It’s never been about where you’re coming from (A true story)

She flunked her exams yet again. He and some of his siblings just couldn’t understand why their old man would insist on sending his driver’s daughter to an expensive private school when there were so many perfectly good (okay, maybe not so perfect) public schools around. When they accost their dad, he would mumble something about some of his children not being too academic either and how if it wasn’t for the intervention of God and securing a government scholarship, he would have remained in his village, and at most, might have been lucky to be crowned village champion one day. Well, as luck would have it (at least that’s how his children saw it) Motunrayo (real name witheld) was asked to leave by the school as it had become so obvious that she couldn’t cope. The children’s celebration over this didn’t last long though. Barely a year later and much to their chagrin, their dad, stubborn as ever, went ahead to register Motunrayo’s younger sister at Babcock University High School too! The famous Ekiti ‘agidi’ (stubbornness) is real. Anyway, yes, Ebun (real name witheld) showed promise academically but why spend so much on her education? Would people not agree he had tried, even if he sponsored her to a public school? His children just couldn’t understand it. Fast forward a few years, Ebun graduated from Babcock University High School, top of her class. Fast forward another 4 years and Ebun graduated from Babcock University with a 1st Class in Accounting. Thankfully, by this time his children had matured somewhat and had acquired a completely different perspective on life. Ironically, Ebun had now become the pride of them all. Not least, because she also happened to be the very first person from the old man’s household and family to earn a 1st class degree! There is a wise saying that what’s most important is not where you are coming from but where you are going. You may not have had much say, regarding your background but your future is almost entirely in your own hands, as it really depends on what you do with the lemons you are dealt with. Or the silver spoon you find in your mouth. Yes, this can be a problem too. Depends on what you do with it.

Ebun was soon snapped up by one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, which tirelessly searches for the country’s brightest and she went on to clear her ICAN (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria) exams while remaining in full time employment. And in the process may I add, completely redirecting her family’s trajectory from one of penury to one of hope. Just because someone along the line cared. Some years later, she resigned from the bank to further her studies and sponsored herself to a US Ivy League university, where she is currently pursuing an MBA. For Ebun and her lineage, the future has never looked so bright. As for me, I learned some life changing lessons because I happen to have been right there. Lend a helping hand when you can. And make the most of opportunities that come your way as they may never come your way again. But the cardinal lesson I learned from my dad in this story above is that he saw wisdom in adhering to the Greek proverb which says, “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.” I’m so glad that he listened to the voice of God rather than to the voice of men, like myself. But there’s one more thing that I learned. I came to understand that in very practical terms, education means taking your destination into your own hands, and not waiting to see what fate will throw at you. Ebun did just that and it changed her life forever.

It’s never about where you’re coming from but knowing where you want to go and taking all the right and deliberate steps to get there. But in this world, of course there will always be some who are fortunate enough to be born into all the advantages life has to offer – respected names, successful families, abundance and… that’s it. That’s where it ends. Where they came from. Naturally though, not everyone born is destined for greatness and honestly, it’s not everyone who even desires it. But I guess what I am trying to say is that your starting point doesn’t have to be your end point also. It all depends on if you know where you want to go. That’s certainly not an assurance that you will get there, but it’s definitely the best place to start. So no matter which side of the tracks you or your children are born into, make sure you instill in them, a sense of purpose. And something tells me Ebun must have felt this way too.

This season, my siblings and I fondly remember our father, Samuel Babafemi Akande, who passed away April 21, 2013. Born in the rural highlands of Ekiti State, he too knew where he was going. Because he wanted more for himself, he took full advantage of the immense power inherent in a good education, scaled all the hurdles before him and rose to the very zenith of his career. From poor village boy, who later served as a house help to the American Hyde family (Seventh Day Adventist missionaries) – he became Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Mines and Powers, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then also at the Cabinet Office. As a lasting recognition of his meritorious service and the legacies he left behind by pioneering the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), the Federal Housing Authority (FHA and Festac Town) the Ministry of Science and Technology amongst others, the President Olusegun Obasanjo civilian administration named a street after him in Kado Estate, Abuja. And Babcock University too honoured one of their founding fathers, by naming one of their male hostels, Samuel Akande Hall. For dad, it was never about where he was coming from but who he desired to become and the legacies he wanted to leave behind. Baba, sun re o (continue to sleep well sir).