By Akaje Maimunat
In 2018, amidst challenges and discouragement, Ismail Shittu embarked on a remarkable academic journey at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, fueled by his determination to achieve a first-class honor in Energy and Applied Chemistry.
Hailing from the Ilorin-East local government of Kwara State, Shittu defied initial doubts from peers who deemed a first-class degree unattainable at UDUS.
” There was a lot of discouragement about how to achieve the qualifications when I got admission but I refused to be restricted to those norms because I believed in myself and read day and night and it paid off in my 100 level with 4.84 CGPA,” he recalled.
Shittu’s journey encountered hurdles early on. A spate of thefts targeting students’ belongings forced him to abandon night classes—resulting in a slight dip in his CGPA to 4.77 during his second year.
Undeterred, Shittu devised a new strategy, studying on his bed after his peers had retired for the night.
“During my 200 level, some challenges arose as students encountered stealing by unknown people at night and this made me quit night class.
“So I developed a new strategy by reading on my bed after my colleagues were asleep. Though It was very hard at first, with determination, I adapted to the situation and my CGPA dropped to 4.77 and Alhamdulilah, I later graduated with 4.82.”
Financial Constraints Pose Challenges
Financial distress added another lot of difficulty. As the eldest child in his family, Shittu chose not to burden his parents with his tuition fees. Instead, he engaged in side hustles during holidays to cover his expenses.
“I don’t bother my parents for financial assistance,” he explained, “because I know how hard it is for them to maintain balance with my siblings.”
Despite these challenges, Ismail’s resilience paid off as he won a scholarship in his third year with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund(PTDF), a scheme developed to offer candidates the opportunity to benefit from a diversified pool of knowledge and the facilities offered by world-class institutions across the globe.
The award includes the provision of flight tickets, payment of health insurance, payment of tuition, and cost of accommodations.
“Fortunately, a scholarship I applied for paid during that tiring time. This helped me a lot and enabled me to write my undergraduate project successfully and complete my undergraduate study”. He said with joy.