It was a rare accomplishment and one that underscores the essence of motivation and competition, as two Igbo sons who lived together as roommates at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka (UNIZIK), determined to bag academic excellence motivated themselves to aim First class honours each after four years in the school.

Both brilliant lads seemed to have a lot in common aside having same middle Igbo name, Henry Ikenna Ozor and Joshua Ikenna Akuchi, they were both classmates in secondary school, and when they met as undergraduates in the faculty of Engineering of UNIZIK, they became roommates and their hard work paid off as they both graduated after four years from their respective departments of same faculty.

According to Naij.com, Henry who hails from Iwollo in Ezeagu local government area of Enugu state, finished with a 4.85CGPA to become the best graduating student in the entire faculty of Engineering. While Joshua who hails from Ezza North local government in Ebonyi state, finished with a 4.66CGPA and emerged the best graduating student of the Mechanical Engineering department.

The pair seem to always challenge each other, because when they represented UNIZIK at the national Engineering competition which was organised by the Committee of Deans of Engineering and Technology (CODET), Joshua emerged the first runner-up while Henry came in second.

Narrating their journey and their success story to CAMPUSLIFE, the pair who went to school on scholarship said:

Henry: “As an indigent student, I had a challenge of paying my fee. I remember I could not pay school fees and house rent when I was in 100-Level. I would have lost my admission, because I had no financial support. I searched for scholarship, and I wrote many examinations as possible. By the grace of God, I got scholarship from ABC Transport Company, Shell Petroleum Development Company and Chevron/Agbami Joint Venture. I was also encouraged and financially supported by Allied Energy. The money I got from these companies yearly helped me to pay my fees and buy books.”

Joshua: “I squatted in a friend’s hostel for about eight months when I was in 100-Level until I got money to pay my rent. Like Henry, I also applied and wrote many scholarship examinations. I was able to get Agbami Chevron/Agbami Joint Venture scholarship, which helped to pay my school fees.”

When asked how their parents reacted to news that they were the valedictorians of their departments, they said:

Henry: “My parents were over excited, because of the challenges they experienced in getting me to the level I am today.”

Joshua: “My mum was overjoyed, though she expected it. She could not believe it when it was confirmed. My dad said he wanted to keep hearing the testimony of how I made it happen and each time he hears it, it is breaking news to him.”

Henry: “I have always had successful and hardworking people around me. So, I draw energy and motivation from them. I would say that God’s favour made it happen, but I enjoy reading in the night except at weekends. Most of the time, I came back from night class around 5:30am to sleep before going for lectures. After lectures, I would return to my hostel to prepare for night reading. After sleeping for two to three hours, I would wake up to go for fellowship. From there, I would go for night reading till the following morning.”

Joshua: “My daily routine is similar to Henry’s; only that I slept for more hours than I studied.”

The pair opened up on their sole desires, they hope their academic records will be broken soon by their junior colleagues.

Henry: “The only thing that kills a mission is distraction. I will advise my junior colleagues to design a plan and timetable, because they cannot be reading at random and expect to have a well-structured result. They should try to summarize their lecture note and textbooks in their own understanding for better concentration, comprehension and retention. If, after reading, and one cannot clearly understand key concepts and highlights of a course, then it is a clear sign that such a person did not understand it or he may be cramming. I equally believe that everyone has its own way of achieving excellence. What is needed is self-discovery.”

Joshua: “Academic excellence is achievable for students who wish to attain enviable feat and height in their studies. They must carefully choose their friends, dedicate quality time to studies and be ambitions. They must always make up for lost time. The Almighty God is the pillar of all wisdom and knowledge.

http://igbobia.com/?q=see-the-two-igbo-sons-who-graduated-with-first-class-as-roommates-from-unizik.html

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Birds of the same feather always flocks together
good

Ma mehn dem

Lalasticlala, Mynd44

Young03:
Birds of the same feather always flocks together

good

U don fly enta FTC

For more pictures follow the link: http://igbobia.com/?q=see-the-two-igbo-sons-who-graduated-with-first-class-as-roommates-from-unizik.html

dapizy02:


U don fly enta FTC

its like ur not conversant with my moniker, i make front page about 11tyms in a day, i mean FTC oo

Young03:


its like ur not conversant with my moniker, i make front page about 11tyms in a day, i mean FTC oo

Tuale, Neva made FTC since day 1 of ma registration.

I appreciate you both. Its not easy to have over 4.5 in the Uni. Few first class every year. Its not a determination of fulfilment in life tho but its good to be one of the best.

Nice Feat....God Bless..

Young03:


its like ur not conversant with my moniker, i make front page about 11tyms in a day, i mean FTC oo

But why? FTC 11 times a day and that is your greatest achievement..... See as you dey talk am like say dem dey share money.

wow, I love that. Congrats

LastMumu:
Me and my two buddies made third class back then. If not for God and the help of small small expo here and there, I almost dropped to a pass. I was the dullest.

.
I dey fee your story,any advice for the boys?

Igbos are greater than every other

Congrats, they say show me your friend and I will tell you who you are. May the sky be your limits

It's not a joke

Kudos more grease to ur brains

Good for them but unfortunately Nigeria as a country don't really give a fu.c k about this.

First class (in naija) is a name of any person, animal, place or thing.

That's my bros..... kudos bro

Kudos to you guys!

Irrespective of what people might say, these guys have just distinguished themselves. It is always nice to see people set goals in life and achieve it, especially in areas where many people fail. If first class was that easy, everyone would have it. Furthermore, they have just ensured that all through life, they would never have regrets regarding bachelors study. Considering the school they attended (UNIZIK), I am confident that these folks would be capable of utilizing the advantage to secure better opportunities quickly (scholarship/funding etc. or work). They have also set a good example for NLders who are undergraduates to emulate. These guys won't have to explain a lot to potential employers or assessors because their class of degree is an instant attraction. Rather than spreading your resources thinly among various activities in school, it is always nice to prioritize and dedicate efforts to the core activities that are SUSTAINABLE throughout life.

I'm expecting some backlash from people of how many first class graduates are failures in life and all that stuff. It's quite pitiful how low we could sink as humans to excuse our failures in aspects of life where others have been successful. Some of the world's great minds have been products of very solid education with enviable grades - David Cameron , Okonjo Iweala, Akinwumi Adesina, Condolezza Rice, Aruma Oteh, Al Gore, Ben Bernanke, Henry Kissinger, John F kennedy, Barack Obama (at Harvard) etc. are graduates with either a first class or cum laude. Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates are also ex-students (get into Harvard before commenting on their being drop-outs!). I haven't even delved into other schools like Cambridge, University of London (KCL, ICL, UCL) and other top rated schools all over the world with fantastic graduates making impacts worldwide.

In fact, peepls like El-rufai, Charles Soludo (baba extraordinary), Alex Otti (Ex MD at Diamond Bank) etc. are some other first class graduates from Nigeria with tangible impacts.

It is not enough to sample some couple folks who are still struggling to find their locus or have not been able to fully maximize their advantage and make general statements on how fruitless bagging a first class is. Also, it is our attitude to talk low of achievements like this that has led to the eroding 'omo luabi' culture of discipline, hardwork, contentment and excellence. We now have an increase of reality shows and baby mamas and other crap. Students are no longer interested in reading, they are more keen on engaging in malpractices etc.

Before, we begin to talk about learning - vis-a-vis its essence and application of what is learnt in school to real life scenarios, we have to get the foundation right which starts by appreciating hard work any where it is seen.

To these folks, I say Iba!

dapizy02:


Tuale, Neva made FTC since day 1 of ma registration.

To make FTC is very easy to achieve. Just go to the Nairaland dashboard and click new. There you will see a lot of new potential and front page worthy topics you can clinge on to realise your dreams. That's one sure secret for free

congrats to the Lads for their undeniable feats

[quote author=emmayodata post=56212916][/quote]

congrats Henry and Joshua, may God continue to see you through