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/

What an inspirational interview with Jarus. Actually some actions we take out of boredom pans out to be the most important in our lives.