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VENO tv FROM POLYTECHNIC DROPOUT TO Ph.D. HOLDER: MY JOURNEY FROM ROCK BOTTOM TO ACADEMIC TRIUMPH
Date: 10-07-25

.×It's purpose is to motivate someone

Life has a way of throwing storms we never see coming. In my second year at the Polytechnic, everything changed. My father was involved in a terrible accident that shattered one of his legs. He was rejected at Isolo General Hospital and referred to Gbobi, but even Gbobi couldn’t accept him due to the severity of the injury. Eventually, he was admitted to Dr. Bone, a private orthopedic center.

For over a month, I heard nothing from home. I was stuck at school, broke, starving, and overwhelmed with fear. I thought I had been abandoned. When I finally found a way to get back home, I discovered the heartbreaking truth, my family was drowning in crisis. The silence wasn’t neglect, it was survival.

But by then, everything I had in school was already lost. I couldn’t go back. Financially and emotionally, I had hit rock bottom. The Polytechnic dream was over. I had no hope, no direction, and no idea if I would ever rise again.

Yet something within me refused to die. As the firstborn of the family, I knew I had to rise, not just for myself, but for everyone depending on me. I decided to fight my way back.

I walked up to a bricklayer in our area and asked if I could join him on site. He looked at me skeptically. “Can you really do it?” he asked. I said, “I will.” And I did. I labored under the scorching sun, doing back-breaking work for two months. From that, I saved enough to register for WAEC again in 2006, since my earlier admission was based on a combination of WAEC and NECO.

After WAEC, I worked as a hotel porter for over a year. When my result came out good, I sat for JAMB and passed. I also passed the Post-UTME exams for the two universities I applied to. But still, no admission came. I was devastated.

That was when two angels in human form came into the picture Otunba Olukayode Tunde Ejimokun and Mrs. Abioye Roseline Funmilayo Ojo. They advised me not to give up. They suggested I purchase a Pre-Degree form and start afresh. At first, I resisted. I couldn’t bear the thought of starting from Pre-Degree after everything I’d been through.

But as fate would have it, I listened.

On my way back to Lagos, somewhere between Ekiti and Osun, I asked the bus driver to stop. I got off, forfeited the fare, and returned to Ado-Ekiti. Though it was already past 4 PM, I rushed to UNAD (now EKSU) and bought the Pre-Degree form.

That decision changed everything.

I owe special thanks to Otunba Kayode Ejimokun, who not only encouraged me but housed me throughout my entire Pre-Degree program without collecting a dime from me. I will be forever grateful to him and to Mrs. Abioye Roseline for not giving up on me when I had given up on myself.

I went on to complete my B.Ed. at UNAD, though the journey took longer than expected due to strikes and student unrest. I graduated in 2013, went for NYSC in 2013/2014, and saved 90% of my allowance (“Alawee”) to fund my Master’s degree. After completing coursework, I started teaching to support my thesis writing. Eventually, I earned not one, but two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D.

From carrying bricks and sleeping in uncertainty, to standing today as Dr. Oluwadare Deji Ogunbiyi, my story is proof that failure is never final. To God be the glory.

This journey has taught me that setbacks are setups for comebacks. When life knocks you down, get up. People may ignore you, step over you, or even forget you. But what matters is what you choose to do next. Your breakthrough is still possible.

Keep rising. Keep believing.

Dr. Oluwadare Deji Ogunbiyi
B.Ed. (Hons) Ado-Ekiti, M.Ed. (MUN), M.Ed., & Ph.D. (Makurdi)
Happy New Month of July, 2025.
#FromDropoutToDoctorate #Resilience #Gratitude #NeverGiveUp #FaithJourney #DrOgunbiyi

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