‘I won’t want my son to do to me what I did to
my father’
What could make a student abandon Medicine
for Mass Communication, having spent 10
years trying hard at the former? This is the
big question our intern, Godwin Simon
attempted to answer, when he went after
Ismaila Mansur Akolade, a 100 level Mass
Communication student of the University of
Lagos now in his 10th year as an
undergraduate.
ISMAILA Mansur Akolade as a 100 level
student of Mass Communication at the
University of Lagos is by all means expected
to be a fresher and a green horn in the
university affairs, but his mature outlook,
carriage and composure suggest clearly that
he is he is none of the sort. As if to confirm
this writer’s suspicion, a reliable source, who
is close to Ismaila disclosed he had indeed
spent a whopping ten years at the University
of Ilorin, studying Medicine before quitting
barely two weeks to the commencement of his
final qualification examination. His days at
the University of Ilorin, the source said was
characterised by serial failure, which inevitably
put him at the bottom of the class, hence his
decision to quit at the eleventh hour.
Curiously, Ismaila is not sitting at the bottom
nor struggling in his new endeavour as he
currently sit in the first class category with a
Grade Point Average of 4.71.
In an exclusive interview with our reporter,
Ismaila revealed that his action was triggered
by his passion for the journalism profession,
which he said is parallel to the wish of his
father for him. He noted that his dream was
never to become a doctor, but was forced into
an unholy matrimony with the profession by
his father who sees the medical profession as
prestigious and thus wants ‘the best’ for his
son.
“Principally, my action was due to the fact
that I never wanted to be a doctor. I was
initially in medical school because I had to
follow my father’s bidding. He wanted me to
become a doctor but when I discovered after
10 years that it was not going to work and
that my professional life was going to be
nastier and more horrible, I took the decision
to leave and follow my dreams. I refused to be
held down by the medical certificate because I
reasoned that if I should write the final
examination, it might make me drift away from
my dream of studying Mass Communication.”
He said.
He recalled his days at the University of Ilorin
Medical School, which he described as
‘horrible’ and ‘nasty,’ noting that he was a
very terrible student and had a very negative
reputation. He said,
“Perhaps, I was the most unserious medical
student UNILORIN has ever come across. I
spent 10 years in the medical school, four of
which was due to failure. I repeated class in
200, 300, 500, and 600 levels respectively.
After the whole saga, especially when I came
to study Mass Communication, I discovered
that my failure was not due to an inability or
mental incapacity to handle medicine; it was
because I was just never interested in it.”
He revealed that the reason for his passion for
the journalism profession was his talent and
propensity which he believes would thrive and
gain relevance only if allowed to be expressed
as a journalist.
His words: “There is this Law-Mass
Communication dichotomy. People thought I
was leaving medicine for an equally
‘prestigious’ course like Law. You know the
way society view it especially in Nigeria: If my
son is not a doctor, he should be a lawyer,
engineer or accountant. Having analysed both
law and medicine, I discovered common
characteristics in them. First of all are the
rules. I won’t call myself a lawless person, but
I am someone who likes to be free. I don’t like
dress codes, neither do I fancy uniforms. When
I was in the medical school, there was a rule
that you must be in a particular shirt at a
particular time and other dress codes. I don’t
like conventions.”
“I am not an undisciplined person, but I hate
being caged by unnecessary shackles of
profession. This sharply differs from my
current course. Mass Communication is
everything. Look at the issue of beats; if you
are an aviation reporter, you look more like a
pilot when you start talking. In Mass
Communication, you are a complete human
being. You can be here and there. I love the
professional plurality and intellectual freedom
obtainable in it. I felt that this course is more
of me than law.”
He said his father was embittered by his
decision to quit medicine after all his
investment into the profession. He however
said he was encouraged to embark on his
mission after seeing the movie titled, ‘Three
Idiots,’ which triggered the instinct of
resoluteness in him and taught him that life is
predominantly about risk taking.
According to him, “I will not want to feel the
way my father felt when I left. If I put myself
into his shoes, I won’t want a son to do to me
what I did to my father. However, I got the
inspiration from the movie to dare and to take
a seemingly difficult action, more especially
because life is risk taking and not about the
present alone. The lessons from that movie
contributed 40 per cent to my final decision. I
believe strongly that if I graduate from
UNILAG, become a world class journalist and
achieve greatness in the profession; my father
will be one of those who will celebrate with
me.”
Ismaila admitted that it was not easy for him
to start afresh and adapt since he had spent
most of his years studying science-based
subjects in secondary school. Sitting down to
deal with arts-based subjects, he said, was
difficult but the determination to succeed
made him to withstand the avoidable failure
that stared him in the face.
“I was driven by passion. I went to settle with
all relevant books. I did extensive reading and
I also had a friend who taught me
mathematics. When the result came out, it
was excellent. I actually had distinction in all
my papers.” He said.
He recognised the contributions of his
lecturers in Mass Communication department,
to his quick adaptation to life on campus,
saying that their words of encouragements,
have helped him to quickly overcome his
medical school trauma, and helped him to re-
orientate towards excellence.
“These lecturers of mine are beyond just
lecturers for me. They are my advisers,
comforters and encouragers. Those that heard
my story assured me that I can still bounce
back and be great in life. With this, I was able
to re-think and desire to be studious. Thank
God the results are reflecting my efforts
Ismaila said the 10-year experience has
redefined him and has taught him a lot of
lessons, which he wishes to use to educate the
younger ones to forestall falling victim of such
unpalatable experience.
He appealed to parents to always consider the
interest and ability of their children rather
than imposing professions on them.
In his words, “Parents should allow their
children to express themselves. That parents
are privileged to give birth to children does
not give them absolute control over their
destinies. Parents can only guide their
children. Children should be allowed to have
more input on how they would live their lives.
Parents should not play God with the future of
their children. Your child doesn’t know how to
write or speak English very well but he is very
exceptional in Mathematics and you insist he
should go and study law! He has a special
ability in writing poems and mind-bogging
articles but poor in calculations, yet you said
he must be an engineer! Parents should stop
acting against the natural talents and
propensities of their children.”
He also challenged young ones to hold their
destinies in their hands to avoid being swayed
unnecessarily. “If you don’t make a decision
for yourself, someone will make it for you.
Don’t abandon your future in the hands of
anybody. Do your own research and know the
movers and shakers in your profession of
interest, so as to inspire you the more. Young
ones should not leave everything in the hands
of their parents. It is noteworthy that he who
pays the piper dictates the tune, especially
when the piper has not decided the exact tune
to play.”
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