The Power of Sustained Determination
Over a decade ago while rounding up my MSc. Program at the University of Lagos, I was to take two of the most challenging papers that day, and usually the traffic situation along Ikorodu road was always hell.
I had a Mercedes S-Class then and regretted ever taking it to campus after the hustlers took out my motorized automatic side mirrors with heat sensors. I still had to give thanks knowing others were not so lucky when they left their vehicle unmanned overnight. They came out to an empty shell.
This ended the thought of ever driving to school and staying on campus wasn’t an option for me as a father of two then. But I digress.
So it was my custom to take BRT to the Fadeyi bus stop and cross to the other side to hitch a bike to the Unilag gate. This was my routine for almost a year of that program.
On the day we were to write Advanced Quantitative Methods and Contemporary Issues in Development Finance exams, the weather suddenly changed upon my arrival at the Fadeyi bus stop.
It wasn’t 8 am yet but it looked like 7 pm with strong winds blowing eastward. I was confident that all would be well as I jumped on the available bike with a single-word instruction —Unilag!
The flashes started and the sound of a distant thunder started getting louder. The ride was like none other. Aside from dodging materials being tossed by the wind, the dust created a fog that made visibility almost impossible.
The guy asked if we should stop for shelter and I said not on his life. The exam was for 9 am and if not for the traffic delays I ought to have been seated by 8 am. It was a long ride and the cloud broke with an outpouring rain. We were drenched and I had to jog to the department to ensure I made it regardless.
When I got into the hall they were about to serve the papers. I made it just in time but was so drenched I was dripping all over the place. This was how I wrote those two dreaded papers with chattering teeth. Someone had to hand me a towel to keep my papers from getting wet.
I believe my professor would have wondered why I bothered. He continuously told me I didn’t need any more degrees even as in my undergraduate days given my resourcefulness and contribution to the faculty in research.
That day, I confirmed what I have always known. I’m autistic about everything I set my mind to do. I always achieve my aim no matter the obstacle. The story is the same with everything else I have done in the past decades.
No challenge can overcome the power of sustained determination.
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