I danced, played football, basketball and rapped – Oti, Covenant University best graduating student

Firstclass newsline gathered that Oti Ebubechukwu, 22, emerged as the best graduating student of
Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, in the 2014/2015 academic
session having finished with a 4.96 CGPA from the Department of
Electrical/Electronics Engineering. He shares his story in this
interview.
Did you plan to emerge as the best student or did it just happen?
I won't say it came as a surprise, but I thank God for His grace.
Actually, it was in my plan from inception that I would want to be the
best graduating student in my set and I started working towards that
from my first day in school. In fact, my plan was to graduate with a
5.00 CGPA and I decided to pursue a 5.00 GPA every semester because I
believed that the grace of God upon me was sufficient to get it and
that his hands were on my academics. I wanted to honour God and my
family and make myself proud. I thank God that the ultimate aim of
being the best came to pass.
Apart from the grace of God, were there things you did differently
from others to actualise that dream?
People told me that my course was hard and that my CGPA must drop in
200 Level, but I knew that such a report would never let anyone
achieve anything in life, so I disregarded it and worked harder
towards the goal I had set for myself. In fact, someone once got angry
with me for telling him my result would not drop in 200L. The person
said the results of all the smart people in his set dropped. But that
didn't change my resolve. At short intervals, I checked my
effectiveness. I evaluated my performance, I checked my results that
fell below the mark I expected and brainstormed on the possible errors
I made in preparation and execution. I made sure I understood
everything possible. I tried not to take on responsibilities more than
I could handle at a time, given the current academic demands. I also
organised tutorials, which enabled me to grasp concepts adequately
well to be able to teach well. I prayed and sought the prayer and
blessings of my parents and spiritual fathers. Those were things I did
and teamwork also helped me.
Have you always been this excellent in your academics?
I used to play a lot when I was in primary school. I used to play
football, video games, bicycle racing, etc. It was fun though. I
started taking my academics seriously when I got to Primary Four and
my dad promised to buy me Play Station Two if only I could be among
the first three in my class. He knew that I really liked video games.
And that was how I became serious. The zeal to learn and take things
seriously came instantly and I kept at it. I got the position he
wanted and he gave me the PS he promised. At that level, I realised
that it was a real honourable thing to be at the top in one's
academics, so I made up my mind not to go back. That was how I
continued and I was able to lead my class almost throughout my
secondary school days.
What impact did team work have on your performance?
I saw the essence of teamwork when I got to the university. My first
result was not five points, and I had issues with practicals. So, I
decided to find out how people were getting it right, so I learnt.
When I applied the things I learnt from that teamwork, I started
having A's. Also, I never liked copying notes, but my friends' notes
helped in that regard because I made use of theirs. And if they didn't
understand anything, they would come to me and I would teach them.
Teamwork really helps, and I really appreciate my course mates.
How easy was it passing your O' level and UTME?
It was neither easy nor hard. God helped me to develop strategies for
the exams and the strategies worked out fine. I had eight A's and a B
in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination. Also, I had
six straight A's in Cambridge exam and GCE O' level and then I scored
301/400 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination. My
admission into school was smooth.
What informed your choice of Electrical/Electronic Engineering?
When I was young, I was quite fascinated by toy cars, and robots and
my dream as a child was to build robots, apart from the fact that I
wanted to own a business empire and be a billionaire. I used to
dismantle and study a lot of things, including my toys, and I did
troubleshoot faulty devices in the house. I remember building a
traffic light in primary school and being a serious fan of 'Robot
Wars' onBBC. My dad noticed my interests and told me to pursue
Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and I did.
Which part of your course did you enjoy most and which part did you
find challenging?
I enjoyed the electronics, circuit design and programming courses the
most, because I have always loved Physics and Computer Science.
However, I enjoyed all my courses because we were well taught.
What practical knowledge of your course have you gained so far?
I have had laboratory practicals, which gave me the chance to prove
theoretical concepts. The mini projects and my final year project also
gave me hands-on experience with design, construction, testing and
implementation in electrical engineering. Also, I had my industrial
training in Transmission Company of Nigeria where I learnt about
transformers, I joined hands in the installation of one and carried
out dissolved gas analysis on transformer oil, etc.
When did you start leading your class?
I started having first class from my 100 Level first semester but I
started leading my class in 200 Level.
Do you still remember your GPAs?
Yes, I remember all of them. In 100L first semester, I had 4.86 and in
second semester, I had 4.96. In 200L, I had 4.91 in first semester
while I had 5.00 in second semester. Throughout my 300L and 400L, I
had 5.00, while I had 4.85 in 500L first semester and 5.00 in second
semester. I won't forget my lowest grade, and that was when I had a C
in Chemistry practical in 100L.
When did you know you would be the best student?
I had always believed, but it was confirmed when I knew my final CGPA was 4.96.
What was your most memorable moment?
My project defence. It was such a struggle and it was like I wouldn't
have an A in the course. I knew that if I didn't have A in my project,
I wouldn't be the best graduating student. So, there were many things
to do but God favoured me that day. Everything worked out well and I
had a very good defence. Those in the panel loved it; they were
impressed and I got the A. In fact, I had one of the highest scores in
the project.
Did your parents reward you for your good performance?
They didn't say, 'Take this for being the best student,' but they were
always willing to give me everything I wanted, apart from training my
siblings and me to be good Christians whilst encouraging us
academically and keeping track on our performance in school. They got
me high quality materials and bought me a very special gift for the
convocation. I love them.
Have you had such an exceptional performance that brought you awards
or recognition before?
Yes. Throughout secondary school, I was honoured on many occasions for
my performance. I also got awards and recognition for excellent
performance in competitions like the Cowbell national mathematics
competition, NNPC secondary school quiz competition, etc.
Were you staying awake to read at night?
I slept for about six to seven hours every night, while I spent about
one hour everyday studying. But when studying for tests and exams, I
read as long as it was necessary to prepare myself adequately and I
had preference for evenings. I also used to relax and it was not all
about books. I was a dancer, I played basketball, football and I used
to rap.
You received a lot of money on the convocation day as gifts for being
the best. How do you plan to spend it?
I'll plan for it because I wouldn't want to spend it on personal
luxuries or things that I could always get through other means. I'll
see how I can invest it in something worthwhile. I could even start
something small with it, but I may not have time for business because
of academic works. I have preference for academics. But I'll make good
use of it. It's good to have some money of your own and spend it on
things that are of interest to you.
Where would you like to work?
I would like to be a researcher, so I could work in companies like
Google, or educational institutions like a university. I want to be an
inventor. I would also like to own a luxury business. I want to be
more spiritual because I didn't have enough time to read Christian
books and the Bible.
What is your advice to students?
Students should choose courses that have direct bearing on their
interests. It makes learning easy. They should pursue academic
excellence and seek understanding of fundamental principles. They
should get a mentor who is on a first class in their department. They
should always aim for high scores, evaluate themselves, work with
people, learn from people and teach people.
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