My mates felt I was selfish for not telling answers in exam hall – First class graduate, Crawford University

Chukwuma Precious was the best student of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Crawford University, Igbesa, Ogun State, in the 2013/2014 academic session, with a 4.84 CGPA. She shares her story with Tunde Ajaja below:

I can’t say I had always wanted to be a political scientist but I’ve always been fascinated and curious about politics and international affairs. I used to read newspapers and articles. I read wide as a kid, including watching news and familiarising myself with topical issues. It may interest you to know that some characters in Nollywood movies that depict political science influenced my interest. I thought I would study Law but my score was four per cent below the cut-off mark, so I opted to study Politics in a private university rather than ‘waste’ my good UTME score.

Initially, it happened on its own, because I was surprised when I had 4.42/5.00 GPA in my first semester and 4.91 in my second semester. I had these results when I was very playful. On seeing such performance when I didn’t pay much attention, I decided to keep it up and even do better, coupled with the kind of encouragement I got from my parents, lecturers and our then association president. It was hard work crowned by God’s favour.

It’s not simple. Political science has a lot to do with History, Government, Sociology, Economics, Psychology and other things, which were all the things I have always been interested in. So, I didn’t find it hard at all.

I enjoyed our International Relations courses, most especially Human Rights and Diplomacy where we had practical classes and treated issues like domestic abuse. The most challenging time was between 300 Level and 400 Level when we did many courses, mock exam and real project work.

That’s a tough one because even in class, it was so hard to aptly categorise Nigeria and her style of politics. It’s basically a form of do-or-die politics that runs on legalised corruption, godfatherism and doublespeak where the few influential people rule, feeding off the ignorance, small mindedness or ‘sidon-look’ attitude of the masses, and making them dependent on the crumbs of the so-called national cake. Nigerian politics is basically a struggle where only the strong survive and the Machiavellian rule applies.

In this sphere, there is hardly any link between the theory and practice of politics because we hardly spot politicians with any formal training in politics, unlike what is obtainable in some other countries. But ideally, political scientists should form a vital part of the political class as they tend to be more knowledgeable about certain things. I don’t think we have had anyone like that in politics, so it has to be tested before we can conclude.

If it’s part of God’s plans for me, so be it. I seem to have it in me following my history throughout school years, so it’s very likely I do.

For now, I want to work and improve myself before I think of anything politics. If I have to, I would like to be a lawmaker than be in the executive arm of government. I have to start somewhere and progress from there, and not because it seems lucrative but the need to be there for people and speak for them. I have never liked business, so I won’t go into it while politics has always been my passion.

Contrary to the popular belief, what is wrong with Nigerian politics is not the leaders but the followers, Nigerians as a whole; our very poor political culture, total disregard for selfless service, mediocrity, ignorance and mostly, fear of the unknown and of speaking the truth because of familiarity or what we stand to gain. Then we can also blame our constitution for many of its loopholes, such as immunity clause, crop of very selfish lawmakers and a weak judiciary. I believe if we as Nigerians take responsibility for whatever has brought us to this level and start working to make a change in any little way we can, things will get better. Parents and teachers should also impart to the younger generation better values like selfless service, honesty, active citizenship, and neutrality to ethno-religious differences.

In my opinion, Nigeria’s relationship with other countries is quite favourable, just that our foreign relations still follow the neo-imperial trend of the decades after the Independence. This shows in our trade and aid relations where we are heavily dependent on the opinions of others, we import products to the detriment of local industry and many other issues.

My mum, Mrs. Ezim Chukwuma, religious fathers like my Vicar, Ven. Shobo, my wonderful HOD in school, Dr. Gabriel Adeola and my lecturers. Also, some prominent figures like Oby Ezekwesili, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf have influenced me greatly, even without knowing them. Seeing them is an encouragement.

I’m from a very humble family of two children, my elder sister and I. We were raised by our mum and grandmother because our dad died when I was 12. I was at home then, so it was a painful experience but thank God for the good support system, else, it could have affected my studies. Also, my dream as a child was to either be a broadcaster, a renowned lawyer or human rights activist because I like defending people, so I had people like Festus Keyamo and Gani Fawehinmi, of blessed memory, as my role models.

My schedule was quite regimented between 100 Level and 300 Level. I had a timetable that engaged me between 7am and 7pm everyday but it became more flexible after that. I used the library a lot, probably five out of six days, to read, make my private notes, read novels or to browse and beyond that, I used to read in the midnight.

Success in academics doesn’t come easy so it was definitely not easy. There were distractions, some laxity and there used to be some temptation to relax but the grace of God kept me strong. I also must say that my approach to reading was different because I had a very unusual or even weird take on things. For instance, I could read and make links between the most serious things as politics to the simple things like cartoons and jingles to help me and my friends recall certain things when necessary and I also didn’t do excessive reading as some people would think.

Maybe few. I was a bit popular among lecturers and students and sometimes when I couldn’t meet up with some assignments, they understood and were not too hard on me because they knew it was unlike me.

I wasn’t really involved in other things apart from political and sporting events. I was once a treasurer in my departmental association and I was the only female to ever run for President later on. I also played volleyball for fun.

Overcoming temptation was not too much of a struggle since I already made room for playtime with friends; but prayers, self discipline, good company and having my priorities set straight were key.

Guys, guys, guys. Let’s just say I was able to handle their presence with wisdom.

Most unpleasant things I heard about me were that I was a mean and pretentious person who would read in secret and distract others so they would fail, and that I didn’t want to share my knowledge just because I didn’t agree to share answers in the exam hall.

My aspirations remain to be very successful and to be a source of inspiration to girls, women and people generally and by being a blessing to them regardless of the field I find myself in.

I have a ton of dreams so I would like to work in areas involving foreign affairs and travelling, probably in multinationals or for the government, real estate, and still be a creator of employment for others.

I advise young people, students, undergraduates and everyone out there to pray about everything, have a good circle of support, be it good friends or older colleagues. Students should have the courage to ask questions about things that are not clear to them because failure is worse than so-called stupid questions. Most importantly, students should know, love and believe in themselves to avoid being misled by others.