8-A1 in WAEC, SERIOUSLY?

Yes, I know it is not new, but in recent years, SSCE results have been reported as poor, with less than 50% of the candidates having less than a credit pass in Mathematics and English Language. I remembered in 1999, WAEC announced its candidate with the best result which was 8-A1 and 1-A2. I was not able to reach that particular candidate, but I was able to catch up with someone else that had the same result that same year to share with us how he was able to achieve this. He had 8-A1 including Mathematics, English Language, Physics, Chemistry and Biology and 1-A2 in Additional Mathematics

Dr. Jide Oresegun

 My name is Oresegun Olajide, I am a Medical doctor, I grew up in Abeokuta, Ogun State where I attended Ogun International Montessori Nursery &Primary School, Idi-Aba and later proceeded to the prestigious Abeokuta Grammar School, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State. I grew up in a Christian family set up and under a serene, loving but disciplined atmosphere back in Abeokuta. I was a member of the Scripture Union, the Literary & Debating and School QUIZ team. I was fortunate to have studious and godly friends who positively influenced me and kept my negative tendencies at bay (meaning he had negative tendencies too, lolzzzz)! 

Yes, I did have a defiant period when I felt my parents are old fashioned and could not match up with what is in vogue, so they should not tell me what to do.  I think every teenager passes through this period of “I know it all”, “no one can rule/ control me attitude”; this happens when our hormones run riot, it is a phase and it would pass. It took a lot of humility and the grace of God to pass through this period; my hormones were simply in control. It took me to sit and ask myself what I wanted for my future and how my present way of life could lead me to my future dreams, that was when I realized  I was already in the wrong path. Yes, I might want to blame it on hormonal surges, yes, but I had to take control of the surges and tailor it into the path I wanted for my future and today, I’m happy I made the decision. Know that your parents would not want anything bad for you, their job as your custodian is to show you the right path, so, please, be calm, listen to them and make sense out of their words. Their words are golden.

By the grace of God, I was able to have an SSCE result of 8-A1s and 1-A2. I ensured I had brilliant and focused friends. Yes, I studied real hard, read every subject back to back, played less during the day so that I could have strength to study in the night and God simply crowned my efforts.  

Excelling takes first of all, the mercy and favor of GOD, diligence (had to attend all my classes and had extra lessons, good notes, tutorials, studious and encouraging friends) and support from parents (money for textbooks, lessons, school fees etc).

Life at the medical school was quiet stressful, with too much to learn and little time! But God was faithful. I must confess, I was much of a 'triangular student' -Church-Class-Home person...but I had some periods of fun in-between.  
I was not all books, books and books. There were times I got bored and had to hang out with my friend. I had social friend who invited to events and all, but my friends were serious minded with good moral inclination, so, we can be sure we weren’t doing things that could damage or distract us. We went for birthday parties, but not all parties, we selected the ones we attended and return to our books. While in the secondary school or anytime I was home with my parents, I would ask for their permission before attending any event. All the party and function attending were all within limits and no late night crawling.

Being a medical doctor had always been my childhood dream and excelling at school was strictly tied to a rigorous work schedule. That helped to curb some negative youthful tendencies. Being a born-again Christian with watchful parents also contributed in no small measure in handling the opposite sex, not forgetting the ever-saving grace of GOD.

I do not regret giving myself to studying; it’s an investment from which I will by the grace of God continue to reap dividends.

I will advise teenagers to stay focused and invest in knowledge. I realized that although some people are born geniuses, the rest of us are born kind with almost equal brain, it is now left to us as individual to develop the brain and talent God has given to us, how well you stimulate your brain accounts for the differences in individuals. When it comes to learning in school, the amount of time you devout to real studying determines how well you will do in your academics, since we did not come to school after having a full knowledge of the subjects from home, we all came blank to learn from school. There is no way to learn without reading. Improve the time to spend with your book, devout more time to study, drop your bb, ignore the TV, hide the video games, close facebook, sign out of twitter and let your friends rest while your study. Give your study time your full concentration, all the other stuffs can definitely wait.

A lot of teenagers want to get rich in a hurry, even at the expense of going to school. Well, I would say this is you getting your priorities wrong. We have learning years and earning years. Teen stage is learning years, cool down with the earning thoughts, you watch reality show where huge amount of money is won, that is fine,  but come to think of I , how many people enter for these shows and how many of them eventually win? You cannot base your life on chances!  Some even go into internet fraud, the truth is “what you do with your brain and hands is what would last with and for you, the rest others are not durable, they cannot stand the test of time.” This would make you stand confident among your peers. Maximize your learning years, learn all you can and then you can step into the earning years armed with knowledge to solve world problems. You can be sure you will be better chanced as you pick the offers you feel most comfortable with.

Form meaningful friendships, have friends that can challenge and motivate you to study, learn meaningful and impactful things, friends that can help you develop your potentials in the positive directions and not just talk about fashion, movies, opposite sex, etc . But friends that will challenge you to get more knowledge, to study more and to get better grades. Sacrifices are also needed; you might have to lose some sleep to cover up shaky grounds. Should you be weak with any subject, go for extra moral classes, they help. For the sake of standardized examinations, e.g. SSCE, SAT, GCE, you need to work with the curriculum.

The get-rich-quick schemes that abound nowadays don't lead to enduring success. 
Maximize your gifts and talents? YES; compromise your education? NO. 
Keep the passion for academic excellence aglow and you won’t regret it!

With God on your and you playing your part, you will surely do well.