Oti Ebubechukwu, 22, emerged as the best graduating student of Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, in the 2014/2015 academic session having finished with a 4.96 CGPA from the Department of Electrical/Electronics Engineering.
He shares his story in this interview with Punch Newspaper.
Did you plan to emerge as the best student or did it just happen?
I won’t say it came as a surprise, but I thank God for His grace. Actually, it was in my plan from inception that I would want to be the best graduating student in my set and I started working towards that from my first day in school. In fact, my plan was to graduate with a 5.00 CGPA and I decided to pursue a 5.00 GPA every semester because I believed that the grace of God upon me was sufficient to get it and that his hands were on my academics. I wanted to honour God and my family and make myself proud. I thank God that the ultimate aim of being the best came to pass.
Apart from the grace of God, were there things you did differently from others to actualise that dream?
People told me that my course was hard and that my CGPA must drop in 200 Level, but I knew that such a report would never let anyone achieve anything in life, so I disregarded it and worked harder towards the goal I had set for myself. In fact, someone once got angry with me for telling him my result would not drop in 200L. The person said the results of all the smart people in his set dropped. But that didn’t change my resolve. At short intervals, I checked my effectiveness. I evaluated my performance, I checked my results that fell below the mark I expected and brainstormed on the possible errors I made in preparation and execution. I made sure I understood everything possible. I tried not to take on responsibilities more than I could handle at a time, given the current academic demands. I also organised tutorials, which enabled me to grasp concepts adequately well to be able to teach well. I prayed and sought the prayer and blessings of my parents and spiritual fathers. Those were things I did and teamwork also helped me.
Have you always been this excellent in your academics?
I used to play a lot when I was in primary school. I used to play football, video games, bicycle racing, etc. It was fun though. I started taking my academics seriously when I got to Primary Four and my dad promised to buy me Play Station Two if only I could be among the first three in my class. He knew that I really liked video games. And that was how I became serious. The zeal to learn and take things seriously came instantly and I kept at it. I got the position he wanted and he gave me the PS he promised. At that level, I realised that it was a real honourable thing to be at the top in one’s academics, so I made up my mind not to go back. That was how I continued and I was able to lead my class almost throughout my secondary school days.
What impact did team work have on your performance?
I saw the essence of teamwork when I got to the university. My first result was not five points, and I had issues with practicals. So, I decided to find out how people were getting it right, so I learnt. When I applied the things I learnt from that teamwork, I started having A’s. Also, I never liked copying notes, but my friends’ notes helped in that regard because I made use of theirs. And if they didn’t understand anything, they would come to me and I would teach them. Teamwork really helps, and I really appreciate my course mates.
How easy was it passing your O’ level and UTME?
It was neither easy nor hard. God helped me to develop strategies for the exams and the strategies worked out fine. I had eight A’s and a B in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Also, I had six straight A’s in Cambridge exam and GCE O’ level and then I scored 301/400 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. My admission into school was smooth.
What informed your choice of Electrical/Electronic Engineering?
When I was young, I was quite fascinated by toy cars, and robots and my dream as a child was to build robots, apart from the fact that I wanted to own a business empire and be a billionaire. I used to dismantle and study a lot of things, including my toys, and I did troubleshoot faulty devices in the house. I remember building a traffic light in primary school and being a serious fan of ‘Robot Wars’ on BBC. My dad noticed my interests and told me to pursue Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and I did.
Which part of your course did you enjoy most and which part did you find challenging?
I enjoyed the electronics, circuit design and programming courses the most, because I have always loved Physics and Computer Science. However, I enjoyed all my courses because we were well taught.
What practical knowledge of your course have you gained so far?
I have had laboratory practicals, which gave me the chance to prove theoretical concepts. The mini projects and my final year project also gave me hands-on experience with design, construction, testing and implementation in electrical engineering. Also, I had my industrial training in Transmission Company of Nigeria where I learnt about transformers, I joined hands in the installation of one and carried out dissolved gas analysis on transformer oil, etc.
When did you start leading your class?
I started having first class from my 100 Level first semester but I started leading my class in 200 Level.
Do you still remember your GPAs?
Yes, I remember all of them. In 100L first semester, I had 4.86 and in second semester, I had 4.96. In 200L, I had 4.91 in first semester while I had 5.00 in second semester. Throughout my 300L and 400L, I had 5.00, while I had 4.85 in 500L first semester and 5.00 in second semester. I won’t forget my lowest grade, and that was when I had a C in Chemistry practical in 100L.
When did you know you would be the best student?
I had always believed, but it was confirmed when I knew my final CGPA was 4.96.
What was your most memorable moment?
My project defence. It was such a struggle and it was like I wouldn’t have an A in the course. I knew that if I didn’t have A in my project, I wouldn’t be the best graduating student. So, there were many things to do but God favoured me that day. Everything worked out well and I had a very good defence. Those in the panel loved it; they were impressed and I got the A. In fact, I had one of the highest scores in the project.
Did your parents reward you for your good performance?
They didn’t say, ‘Take this for being the best student,’ but they were always willing to give me everything I wanted, apart from training my siblings and me to be good Christians whilst encouraging us academically and keeping track on our performance in school. They got me high quality materials and bought me a very special gift for the convocation. I love them.
Have you had such an exceptional performance that brought you awards or recognition before?
Yes. Throughout secondary school, I was honoured on many occasions for my performance. I also got awards and recognition for excellent performance in competitions like the Cowbell national mathematics competition, NNPC secondary school quiz competition, etc.
Were you staying awake to read at night?
I slept for about six to seven hours every night, while I spent about one hour everyday studying. But when studying for tests and exams, I read as long as it was necessary to prepare myself adequately and I had preference for evenings. I also used to relax and it was not all about books. I was a dancer, I played basketball, football and I used to rap.