The much-awaited Naija
Inspirational Hub monthly
Inspirational interview is ready. It is
the first of its kind, and much so
the
first in 2015.


In this first part of the interview with
Mr. Suraj Oyewale aka Jarus, he
spoke about his days as an
undergraduate, how he worked hard
to graduate with first class in
Economics from O.A.U, his N.Y.S.C
days, and most importantly what
led
to his enrollment into the Institute
of
the Chartered Accountant of Nigeria
(ICAN), and how that action
changed
his life positively today.
So sit down, relax, and enjoy…


N.I.H: Can we meet you sir?
Jarus : I’m Suraj Oyewale,
popularly
known as Jarus on the Social
Media
space. I’m an accountant, career
and
management blogger and a public
analyst.


N.I.H: Growing up, how was it like?
Jarus : I grew up in a semi-urban
community of Offa, Kwara State,
where I spent the first eighteen
years
of my life without spending five
consecutive nights outside of the
town. I never stepped into Lagos
until I was 19. I did a lot of things
as
a kid, from playing football bare-
footed on the streets, to skipping
school classes to go and read
newspapers. But I was still doing
well in my studies.


N.I.H: You graduated from the
prestigious Obafemi Awolowo
University Ile Ife. What impact did
the school have on you?
Jarus : I think the school
consolidated my tendency to
express
my opinions freely. The liberal
environment of the school, where
you
can write or say anything,
contributed to my penchant to
express my views without fear. As
an
undergraduate in OAU, I wrote an
article, published in Tribune,
castigating the VC, Roger
Makanjuola,
for his rigid management style (in
hindsight, he’s one of the best
managers I have ever known). I
even
compared him to the then President
Obasanjo for his hard posture that
led to clashes with university
workers’ unions (ASUU, NASU,
SSANU etc.) which sometimes
crippled academic activities on
campus. If it was another school, I
may have lost my studentship for
writing such strong article on a
page
of newspaper.
I realized that the hard way when I
wrote a similarly strong article in
the
SUN newspaper (August 17, 2007)
against the governor of Sokoto
state,
Alhaji Aliyu Wamakko , during my
service year. I had forgotten I was
no
longer in Ife. I was made to face
the
music by NYSC. Another major
impact Ife had on me was
optimistic
mentality. Ife is such a school
where
you hear a lot of positive stories
that
motivate you to work hard. The
school imbues in you a kind of
can-
do spirit .
There is also the issue of simple
approach to life. Ife brings out that
in
you too. It’s an environment where
material possessions are not given
much recognition. In many schools,
the most popular students are the
ones that drive the best cars. In Ife,
nobody cares about the car you
drive. The most popular students
are
the ones with earth-shaking CGPAs.
All these contributed to shaping
me.


N.I.H: During your university days,
what was the most important thing
on your mind then?
Jarus : Getting a good job, post-
School. I tried to make a very good
grade that will at least improve my
chance in the labour market. I thank
God both came to pass.


N.I.H: You are a first class graduate
in Economics, how easy was it
achieving this feat?
Jarus : Somewhere between easy
and
difficult. First, I knew I had what it
took; I only needed to work harder.
I
was always running permutations
before the beginning of every
session. I knew I needed to have
as
much A’s as possible. I always
targeted A in every course, and I
felt
like crying if I couldn’t meet my
target. I was also fortunate to have
great guys who encouraged me and
shared with me tips to succeeding
in
Ife.


N.I.H: Now let’s talk post university
days, what was the next thing on
your mind after graduation?
Jarus: Getting a decent job, with a
focus on the Oil & Gas industry.


N.I.H: Is first class honours
synonymous to success in the
labour
market?
Jarus : Not exactly . The best it can
do for you is to get you shortlisted
for almost every job you apply for,
provided you meet other
requirements (age, relevance of
course of study etc.). It is then left
for you to take it from there with
your
ability. Most times, you will be
shortlisted alongside those who
had
2.1, and in some cases, 2.2. If you
don’t pass the test, your first class
will not be able to help you. But
most First Class graduates I know
are able to defend it, so they didn’t
struggle in the labour market. Of
course, there are exceptions


N.I.H: Immediately after graduation,
you started your ICAN program.
Have
you always dreamt of being an
Accountant?
Jarus : Interestingly, I started ICAN
exams out of boredom, not because
I
wanted to become an accountant. I
never liked accounting. But I love
being busy, academically. I love
having one exam ahead of me at
any
point in time. I look at exams like
games. When I was done with my
undergraduate studies, I didn’t want
to end my studying, so I decided to
enroll for ICAN to keep me in
academic form during my service
year. I aced the exams and later
qualified as a chartered accountant.
After finishing ICAN exams, I
enrolled
for CITN (Chartered Institute of
Taxation of Nigeria) exams, which I
finished recently. I’m also running
my MBA programme and have
exams
in 2015. I like having one exam or
the other at any point in time.
However, of all my certificates, it is
my ICAN that got me job . I work as
an accountant today with
specialization in taxation.


That is it for today, but that is not
all
yet. In the second and final series
of
this interview, Jarus discussed
further about his blog, the Nigerian
educational sector, the labour
market
etc.
So stay glued to this blog, and you
will not miss any part of this
interesting interview.


http://naijainspirationalhub.com/i-started-ican-out-of-boredom/

i shall be the head and not the tail, first edition first to comment.

See as FP day smell for here.....
Space booked.....
For sale...
Price: My school fees

Impressive!!!

Thatz nice!

Make me sef dey for front page of 2mrw newspaper.

Jarus, unknowingly,your sensible threads,posts and comments have been an inspiration to me and many others, keep it up!!

One day a man walked into the main library of a
major research university. He stopped at the
reference desk and asked the librarian if she had any current books about economics and the economy. She answered that she did, and led the man to the reference shelves where the economics and economy books were.
To the surprise of both the librarian and the man all of the books were off the shelf being used.
“That’s OK,” the man said. “I’ll just go to another
library. You see, I’m a very busy man, and I set this weekend aside for studying economics and the
economy.” The librarian said she understood and gave the man directions to the nearest research library. But her interest piqued, she asked: “Why are you so urgent to study economics and the economy?”
The man replied: “I’m an economist. I’ve been
teaching at this university for the past ten years. I’m
attending a business meeting on Monday, and I
figure the economy has changed in the past ten
years.”

Think about this.

Interesting

Things we love to hear.

Motivating

Inspiring.

Timely, informative. I'm staying tuned.

Anybody give us information on Coren exams?

oyewale Suraj at it again! Keep it rolling jare.

Indeed, you are a good man and a role model to most people here and beyond...

Nice Bro

More power to your elbows Jarus

dublinkmy6 is typing a comment...

thanks for sharing your stories. i think i will also consider writing those professional exam like ican and others, BECAUSE IF JARUS CAN DO IT I CAN ALSO DO IT.

Unibenstudent:
Anybody give us information on Coren exams?

Coren exams?Have you got the required experience first. Besides,senior registered coren engineers are the only one who can be your guide. Thinks NSE prior COREN......