Zainab Abdullahi Bashir
Twenty-two-year-old Zainab Abdullahi Bashir who had 4.87 CGPA graduated with a first-class degree from the Department of Physics, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. In this interview with ADENIYI OLUGBEMI, she shares her success story and the things that could help students to succeed
How has your journey in search of education been until now?
I’m a native of Safana Local Government in Katsina State but I was born and brought up in Sokoto State. My entire educational history was also written in Sokoto and I think it would interest you to know that everything was within the Usmanu Danfodiyo University environment. I started from the institution’s primary school and from there, I went to the university’s model school. After my graduation, I got admitted into the Usmanu Danfodiyo University for my tertiary education.
Would you say you were also very brilliant in your primary and secondary schools?
I have been coming top of my class since my elementary school days and in my final year in secondary school, I emerged as the overall best student in the National Examination Council examination and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. It was only in the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination that I scored 185, coming behind someone who scored 190. Incidentally, it was that low score that robbed me of admission to study Medicine and Surgery, which was my first choice before I later settled for Physics.
What made Physics to be suddenly attractive?
Physics wasn’t even an option for me at that time. Initially, since I couldn’t meet up with the UTME cut-off mark for Medicine and Surgery, I was offered Adult Education, but I declined because I didn’t have interest in education courses. I applied for either Chemistry or Microbiology but I was given options of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics. I eventually settled for Physics because it was one of my favourite subjects in secondary school.
Since you eventually got a course you had always been interested in, would you say it was easy to graduate with a first-class degree in the course, even though it wasn’t your desired course?
Nothing good comes easy; however, when I was in secondary school, physics was my best subject and I would say that helped. So, despite the fact that Physics was like settling into a familiar terrain, I still had to work hard.
If you had studied Medicine and Surgery, do you think you would have graduated with a first-class degree?
I know I would still have come out with a good result because the principle of success in academic work is almost the same regardless of the course one studies. And it was a course I had a passion for as well, so the inherent interest would have also helped.
Given that not everyone in your class would have graduated with a first-class degree, what did you do differently to excel among your mates?
I don’t think I did anything spectacular other than being dedicated to my studies and praying. I desired to graduate with a first-class degree, and even when those closer to me felt it was not achievable, I remained determined. After my first year, I had A’s in all my courses but I was very discreet with my result. It was my mum who let the cat out of the bag when she saw my result after my second year. Even my father, who was a professor and lecturer in the Department of Accountancy, was surprised, maybe because I didn’t carry them along. I remember he and my siblings told me that Physics required a lot of dedication and hard work and that with the academic standard of UDUS, I should work extra hard to finish with a very good result. They said hard work would only get me a second-class (upper division) degree and that I needed to put in extra efforts to graduate with a first-class degree.
How did your parents react when they got to know that you would be graduating with a first-class degree?
They were highly elated and proud of my feat. I could remember my father’s statement was: “So you finally made it. I am happy for you.” He said he was doubtful at some point because Usmanu Danfodiyo University was not an easy institution to pass through, but that my performance was really commendable.
What style of reading did you adopt to achieve the feat?
Throughout my time at UDUS, I lived at home with my parents, outside the university campus, but I made sure that I never missed lectures despite coming from outside the campus. I know I’m gifted with quick assimilation such that when I read I understand quickly, but regardless, I devoted my daytime to my studies, tutorials and group discussions. I also devoted two hours to Arabic studies in the evening and another three hours to studies before going to bed around 12am. When time permitted, I watched movies and when I had events to attend on weekends, I created the time to attend. But in all, my education never suffered.
Will you consider yourself a genius?
No, I’m not a genius even though some of my mates call me that. If I were, I don’t think I would need to read that much to pass my examinations. My success is the reward of hard work and dedication to my studies, backed by prayers.
Why do you think students fail examinations?
I think everybody has the capacity to excel but the attainment of that bothers on how every individual puts their capacity to use. Our level of understanding and assimilation of what we read or what we are taught differ, and so there would be diverse outcomes. I also feel that some students tend to be distracted while in school, and in that process, their academic work suffers.
People, especially students, see physic as tough, were there areas in your course that you found difficult?
The area I found most difficult was Geophysics; the study of underneath the earth, and that was because I didn’t do geography when I was in secondary school. I was also not very conversant with Thermodynamics. But, on the other hand, I really enjoyed electricity and the electronics optics.
Throughout your four years on campus, did you also have your own share of distraction or were you able to avoid it?
Yes, I had my own share of distractions but I had things under control as they surfaced. I made sure I didn’t allow any form of distraction to come near or interfere with my lectures or study hours. One had to be deliberate about it, else one would be too carried away to even realise that one had veered off the path to success. Aside from dedicating quality hours for lectures and personal study, some of my mates always engaged me in taking them in tutorials, which also helped me in gauging my level of understanding and assimilation of what I had learnt. Some people feel that teaching others what you know is like losing what gives you comparative advantage, but my personal experience showed that you learn more and you could easily assess your level of understanding of the topics.
Were there challenges you encountered while living outside the campus?
My major challenge was transportation; having to arrive in school early enough. Riding on motorcycles from home to the university gate and joining a shuttle bus had their attendant risks, but thank God for safety always. Anytime it was possible, I rode with my father to campus. Besides, that experience helped me to spend time with my parents and learn from them.
What about house chores?
The interesting thing was that I still had total devotion to my studies because I was usually exempted from house chores, like washing and cooking. So, I was able to concentrate on my studies. Part of the benefits was that certain things that would have taken my time if I lived in the school hostel, like cooking, were already taken care of.
After this enviable feat, what is your next aspiration?
With the benefit of hindsight, I was privileged to have a solid foundation of being taught by good physics teachers and nothing will gladden my heart than to teach and encourage others to embrace physics. I want to return to the classroom, to impart knowledge in students. I would like to start teaching from the secondary level so as to demystify the myth students have that physics is a difficult subject, especially at that secondary level of education. Also, I intend to do same at the tertiary level because I intend to become a professor someday.
What would you advise students to do to have academic excellence?
With dedication and hard work, coupled with prayers, nothing is difficult to achieve and it is never too late to imbibe the attitude of positive thinking. Students must read extensively and do a lot of research because what they learn in class is not enough to graduate with a first-class degree. One good thing about working hard to graduate with a first-class degree is that beyond the grade, you would have known a lot about different parts of your course such that passing your courses with good grades would be one of the benefits. You would know a lot more than you need to pass your courses. Students should also see their lecturers as role models and mentors as every lecturer will be happy seeing their students excel.
