The Problem is that in Nigeria they attach ones potential or intelligence to grades "paper qualification".Most of the time when open exams are conducted people who come out tops are those who on a normal day will not be admitted to write such exams. Tony Elumelu himself who got a thrid class will be asking for a Second class upper and above as requirements to work n his bank!

@ynot,

tx men u blow my mind God bless u abundantly,However, everybody they say is entitled to his/her opinion but one thing is sure and that every one has bear their mind on this topic which i think the person who originally brought the so called unclearified rumour into the house by now wld have achieved his aim wch is to raise argument and counter arguments from various quaters but i think in all " i am of the opinion that most atimes its not what u come out with (sch) that really count but what u are able to do with ur life after sch "but my fellow landers "THE ONLY TRAGEDY THAT CAN HAPPEN TO ANY MAN IS TO HAVE A SIGHT WITHOUT A VISION" i think for those who place emphasis on paper partially they right perhaps thats there area of strength and moreso God gave us brain so we cld allow him rest but for the others that are not academically inclined they also will definitely be, and probably the best in their own area of strength so what i feel all of us shld place more emphasis on is how we can all better the lot of dear great nation "Nigeria"so that the coming generation will have smthing to say about us,cos most of those that invented what we are enjoying today are no more but their names are written in Gold plate,so therefore,our various contribution is what matters to humanity at this stage not war war on who is good or not good ( PEOPLE HOW MUCH U KNOW BUT THEY ONLY WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH U CARE ABOUT THEM).thats my contribution for now

I guess we are losing something in the discussion. Probably the person needs another chance therefore losing for a mentor in someone that have failed before and later amend to get it right. What the person should asked is that how can someone with a 3rd class become what he want s to be in life. I would like to say that no matter what those with 2:2 and 3rd class think. What justify how smart a person is, is their result. So get focus and get it right once. Tony has achieved his goals already. What are yours? think about that.

My take on this issue:

Degrees measure a mixture of intelligence and seriuosness, but are not the sole determinant of anybodys future prospects.

1st Class: Very Serious and hardworking. May or may not be intelligent. Contrary to what people think, one of the hardest things to do in Naija is to 'runs' a 1st Class, especially from a federal University. It might be possible but the person also has to put in a lot of academic effort, and then maybe tie up a few loose ends. MOST 1st classers are for real and should be respected and not put down. But a minority are also fake.

2nd Class: Either hardworking with average intelligence or unserious but very intelligent. However; this degree can be 'runsed' so about 50 % are unmerited.

3rd Class: Average intelligence and very unserious or a hardworker with below average intelligence. No 'runsing' here

In other to verify those who merited their degrees most organisations have E N T R Y E X A M I N A T I O N S. If you feel you deserve your degree, take the exam and pass! If not blame yourself and then IMPROVE yourself and stop making stupid investigations into the nature of the degrees of others. How will that help you?

Where Did All These Rumor of Elumelu Having A 3rd Class Degree Emanate From. I Thot He Had A 2nd Class Degree from Former Bendel University. Can Anyone Validate These 3rd Class Claims.? Is This Misinformation?

I Weep For Tony. He Needs An Image Consultant to Take This Up. Can Someone Advise Him? Any UBA Staff in the House?

he might have had a third class, anything canhappen in Nigeria. maybe he had the proper connections that's why he was put where he is now. he could be oga's boy.

Its not only Tony Elumelu(he actually finished from Ekpoma) that finished with a 3rd class & is succeeding in Nigeria.

The well respected Gamaliel Onosode graduated with a 3rd class in Classics from Ibadan

Onajite Okoloko - M.D Notore(Fertilizer Coy) and big boy in the Oando group graduated from Uniben with a 3rd class.

We are all aware of drop outs  Bill Gates ,Steve Jobs & Richard Branson of Microsoft,Apple& Virgin groups,so in a nutshell a good university degree while extremely desirable, may not necessarily guarantee you success in life.

By the way, I graduated with a 2.1 & I'm going to be very successful by God's grace

illusion2:

good university degree while extremely desirable, may not necessarily guarantee you success in life.

By the way, I graduated with a 2.1 & I'm going to be very successful by God's grace

Well said.

A good degree is very important. Graduating
with first class honours "no be small thing". It
shows a lot of dedication on the part of the
student.

What I'm not comfortable with is the assumption
by many posters here that without a good university
degree, you are finished.

True.
Its actually because of our envionment,lack of opportunities etc?

People often speak ignorantly and pose like they are the most informed. Whoever is spreading the word that Tony Elumelu had 3rd class is really ignorant. The man had a Second class degree, not from UNIBEN but from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma.

People want to latch unto this bit of info to justify their wasted years in the university believing that they could make something out of life with poor qualification. While fantastic degrees do not guarantee success in life outside school, it prepares one for that life and imbues in the person, the culture of hardwork, discipline and the will to succeed. The reference to Bill Gates by some Nairalanders is only self-gratifying. Bill did not finish his degree programme, not because he could not cope, but because he was already driving Microsoft by the time and was far ahead of the school curriculum. I am saying this so that those who want to be like Bill Gates will try and be equipped with what Bill had and that is hot brains and relentless striving.

Even Gani Fawehinmi that was mentoned by a Nairalander is another classic example. Gani may have made a third class but he was better equipped that a lot of his schoolmates that had first class. Gani was from a poor family and was hardly in class because his struggling mother was not rich enough to give his all he needed.

Even more important is the fact that today's graduate and graduates of yesteryears are operating from different challenges. Those days, companies like UAC, Mobil, John Holt and all the public sector outfits of the time visit universities to BEG students to come work with them upon graduation. Today, the scenario is not the same. There are more job-seekers than there are jobs.
I hope Nairalanders learn from this.

you are all bloody fooolss! i must confess i am one too for surfing to this forum! I AM PRETTY BORED. OK GOOD NITE FELLOW NIGERIANS AT HOME AND IN DIASPORA. the fact is at the end of the day, Nigeria has not really moved forward, oooops Nepa took light while i was typing. sdsadasdfqrf ewreqwrdw

ikemokuhu:

People often speak ignorantly and pose like they are the most informed. Whoever is spreading the word that Tony Elumelu had 3rd class is really ignorant. The man had a Second class degree, not from UNIBEN but from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma.

People want to latch unto this bit of info to justify their wasted years in the university believing that they could make something out of life with poor qualification. While fantastic degrees do not guarantee success in life outside school, it prepares one for that life and imbues in the person, the culture of hardwork, discipline and the will to succeed. The reference to Bill Gates by some Nairalanders is only self-gratifying. Bill did not finish his degree programme, not because he could not cope, but because he was already driving Microsoft by the time and was far ahead of the school curriculum. I am saying this so that those who want to be like Bill Gates will try and be equipped with what Bill had and that is hot brains and relentless striving.

Even Gani Fawehinmi that was mentoned by a Nairalander is another classic example. Gani may have made a third class but he was better equipped that a lot of his schoolmates that had first class. Gani was from a poor family and was hardly in class because his struggling mother was not rich enough to give his all he needed.

Even more important is the fact that today's graduate and graduates of yesteryears are operating from different challenges. Those days, companies like UAC, Mobil, John Holt and all the public sector outfits of the time visit universities to BEG students to come work with them upon graduation. Today, the scenario is not the same. There are more job-seekers than there are jobs.
I hope Nairalanders learn from this.

Just make your point & stop all the finger pointing.

If i'm in HR, i'd give First class and all second class a level playing field. I'd assume that all Third class are either dunces, unserious people or both. Either way, they're bad for business.



This person should keep assuming. Goodluck

I HAVE HEARD AND SEEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THE FIRST CLASS /SECOND CLASS THING WHICH HAVE BEEN SAID SHOW THE WILLINGNESS TO EXCEL AND SERIOUSNESS BUT WE TEND 2 4GET D FRUSTRATION SOME OF OUR LECTURERS PUT US THRU IN TRYING 2 ACHIEVE DIS GOAL.A LECTURER ONCE TOLD ME DAT "A IS 4 GOD,B 4 D SCHOOL DAT ADMITTED U,C 4 D LECTURER,D 4 GENIUS AND E 4 GOOD STUDENTS,ALL IN A 4 UNIT COURSE WHICH U HAVE TO DO IN EACH SEMESTER TILL U GRADUATE.WAT IF UR HEAD OF DEPARTMENT TELLS U DAT ITS NOT POSSIBLE U STUDY A 4 YEAR COURSE AND EXPECT U GRADUATE AT THE END OF DAT DURATION.ALL DIS ARE FACTORS WHICH COULD DEPRIVE ONE OF DIE GRADES.D GANI'S,ELEMELU'S WOLE SOYINKA HAD A BETTER ATMOSPHERE AND QUALITY STANDARD OF EDUCATION COMPARED 2 DIS DATE BUT COULDN'T PAVE THEIR WAY TO THE FIRST CLASS OPTIONS.

well,let us shy away the fact that somebody ask a question which he needed the answer for the best known to him/her.again,we should not also shy away the fact that,pple graduated wit third class should not be write off.but considerin wot employer are requesting for,only God can rescue such person.
For tony elumelu,he graduated wit third class graduate of economic from ambrose alli university,ekpoma.he was amoung first graduate of econs to be produced in that university (AAU,EKPOMA) in 1985.I also graduated from dat school,that is why i know this.But the issue is that,either third class or not,the man is making serious wave in our banking industry.i think he is an oppotunist.

ikemokuhu:

People often speak ignorantly and pose like they are the most informed. Whoever is spreading the word that Tony Elumelu had 3rd class is really ignorant. The man had a Second class degree, not from UNIBEN but from Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma.

What is 'Second class degree'? Upper or Lower?

The poster above(mokereola ) has confirmed they graduated together. Nobody is saying the man isn't sharp,what I think the post is doing is to encourage those that found(got) themselves in similar situation.

guys pls am interested in knowing something about george bushs credencials,
can pls brief me. it might be of help 2 me in my investigation,cos am currently probing him.
thanx.

Bill Gates may have been a dropout but he came from a rich middle-class family. how many nigerians come from a rich middle-class family. that's right not many. Bill gates is a white American, most of us won't have the same chances as he does.

guys please am interested in knowing something about george bushs credencials,
can please brief me. it might be of help 2 me in my investigation,because am currently probing him.
thanx.

george bush was a C student at Yale. why are u probing him

mokereola, u got some infomation wrong, yes Tony graduated from Ekpoma first set Econs department, but he made a second class lower(I still have the graduation list/programe with me I can scan it to whoever cares). If you are in that class send me ur name and I can check up ur name and class of degree too.

My people, that is not the issue. Even if you graduate with a pass, you can make something out of your life. LEAVE THE RICH (POOR) MAN ALONE. Bill Gate dropped out and made a name for himself!!!!!.

For the fact that all these guys came out with 3rd or last class does not mean that u limit ur self to the place,

Who has evidence that tony elumelu graduated with a 3rd class? It really might not be true u know. And even if he didn't go to any school his whole life, isn't he much more successful than all you scholars read his bio here

Now listen, for your information, Mr Tonu Elumelu is a Researched Economist and graduated with a 1st class degree from Uniben. He also graduated with honors at the graduate level. I hope this will go a long way in helping you stop spreading falsehood.

It's good one is sure of a given information before posting, fellow nairalanders, please Elumelu did not graduate with a third class rather second class, lower division, from one school in south-south region of Nigeria. always give good information here, because many people depend on them to make head way life. wish all of you good luck in trying to let the world, nigeria in particular know what's happening.

Just to correct your info,tony elumelu finished from the Edo state university and not UNIBEN
and as regards his degree,he has performed wonderfully i.e if he actually graduated wiyh a third.
the question i am asking is would he give a third class material the opportunity to work at UBA?

leave our md alone,mind you he is harvard trained check out his records there,he has turned uba into an empire,wat do u want asset finance,loan,overdraft, we have d brain guts 2 do anything.

The fact that the boss graduated with a third class is the simple reason UBA is the worst bank in Nigeria. No wonder they take delight in those illiterates in their banking halls!

big deal!

If you have last class does not mean you still cant make it in life.

thetruth90:

The fact that the boss graduated with a third class is the simple reason UBA is the worst bank in Nigeria. No wonder they take delight in those illiterates in their banking halls!

FACTS plsss
people sha

it maybe true that class of degree wont measure the length of success but the tingy is good grades leave u in very good position to succeed.then ask yasef howmant 3rd class like elu and co are as successful as yhe nos of 1st or 2.1 am nt 1s or 2.1 but i am a realist