I cried for first-class graduates who couldn't spell 'graduate'

By CHINYERE FRED-ADEGBULUGBE

Detoun Ogwo is the Managing Director, Afterschool Graduate Development Centre, whose core task is to improve the Nigerian graduate employability. In this interview with CHINYERE FRED-ADEGBULUGBE, this mother of four reveals why she abandoned her high flying career just to reach out to people struggling with career- related challenges



Detoun Ogwo



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Her voice over the phone can easily fool you and so her average physique and very regular facial structures. These might easily lead you into waving her

aside as just one of the crowd. And that would be wrong because Detoun Ogwo is one woman who is quite determined to make a change in the society.

Her father wanted her to study medicine. But she studied biochemistry and even at that it was a struggle for her to go through the course. "This is because that was not who I was, I was running a script that was not my own," the 38 year-old Ogwo explains.

Finding her own script, however, wasn't something that happened just overnight. Just like the average person next door she had to navigate her way through several life vistas. But she was helped along the way by a strong conviction she had that she was someone who was born for a purpose. "My mother had me seven years after my brother, so growing up I just felt there was a reason for which I was born. And I had constantly been on a search to find out what that reason is. I have always had that feeling that everyone had an assignment but sometimes it takes a certain method to find out what that thing is, otherwise, because of the way the world is, you might find yourself chasing other thing and getting distracted," she states.

And today she's quite convinced she has only found what she believes to be her God-given purpose which invariably is about helping others in their careers. Finding her rhythm in life, so to say, automatically gave rise to the birth of AGDC, a partnership between her and her erstwhile Fate Foundation mentor, Mrs Ibukun Awosika of the Chair Centre fame. According to her, what they do at AGDC is all about bridging gaps. She says, "We know that the educational system really hasn't served us as much as we would like. So we are trying to equip the young person, who is actually the future in a way that when he gets to the economy he can be more productive and useful."

She is not by any means writing off the Nigerian graduate but she strongly believes there is an urgent need for guidance here. "I remember the day I made the decision to do what I am doing now is when I was at Guinness in 2005 and we were shortlisting from 96,000 to 15,000 applicants. They needed 15 graduate management trainees and 96,000 applied. They all had first class and second class upper degrees which employers were looking for but some of them could not even spell the word 'graduate'. Those days I would just be crying," she recalls.

Having worked as human resources executive in multinationals, Ogwo is sufficiently equipped to know what a regular employer wants from a prospective employee and this she says, goes quite beyond brandishing a first class or second class upper degree.

"We have seen people who have been unemployed and still waiting to get into a big multinational because they have certificate. And then you imagine what they could have done in those 10 years for themselves. I tell my people that 'nobody owes you a job. If it is going to be it is up to you to see what you can do for yourself from where you are in terms of vocational training and career direction as well because you don't need to go to the banking industry if your calling and interest are not there.

"I got a CV from someone in the Diaspora last month, she was just 25 years old and her CV was four-page long. I told myself that that economy has prepared her, that educational institution she went to has groomed her and made her ready for somebody useful in an economy. They have given her part-time vocational experience, they have given her internship experience so she is prepared to walk into any organisation and say, look, this is who I am, this is my time, this is my educational qualification and I know how to add value to you. But that's not the language we speak around here. Around here, it's my parents owe me a job, the government owes me a job; it is someone else's responsibility to get me fed because I have a certificate," she insists.

Her life is ruled by passion. This time, passion for her lofty ideals and that leaves her more often not almost too involved to even think about herself. "I think I am a bit of an idealistic person; there is a way I think that the world should be and then I try to make a difference in making the world be that way. But I have also realised that I have to be a realist; that there are human conditions you just cannot change. Therefore you really need to navigate along the lines of what you can change and what you can contribute to humanity," she offers.

There is no need asking if she finds personal fulfilment, the enthusiasm she displays is enough proof. "There is nothing like waking up in the morning and being excited to go to work. I wouldn't say that my bank account feels it because we all had to invest our money in the centre. But there is a satisfaction knowing that you are making a difference in some people's lives. You can't quantify the feeling you get, knowing that you have invested in someone's life and money cannot buy that," she enthuses.

Ogwo started working very early in life, (at a point she had to work at the Kirikiri prison) no thanks to her loving but tough parents. "We had housemaids, but my mother would tell you that the housemaids are not for you. I used to tell my father that he couldn't be my father because he was just too mean to me. But now I look back and find out he was just preparing me for life. But nowadays we tend to spoil our kids by giving them those things we feel we did not have and sometimes we really have to balance it with the values of prudence, hard work and dignity because you can't own what you didn't earn," she says.
http://odili.net/news/source/2009/may/17/409.html

Of which University?

She should be specific -- Name and University.

She should not commit a fallacy of Generalisation.

but is this not the case that we live in an age when spelling dont matter so much anymore . . . . . with all the auto-correct in MS Word people can concentrate on other things

mikeansy:

but is this not the case that we live in an age when spelling dont matter so much anymore . . . . . with all the auto-correct in MS Word people can concentrate on other things

true word - comrade

why the hell should i stress my brain - when u have auto spelling . The writer can go to hell

@Topic,
Nah water full your eyes. . .
@Poster,
She can as well extend her water dropping skills to other areas of the economy that might use some excess tears.

I read someone that lots of Nigerians are well credentialed compared to well educated.

She is a noise maker, a cheap publicity seeker. Read the story in Punch, it is left to her to name the first class graduate who cant spell graduate, anyone who makes a first class degree in any Nigerian university deserves all accolades possible, let her shut her trap.

She's telling lies. me, I made first class but I've only misspelt it twice

The ladys is igbos , may be she has seen igbos with first class that can not spell. And what does first class have to do with spelling. Look there is a spelling program from children called Spelling Bee this lady would not make it in first round.

Even PHD holders have problem with Spelling Bee program.


She only know igbo first class.or she is on nairaland too much. where moderator edit people posts.

Yes, you should cry for graduates like Becomrich who can't spell simple stuff. Olodo rabata

The type of university that Becomrich attended. All those Oluwole Profs who taught him are to blame.

mikeansy:

but is this not the case that we live in an age when spelling dont matter so much anymore . . . . . with all the auto-correct in MS Word people can concentrate on other things

  I assume this as a joke

Ijawman your best professor from your university would not be awarded third class in the department of electrical/electronic at the university of ilorin.

Now i give you 30 minute since you are online. what do we use zener diode for in electrical circuit design?.

Becomrich,

Whats is a major disdvantage of gene cloning and what alternative route would you take? My worst prof is better than your best prof. You guys are all fake with fake degrees

Ijawman, you could not answer my question because you do not know it. but i can answer your question, because i know it.

The major disadvantage of gene cloning is that it can result in abnormalities and some of the organs of the clone may malfunction. Another disadvantage of cloning is that the technology is uncertain. Losing gene diversity is also a disadvantages of cloning. Another of the disadvantages of cloning is ethical considerations that may cause people to protest.

look i told you i was a A student from secondary school. I was not joking, the former centre bank director of currency whose signature was on the nigeria currency was my vice principal. Her husband name start with a N. it is easy to figure out , who i am talking about. Go find out about me. my brother i know book. All my teacher go tell you so.

nairaland edit post.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ijawman your best professor from your university would not be awarded third class in the department of electrical/electronic at the university of ilorin.

Now i give you 30 minute since you are online. what do we use zener diode for in electrical circuit design?.

becomemoron

i think it rectifier in amplifier-cricuit

olodo, Ikeyman, you are olodo. you need to go to school.
A zener diode regulate voltage. Olodo.   now tell me why does a zener diode do this but other type of diode can not. what is the reason. ?

Solve this ordinary dangerous equation: [d(Nigeria)/dt]=1960(Nigeria)^49+1967(Nigeria)^42-1979(Nigeria)^30+([36*states]-[Abuja])^{0.00005} then.

olodo, Ikeyman, you are olodo. you need to go to school.
A zener diode regulate voltage. Olodo.   now tell me why does a zener diode do this but other type of diode can not. what is the reason. ?

become slowpoke, u are already a slowpoke by baptism

yes i agree with that, but i guess current cant pass in a reverse way, there so u have direct currect from ac with a lag-frequency

zener diode, cant rectifies?? maybe

nevertheless u are a slowpoke, look at ur name becomemoron

hope u dnt confuse this with capacitors u slowpoke

ikeyman00:

become slowpoke, u are already a slowpoke by baptism

yes i agree with that, but i guess current cant pass in a reverse way, there so u have direct currect from ac with a lag-frequency

zener diode, cant rectifies?? maybe

nevertheless u are a slowpoke, look at ur name becomemoron

hope u dnt confuse this with capacitors u slowpoke

yyooouuuch! If that was a physical blow, it would have been a KO(knockout)!! Easy bro, no hard feelings this time of d night ok.

^^^

hahah

ikeyman, you be olodo. I cant remember very well ,but i think i got 90 in jamb math, I cant remember the others. so do you think i am olodo again.

my brother i smart pass your professor.

^^^ there u go
odududwa dumpity dumpity hhaha

Ikeyman, 70% of your governors, senators and assembly members also took JAMB. most of their average age is 40's . They would tell you how difficult JAMB was does days. We had few universities in Nigeria. I think may be 21 . Not many people can say that they got 90% in math JAMB. There was no cheating those days.

so that should tell you when I say this is the right thing to do believe it is the right thing to do to remove the Yorubas , edo, delta an bayelsa to Benin republic.

Any yorubaman who is against it is a stupid man. I mean the greatest stupid person on earth. Any Northern leader who is against it most be real stupid and should be remove from power.

Like I said if they put it in vote. Majority of Nigerian would vote yes. 80% of nigerian. Leadership is what the majority want and not what the minority want. And leadership is about what would benefit the majority.

And 90% of northerner would want it and 99% of yorubas would agree. Which makes it 80% of Nigeria. People like Ikeyman who is a minority may not like it, because we have seen he as little or no brain. how you take pass. you must have cheated.

What the north want is oil. and access to the sea. An they would get 70% of the oil and the sea.

Ijawman, you could not answer my question because you do not know it. but i can answer your question, because i know it.

The major disadvantage of gene cloning is that it can result in abnormalities and some of the organs of the clone may malfunction. One of the biggest disadvantages of cloning is that the technology is still so uncertain. Losing gene diversity is another of the disadvantages of cloning. Another of the disadvantages of cloning is that there are a lot of ethical considerations that would cause most people to protest.

look i told you i was a A student from secondary school. I was not joking, the former [size=16pt]centre bank director of currency [/size]whose signature was on the nigeria currency was my vice principal. Her husband name start with a N. it is easy to figure out , who i am talking about.  [size=16pt]Go find out about me. my brother i know book[/size]. All my teacher go tell you so. 

nairaland edit post.

This BecomeRich is a character. His comical talents are unlimited 

rubbish generalization. years after graduating from a couple of good schools (by any standard), i still make mistakes and use spell check on MS Word and my email.
so i wonder how that makes me a bad graduate?
their are genuine problems with the nigerian educational system, issues like an excessive emphasis on cramming and very little real knowledge,
a lack of updated knowledge by the teaching staff, ill structured system, lack of qualified teachers, prevalence of short cuts to good grades and admission of persons who have no business being in universities.
these are some of the genuine problems and issues that warrant tears not misspelling 'graduate'.

It is an open secret that Nigerian university degrees are available for sale to any illiterate that is willing to part with some loose change to become an overnight "graduate", who can barely spell their own name, let alone the word "graduate".

From my extensive observations of Nigerian job applicants, only TEN out of every hundred people claiming to have completed university and earned a degree have actually ever cracked a text book in their entire lives, and only ONE of those ten is capable of demonstrating even the most basic level of comprehension in their supposed area of specialty.

The ladys is igbos , may be she has seen igbos with first class that can not spell. And what does first class have to do with spelling. Look there is a spelling program from children called Spelling Bee this lady would not make it in first round.

Even PHD holders have problem with Spelling Bee program.


She only know igbo first class.or she is on nairaland too much. where moderator edit people posts.

DETOUN is an igbo name? Her last name is igbo for sure and i guess it's from marriage.

And 90% of northerner would want it and 99% of yorubas would agree. Which makes it 80% of Nigeria. People like Ikeyman who is a minority may not like it, because we have seen he as little or no brain. how you take pass. you must have cheated.

Become rich and his AK47 mathematics and strange language spoken by secessionists.

Becomrich,

I have seen the website where you copied your response from. Poor you, you could not even edit the wordings but just pasted them as is. My question was very simple but you failed woefully. As an expert, did you think I will ask you a direct question you could lift from the internet? Go back and answer my question which is the main disadvantage of cloning genes of higher organisms (name withheld) using smaller organisms (names withheld) and how you can circumvent this disadvantage. This question is also linked to human medicine/health. Please establish that link in one sentence.