A 22-year-old Nigerian has emerged one of the
top graduating students of John Hopkins
University in the United States. He obtained a
Grade Point Average of 3.98 out of a possible 4.0
to earn a degree in Neurosciences, SEGUN
OLUGBILE writes.
A 22-year-old Nigerian, Emmanuel Ohuabunwa,
has made history at John Hopkins University,
United States of America. Ohuabunwa from
Arochukwu, Abia State, has done the nation proud
by becoming the first black man to make a Grade
Point Average of 3.98 out of 4.0 to bag a degree
in Neurosciences in the university. He was also
adjudged as having the highest honours during
the graduation that was held on May 24 this
year.
For his efforts, he has won a scholarship to Yale
University to pursue a degree in medicine.
Besides, he has been inducted into Phi Beta
Kappa Society, a prestigious honour group that
features membership of 17 US Presidents, 37 US
Supreme Court Justices, and 136 Nobel Prize
winners.
According to Wikipedia, The Phi Beta Kappa
Society is an academic honour society. Its
mission is to “celebrate and advocate excellence
in the liberal arts and sciences” and induct “the
most outstanding students of arts and sciences
at America’s leading colleges and universities.”
It was founded at The College of William and
Mary on December 5, 1776, and thus it is the
oldest honour society for the liberal arts and
sciences and among the oldest undergraduate
societies in the US.
In an online interview with our correspondent,
Ohuabunwa, who was born in Okota, Lagos and
attended Lilly Fields Primary School, Lagos, said
he left Nigeria after his junior secondary school
education at Air Force Comprehensive School,
Ibadan, Oyo State.
“My parents moved the whole family when I was
13 years old. I was about to begin SS1 at Air
Force, Ibadan. When I got to the US, I was
enrolled with my age mates, which meant at 13, I
was in middle school. I went to Fondren Middle
School, which was in the middle of the ghetto.
That was one of the darkest years for me because
I encountered a lot of peer pressure. Some of the
students, ignorant about Africa, bullied me and
called me names such as ‘African booty
scratcher’ because to them, Africans were dirty
and scratched their butts all the time.
“Some asked me if I lived in mud huts and ate
faeces for breakfast. I remember one day, when I
was walking to the school bus, a boy came from
behind and punched me in the face, called me an
African and walked away. It took everything in me
not to retaliate. I knew that God had put me in
the U.S for a purpose and it did not involve
fighting or selling drugs or doing the wrong
things.
“My experience during that year gave me a thick
skin. I learned to stand for what I thought was
right even when the opposition seemed
insurmountable. I also learned to look at the
positive in all situations. Even though these kids
were bullying me, I was still gaining an
opportunity to school in America and nothing
would stop me from making the best of this
opportunity.
“The shocker was that the kid that punched me in
the face was black. I would have expected the
blacks to be nicer to me. Nevertheless, I don’t
blame those kids because they were ignorant
about Africa. All they knew about us was the stuff
they had watched on TV or documentaries,
showing primitive African tribes, living in the
jungle and making noises like monkeys.
“In regards to the whites, there might have been
some minor episodes but again I don’t blame
them for it because it is a problem with
stereotypes,” he said.
But in spite of this humiliation and racial prejudice
against him, the first in a family of three was not
discouraged. He faced his studies and was
always coming top in his class. After he
completed his middle school education, he
passed the entrance examination to DeBakey
High School for Health Professions. It was at this
school that his interest in neurosciences and
medicine started.
“By the second year of high school, we were able
to interact with doctors, nurses and other
administrators in the hospital. The more I learned
about medicine, the more it felt like the thing God
was calling me to pursue and by being in the US I
got a lot of people to support me to do this. Even
though in high school, I got to see first-hand
what it meant to be a doctor. We studied
advanced anatomy and physiology, learned
medical terminology, and learned important skills,
such as checking blood pressure, pulse rate, and
many more.
“I knew I wanted to go to the best school in the
US. I had heard that Johns Hopkins Hospital had
been ranked the number one hospital in the US
for the past 21 years and I wanted to be in that
environment.’’
Worried that his parents might not be able to
sponsor him to the university, Ohuabunwa
purposed to work very hard. He did and when the
result of the PSAT came, he performed so well
that he won the National Achievement Scholar.
By virtue of this award, he received certificates of
recognition from various organisations including
senators from the Congress of both Texas and
the US. He also received scholarship from the
University of Houston; Rice University, Texas A&M
Honors College and many more.
He had also won the Principal’s Award during the
annual awards ceremony at DeBakey High
School.
“During our graduation ceremony at DeBakey, I
also won the Award for the Most Outstanding
Senior Young Man and the student volunteer
award for my volunteer activities in the State of
Texas,” he said.
But his breakthrough came when he won the Bill
and Belinda Gates Foundation full scholarship to
any university of his choice. He worked hard and
gained admission to Johns Hopkins University to
study Neurosciences.
But why Neurosciences, Ohuabunwa said, “I
studied Neuroscience, because I was fascinated
with the brain, its control of our behaviours and
how various diseases such as Alzheimer’s
disease, lead to a decline in its activity. I also
minored in Psychology because I wanted to
understand disorders in the psyche. What causes
bipolar disorders or schizophrenia. I did not just
want to label them as crazy but to understand
what causes these conditions and how we can
treat them,’’ he explained.
But what does he consider to be the missing
links in the education sector of Nigeria when
compared with that on offer in US, Ohuabunwa
said unpredictable academic calendar, corruption,
examination malpractice and inadequate funding
were some of the problems confronting his home
country’s university sector. These, he said, were
absent in the US.
“There were a few problems with Nigerian higher
education that contributed to our emigration in
2003. The first was the number of strikes that
occurred in schools. It took my uncle seven years
to graduate with a degree that should have taken
him only four years. A second problem was the
corruption. We had heard of people going into
universities, because they paid someone to look
the other way. I also heard of a few cheating
scandals, where people would pay someone to
take their exams for them or get a copy of the
exam a few days before,” he said.
But is he saying that US university system has no
such problems at all? Ohuabunwa said, “Although
this sometimes occurs in the U.S, it is less
common because of the strict security. I
remember when taking the Medical College
Admissions Test, test required before one can
matriculate into medical school, each student had
to get his fingerprints taken every time we
entered and left the hall. The whole place was
packed with cameras and security staff that
monitored everything we were doing. The exam
was computerised to make sure that no one saw
the test before the actual date.”
Another difference, he said, is that America
rewards hard-work while the system also
emphasises on a balance between academic life
and extracurricular activities.
On how he won the scholarship to Yale,
Ohuabunwa said his 3.98 GPA in Neurosciences,
and many awards he had won and God’s grace,
contributed to his winning the scholarship.
“As at the time of my application for medical
school, I had a 3.98 GPA of a 4.0. This made me
the only black student inducted into the
prestigious Phi Beta Kappa. I was also awarded
the Becker Family Scholarship for being the most
outstanding student in the Neuroscience major at
Johns Hopkins University. Furthermore, by God’s
grace, I took the MCAT and scored in the top five
percentile.
“That, combined with my hours of volunteer
service in different hospitals across the US
allowed me to gain acceptance into every medical
school I applied to, including Harvard, Yale, Johns
Hopkins, Columbia, and Cornell. As the time came
to make a decision, I had narrowed it down to
Harvard and Yale. Both schools, I enjoyed
visiting. Nevertheless, while my parents prayed,
they asked God to give us a sign of what school
to attend. A few days later, I received a letter
from Yale Medical School, offering me a full ride
scholarship for all four years. That was the sign
from God,” he said.
But would he come back to Nigeria after the
completion of his programme, he said yes.
“I am absolutely interested in the health care
policy decisions in Nigeria. Because there are
many changes that need to occur, I will not rule
out the possibility of coming back after my
studies, in order to join hands with the leaders to
make these changes possible.’’
He added that his ambition is to become a
medical doctor specialising in brain surgery.
“Two weeks ago, my grandmother passed away
after a long battle with strokes. Even during
emergencies, it was difficult for her to get to the
hospital, let alone get treatment. This is a
common theme not only in the health care
system of Nigeria, but in different countries in the
world, where the poor get neglected.
“Second, Nigerian hospitals lack the infrastructure
required to compete with major hospitals around
the world. It would be an honour to one day
contribute to this transformation that is
necessary for improvements in Nigeria’s health
care sector,” he said.
He, however, advised Nigerian youths who have
the wherewithal, to go abroad to study.
Ohuabunwa also called on wealthy Nigerians to
invest more in the education of the poor rather
than in acquisition of material things.
Ohuabunwa, however, said that his parents, who
he described as his greatest role models,
contributed a lot to his academic feat through
Godly training, counsel and guidance. He also did
not forget the impact that his short stay at Air
Force school had on him.
“I was definitely not the brightest at Air Force. At
that time, I felt like I spent more time running
away from seniors than focusing on my studies.
Nevertheless, I learned three things at Air Force
that have served me well in the US. I learned
discipline, adaptability and resilience. These
attributes helped me a lot in US,” he said.
Source: PUNCH