EVERY DISAPPOINTMENT IN LIFE IS A BLESSING (BE MOTIVATED)

Year 2008, I finished secondary education from Federal Government College Ohafia at the age of 17. I wasn’t the best in engineering class where I was but I wasn’t average either. When WAEC result was released, I had 6 distinctions and 3 credits. I sat for the UTME JAMB exam and had a good score.
All was looking so rosy that I believed I was going to gain university admission that same year. But things were determined to get dirty. I didn't know what awaited me.
I applied for Chemical Engineering in one of the federal universities and studied my Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry for the POST UTME. On entering the exam hall, 70% of the questions were on current affairs and I wasn’t prepared for that. Immediately, I knew that was it for me but I still hoped. At the release of the result, I had 38 which was below the cut off mark of 40. No university admission for me.

Same year, I applied for Pre-degree at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture and was accepted. During this period, out of close to two thousand science students, I was known as one of the intelligent guys in Campus. At the end of the year, I finished twelfth overall with a strong average. All was looking set for my journey into engineering but I still had to write the JAMB exam.
Year 2009 I went for my second JAMB at Girls Secondary School Ugwunchara Umuahia, Abia State. The exam as you know lasts for about three and a half hours so we started at exactly 10 am. While I was on question 12 of the third paper (out of four papers), we were asked to stop and that was exactly 12:30 noon. This was 2hours 30 minutes of exam, 1 hour short.
We screamed, begged, shouted but the school was adamant. Boys threatened to burn down the school but security operatives were around. The supervisor told us that the entire exam town was stopping at 12:30 noon no matter when you started. Order from oga at the top. Lol. It was painful looking at what was at stake for me and the preparation I had put in. I saw my world crumbling.

At the release of the result, I had 177 which was 3 marks short of the university cut off mark of 180. My pre-degree effort was shattered as the school denied me admission even though my pre-degree average was awesome.
I cried as I packed my things and left the university for home. I was so angry at everyone who I thought had a hand in my not getting admission into the university. I hated the woman who had supervised JAMB in my hall, I resented Umuahia. I saw the whole thing as a gang up to make me fail.
Back home, I received a lot of calls from people who were shocked that I was denied university admission. I even heard of one guy who used me to tell jokes to others that it was not by knowing book. He joked that no matter how much you read, people who will succeed will still succeed. My shame gathered thick clouds. I tried to avoid Facebook and Yahoo Messenger.
December 2009, my dad and my uncle agreed that I will start IJMB program at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science (CAS) Rumuola (now Port Harcourt Polytechnic). I registered and another journey commenced for me.

For months, I attended the evening program 5 days in a week trekking under the 3 pm hot sun from Wimpey to the school (Rumuola). My struggle was real.
At the school, I shone again. Most of the lecturers knew me by name. Students brought their Maths problems for me to help them with. I became the go-to guy.
By April 2010, I sat for my third JAMB exam at Igwurruta here in Port Harcourt. After some days, the result was released and I had a very good score. Friends at CAS kept calling to know my score. I was happy.
Exactly a week later when I decided to print the original result which I would use for the POST UTME, tragedy struck again. This time around, my result had been withheld. JAMB had gone ahead to withhold the result of the entire exam town for investigation into some allegations of malpractice.
My heart was broken. I couldn’t imagine why my own world was so wicked. My family decided to fight the issue. I petitioned The Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to prevail on JAMB for my result, went to JAMB office here in Port Harcourt to no avail. My aunt went to JAMB national office at Abuja but they said they couldn’t release the result of just one person.
Stubbornly, I wrote POST UTME exam with the JAMB print out I already had with me but the university never released my POST UTME result.

This time, I was fed up with life. I cried my heart out almost on a daily basis. I thought of suicide and planned for the item I would use for it. My world was finished. I didn’t want to live again.
I was watching people I was far better than or so to say gain admission into the university while I sat at home. Life had never been more wicked. The pain was real. I hated myself and wished I was never born.
During this period, I had to go to our shop at mile 3 market by 5:30 am almost every day. Starting from the early morning market till evening.
November that year, my dad insisted I went back to CAS for another IJMB program. I was so ashamed. I tried everything possible to dodge my lecturers so that they wouldn’t recognize me but many still did.
In anger, I picked up Abbott Physics textbook and finished it in one month. I picked up Hidden Facts Mathematics textbook and covered it in weeks. I was looking for a place to pour my anger. I was ragging. I couldn’t come online again out of shame. It ate me up. Once every week, I fasted and prayed and only ate around 7pm or 8pm at night.
With all anger, I wrote my fourth JAMB exam in 2011, wrote the post UTME, and gained admission to study Chemical Engineering.

My university education was a different scenario. Success became my second nature. I graduated second best in my department, had four scholarships (could have been five only that I didn’t do the interview after passing the test because of time constraints). I received university recommendation letter for academic excellence from the school senate for 4 straight years.
I did my undergraduate internship at the best company for Engineering internship all over the world. I was graded excellent. The company would consider me on graduation if I returned for a job. My tears were wiped. It was all glory. Deeply, I was grateful that I had to pass through the thick darkness.
Things were happening so fast that someone came up to me and asked for my secret. He couldn’t believe that hundreds of us would go for something, and I’ll be the only one to succeed.
Having faced ugly failures, I became unafraid to fail. My pain gave me a rebirth. I became cooked by adversities.
When I look at how far I’ve gone since after graduation, I appreciate my times of trouble.
Life happened. I climbed one of the toughest mountains to climb. At the top, I experienced DOMINION. When I look at my life, I’m convinced there’s something called grace.
You can be anything you dream to become. Just don't give up. remember that it is not over until you win.
So friend, if you catch hell don't hold it and if you're going through hell don't stop. You go ahead.