MONDAY INSIGHTS

With

Tope Ajetunmobi

“Tope is a petroleum engineering graduate of Imperial College, London, United Kingdom, and a first class chemical engineering graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria”

In my previous article, I addressed some tips for academic success. Of course, it is good to excel academically as more opportunities are at your doorstep to explore. (I wouldn’t have gotten a scholarship to study in the UK, nor would I have been admitted to one of the best grad schools in the world if not for my good grades). However, if your future ambition is NOT to work for anyone but rather to become an entrepreneur who would in the future hire first class graduates, then this article might just be for you. Here, I will share some stories of six of my colleagues while in the university (names withheld) who honed their skills which have nothing to do with their course of study:

1)      Mr A

Though he was studying mechanical engineering at the time, he had an incline towards computer programming. Guess how this started? We had a strike by university lecturers which lasted for 11 months. Rather than complaining at home about how insensitive the government and university authorities can be for allowing students stay at home for such a protracted period, he stayed behind on campus building skills on computer programming. With some other friends, he started writing bespoke software applications and building computer networks. I recall I could watch CNN from my room via the computer network built by him and his friends. He also wrote different certification examinations, travelled to India (at his own expense) for short courses and certification exams.  He didn’t graduate top of his class ; people of this calibre do not graduate top of the class because they divested time in honing some other “skill sets” which might not be purely course related. This is the interesting bit: During my NYSC in Maiduguri, Borno State, while I was earning N5000 per month as a corps member (less than £20), he was a consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO)  deploying bespoke software applications for the vaccination programme in Northern Nigeria.  A year later, while I was looking for scholarships and applying for jobs, he was already a consultant for one of the top 5 IOCs deploying bespoke software applications. He has never worked for any-one and I doubt he ever will. For your information, a daily consultant rate in dollars for an IOC in Nigeria is more than the monthly salary of an average graduate.

2)      Mr B

A guy who knew he wasn’t going to make a first class in chemical engineering. In fact, I doubt whether he was even interested in making a 2^nd class upper. He was a DJ, concentrated more on organising parties and events (all at a fee). He bought a car very early as an undergraduate (not for the reason most guys got them: to woe ladies) solely to help him move things around for his business. After graduation, he set up his own business for party events, wedding planning, and decorations. I can confirm he has done jobs for state governments and high profile Nigerians. I also forgot to mention that he has never applied for a job. I mean he has never in his life worked for anyone. I had a traditional wedding in Nigeria few weeks back so I have an idea how much it costs to decorate a hall. The profit (not revenue) made from only 2-3 decoration jobs in a month should be more than the average monthly salary of a Nigerian graduate.

3)      Mr C

Yes he graduated with a first class in chemical engineering but he knew right from the beginning that his future dream would be managing and creating business empires. From university days, he got involved with forex, stock exchange and various businesses. We came to the UK together to study petroleum engineering. While his classmates (myself inclusive) were applying for petroleum engineering related jobs, he had a different plan: he applied for a business engineering role where he is currently managing very massive projects in international locations. He is also currently creating his local businesses in Nigeria, I have no doubt he will be the next “Warren Buffet” of our time.

4)      Mr D

Another business oriented individual similar to Mr C who knew right from university he would be a future leader managing people and businesses. He was the most balanced individual I ever knew; he was active in religious and other social events and also had some time for his academics. He got involved in societies where he led people, was a public/motivational speaker in church programs and also did a lot of studying about different successful business empires. After graduation, he was hired by one of the leading international conglomerates as a manager where he rose sharply through the ranks. Afterwards, he resigned and proceeded to one of the best business schools in the world for an MBA. He is currently a manager in one of the top multinational firms. Trust me, managers and engineers don’t earn the same pay package.

To be continued……