ACADEMICS WITH WUNMI: EINSTEIN SERIES: AYODELE DANIEL DADA
The exceptional performance of Ayodele Dada is one worthy of applaud and review. I love people whose works stands them out; Ayodele Dada is not an exception. Even the bible recognizes that a man’s gift (skill) makes room for him. I am passionate about motivating and encouraging students to always strive to do better most especially in academics, for me it’s always spontaneous, all you need do is tell me your current grade (or something related) and I would talk on and on… I was reminiscing over this record breaking exploit (new echelon of success) when I thought to myself “why not share my thoughts and lessons learnt with the readers”, I believe we all can learn a thing or two. This thought further birth in me an idea to start on this segment an ‘EINSTEIN SERIES’, where we would be reviewing profiles of outstanding academic performances and sharing the lessons learnt. This I believe will encourage us all that there is no height unattainable. If you can think it then you can become it!
So, let’s get to it……
SUMMARISED PROFILE
Ayodele Daniel Dada is a 29 year old psychology graduate. He hails from Ekiti state (Ekiti indigenes are quite intelligent…lol), he has a sibling-younger brother. His mum is a teacher and dad is an accountant. He graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00. He is the first to graduate with 5.00 CGPA since the inception of University of Lagos in 1962. He is also said to be the first in Africa. He has had all his education in Lagos state. His hobbies include reading and computer strategy games. He developed interest in psychology during one of his reading encounters.
LESSONS LEARNT
- He developed a good reading culture very early: how many teens actually read to stay informed in this century? It’s no news that the reading culture in this part of the world is quite poor. Not to talk of reading to identify areas of ability or choose course of study? “To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” —Victor Hugo “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” —Richard Steele. Ayodele Dada picked up his interest in psychology over a series of books he read. You cannot give what you do not have, reading keeps you informed.
- He maximized his ‘waiting-period’. While he was waiting for admission into the University, he used those ‘idle time’ to learn other things such as Networking business, learning new languages e.g French. Whether you are in school already or you are waiting for admission you can get something that is value-adding doing. What are you doing to rise above the status-quo?
- He went all out to get his choice of study. Imagine writing another JAMB not because you didn’t pass but because you were not offered your choice of study. That was what Ayodele Dada did. We need to stay true to our academic goals. Every prize comes with a high degree of commitment (price).
- He was determined (even in the face of obstacles): Upon writing the second JAMB, his result was not released, he didn’t get discouraged rather he identified another direction (Diploma entry) to achieving his goal (of studying Psychology). Zig Ziglar said “When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach our goal; you do not change your decision to get there.”
- He saw opportunities in the challenges he faced during his undergraduate. At some point he had financing challenges instead of being discouraged; he turned his skills (tutoring) into a stream of income. This is to say insufficient/lack of finance is not a hindrance to excelling, there is something in your hands that can generate money. You can make money from your passion.
- He is a proof that brilliant people can be made. He was not the best WAEC candidate in his secondary school; he had a mix of grades ranging from A to C. Also, he didn’t start his journey at UNILAG with a 5.00 Grade Point Average (GPA), his first GPA was 4.55 (he had a ‘D’ due to unrecorded Continuous Assessment) rather than sobbing or complaining, he decided to forge ahead and do better. The truth is there is always room for improvement, there is more, your current grade (status) is not all there is, and you can do better.
- He was very time-bound in his goals and he planned to be the best every day. In his words “…..I never looked at everything on a long term path. I was looking at it from one day to the next. What I mean is I was thinking short term instead of the long term because I know quite a few people who were thinking this is what I want to finish with but then you have that long goal and you are looking at that meanwhile, things are happening right in front of you in short term. I was just preoccupied with winning the short terms. That was where my focus was on. This assignment, do it well; this test, do it well; this current exam, do it well. Do today well because, tomorrow is another today and then it will keep coming. So, just keep doing each they well and when it adds up, then you get to wherever you want to be.” This lesson is in line with scriptures in Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Ralph Martson said “what you can do today, can improve all your tomorrow”.
- He understood times & seasons. He understood the time for what, that is, when it was time to read, he read; when it was time to attend a birthday party, he did. Proper time management is the solution to procrastination. Undoubtedly, procrastination is one of the most common problems students face. Sometimes, students don’t even know they are doing it. One of the ways to embrace good time management is to plan tomorrow the evening of today and appraise your daily productivity.
- He recognized his strengths and abilities. He knew what worked for him, when best he enjoys reading; he tailored his course of study to his interest. This leads to the last lesson learnt;
- He was self-motivated. Intrinsic motivation is the most substantial and sustaining motivation. Even when there were challenges, his passion and interest kept him going. When everything else fails, passion stays true. Let the bigger picture you have visualized at the end of your academic pursuit keep you motivated.
I hope this encourages or motivates someone to aim higher and do better. I wish you all the very best of God this season.
I am open to suggestions on how to make this segment better…..also let me know the next ‘Einstein’ you would like me to review in the comments box below.
Stay Winning, because winning is sure for you today!
Wunmi
The Education segment of the blog is one where you can find resources as a student/prospective one to help you succeed academically. Periodic posts would be published ranging from advice to questions and resources, all of which readily available to help you. I wish you all the best in your academic endeavours- Tosin Alabi( editor)
AFRICANISM COSMOPOLITAN 
Not a Student but I enjoyed this segment.
@Jonik, thank you. This means a lot to me. I celebrate you!