school education. I had the Oyo State government scholarship for my Junior Secondary School education in the college and  the college scholarship for my senior school education programme.  My primary education was very good. I passed through the teachers who were child -friendly but very   strict and disciplined,” she stated.

Speaking further on how competition has helped students of the school, she said: Nickdel schools believe in competition , and we  never ran away from competing with  other schools in the state. We were always going for one competition or the  other,  in my primary school days, I was one of those who represented  the school in local, state and national  quiz competitions. In fact, I got the Oyo State scholarship through one of the  national quiz competitions I took  part in.

“Competition has contributed a lot to my academic life. I see competition as an inevitable  input to students’ knowledge, development process  and academic performance. When one goes outside his school, one may discover that some other  students are better, so you would realise that you are not the best in the world. This is a challenge that  will assist serious students  to read more, to be  the best among others. Competition propels students to read harder to be among the good students not only in their  school, but among other schools in the country.

My JS I education went on smoothly. I had  good  teachers and we  always had  assignments  everyday from them .
In my class, I had many friends from different primary schools, and they were very good and I had to strive harder to meet their standard. I started preparing for my Junior WAEC examination from JSII. To the glory of God, I had As  all through in my Junior WAEC.

The first thing a student must do if he wants to succeed academically is to discover himself,  whether he or she is a fast or slow learner. He  must know his best reading  time,  during the night or day.  I made efforts to discover myself.  This is because  one  cannot copy the way other people read. I had sixteen subjects to deal with, and I took them one after the other, putting more efforts on those  ones that needed lots of reading. For instance,  I had to study Integrated Science and Introductory Technology more than others.   Some times  I would  wake up in the night to  read. I also studied in the day. I tried to do all my assignments at the appropriate  time.

‘’When I started my SSI, we were told that if we did not perform very well we would not proceed to the next class. The warning pushed me  to read very well. This is because I know that this is the beginning my  future.  If  one  really studies hard right from SSI, the WAEC examination would not be a difficult  task at all. So, I tried to get good grades right from SSI to SSII and SSSIII.”

Asked how she prepared for 2011  WAEC. She said:  ‘’I have been preparing for   two years before the examination. So, it was not all that stressful for me  by the time I  wrote the examination.  If you have been doing all your tests and  assignments and treat past questions  it would not be very difficult for you. This is because all you have to do, a few months before the examination is  just revision.

“I did revise  of all my subjects. When the result came out, I had As and Bs in all  my science subjects, including  Mathematics and English. Also, my Unified Tertiary Matriculation  Examination (UTME) result  was  267.

“I initially had problem with my Biology, I was not doing well in the subject. But when I realised that I needed the subject as a science student, I made up my mind that I must do something to overcome the challenge. My parents also assisted me with prayers. My mother made sure that she sacrificed her time to read with me, even in the night.  Also, my father  contributed a lot to my success. To the glory of God, I am a student of Dentistry and Dental Surgery at the University of Ibadan.

“My advice for governments is that they should provide adequate teaching facilities for public schools. I know that there are some good students in public schools who need encouragement. Parents should not give their wards too much work at home  such that will affect their studies. There some parents that often ask their children to hawk or help them in their shops. A child that cannot read during the daytime will find it difficult to do well in school because he has spent  the day hawking,  when they are supposed to read or study, they are in the shop.

“Moreover, each student must discover himself in terms of his or her reading nature,  when his assimilation level is at its highest.