Rewarding brilliance

BY JUMOBI ADEGBITE
IT is often said that success is reward for hardwork and commitment. This was the lot of some students of the Chief Executive Officers Business Academy (CBA), Lagos. They did not only distinguish themselves among their colleagues in the country, but also stood out among millions of students around the world after being awarded scholarships for their good performance in the just concluded Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) professional examinations.
The excited students, who were very much applauded by other students, aspiring to be like them, were soaked in praises, as they all filed out to receive their certificates, scholarships and gifts. Their lecturers were also beaming with smiles, seeing that their labour was not in vain, and that the seeds they planted were already bringing forth desired fruits for the academy.
The President of the academy, Mr. Emeka Ukpai, could not really find the exact words to express how joyful he was, not specifically for the academy, but for what Nigeria stands to gain, in terms of the social and economic status in the comity of nations.
The students awarded scholarships include Adeeso Adetoye, Pelumi Makinde, Adesola Anwo, Kennedy Ahaneku, Olorunfemi Folashade and Agrawal Siddharth.
Others are Miriam Angali, Smart Akinmejiuwa, Viyon Owolabani, Kazeem Adebayo, Sunmola Omotayo and Oyeleye M.O.
One of the awardees, Anwo, thanked God for giving her such a privilege to be celebrated among millions of people around the world.
The University of Lagos undergraduate urged her fellow students at the academy to put all their trust in God if they want success to smile on them.
Another beneficiary, Akinmejiuwa, also acknowledged God as the secret of his success. “I tried my best, but it could not have been so good to have qualified me for the scholarship going by the calibre of people studying at the academy,” he said.
According to Ukpai, the good performance of the students will really improve the image of the country both locally and internationally.
“These scholarships has come at the right time, when Nigeria and the world need professionals to solve some of the economic crisis pervading many nations today. Most especially, Nigeria is in dire need of business executives that would help improve the economic situation in the country,” he said.
He noted with dismay that Nigerians are diminishing from the state of knowledge seekers, saying that many are still ignorant of basic knowledge because of their backgrounds. Many, he said come from backgrounds where they don’t understand their future — an act that is not good enough for a country in pursuit of economic excellence by 2020.