From Ekiti to Oklahoma: How a Nigerian conquered the odds to make it in America
Posted by Ronke Idowu | 30 December 2019 | 1,015 times
•Oklahoma State University 2017 best Ph.D student Babajide
From the dreadful study
experience in Ekiti State to receiving the highest honour awarded to a
graduating Ph.D. student at the Oklahoma State University, Babajide speaks on
how he conquered the odds and rose to become an outstanding student with
multiple awards.
Thirty-one-year-old
Babajide Ojo has a Bachelor’s Degree in Biochemistry at Ekiti State University
(EKSU) but his pursuit for richer knowledge made him proceed to Oklahoma State
University (OSU) in the United States of America.
Recounting his
experience while in EKSU, Ojo said it was a fun and challenging experience
especially as a science student who was continually loaded with theories but
with minimal hands-on laboratory experience.
Babajide Ojo with Dean,
College of Human Sciences at Oklahoma State University, Stephan Wilson
“I understand this
was not entirely the fault of the staff as they could only use what was made
available to them at the time due to inadequate funding.
“Nevertheless, the final
year project and writing experience I had with my supervisor, Professor (Mrs.)
F.L Oyetayo was very instrumental to my experience and decision to pursue a
graduate degree in an area related to nutritional biochemistry,” Ojo said.
Other factors that made
learning dreadful for him in Nigeria include the studying conditions marred by
the epileptic power supply.
“Studying conditions
were dreadful at the time, as we usually lacked electricity and had to study in
the lecture theatres at night using candles. No one deserves to study under
those conditions and I can only hope the situation has improved.”
The quest to improve
human health
Ojo is passionate about
understanding how certain foods and nutrients interact with the beneficial
bacteria in human intestines, and the implications on the prevention and
management of type 2 diabetes markers.
“All humans live with
millions of bacteria in our intestines. These bacteria were recently shown to
play an important role in the initiation or prevention of several diseases, including
type 2 diabetes induced by obesity,” he said.
Since obesity is an
epidemic in both developed and developing countries, his hope is that
identifying nutrients that benefit the human intestinal bacteria will assist in
the management of obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes.
His dissertation also
sought to understand how supplementing a western diet with whole foods may
improve outcomes of diet-induced obesity and type 2 diabetes by modulating the
intestinal bacteria and immune system.
Interestingly, the
United States Department of Agriculture took an interest in his findings during
the research and sponsored further studies that are currently ongoing in
humans.
Studying in the US and
Nigeria: A student’s comparison
Ojo may not be able to
speak for all US or Nigerian students but he cherishes his academic experience
in the United States.
In comparison with
Nigeria, students in Ojo’s school in the US are given a voice at every-decision
making process and even review their professors. This review determines the
promotion or retention of the lecturer.
“Here in the US,
students are given a genuine voice at every decision-making step, like
identifying the direction of your research, the employment of new professors,
and sometimes have a say in course design through regular class feedbacks
“You are allowed to
review your class and professor at the end of the semester which counts towards
promotion or retention of the professor. As such, everyone takes the job
seriously and they realise that they are employed because of the students,” he
boasted.
Looking back at his
experience while in Nigeria, Ojo believes the academic template in Nigerian
institutions is a sharp contrast with that of the United States.
“I feel like it’s the
other way round in my personal and acquired experience in some Nigerian
universities where some professors are not easily approachable and students
feel helpless in cases of misconduct.
“There are also
structures in place in US universities to improve the physical and mental health
of students to better cope with academic stress.”
Education as a service
industry
Ojo believes the
Nigerian education sector can be improved if lecturers, professors, teachers
and members of staff adopt, embrace and believe that education is a service
industry.
His advice is that
structures be put in place to ensure that lecturers and others realises that
the sole purpose of their employment is all about providing quality service to
the students who mostly foot their salaries.
“Education is a service
industry and they are occupying those privileged positions mainly because of
the availability of students to teach and not the other way round.
“This can be achieved,
in part, by developing a system for anonymous course reviews after each
semester and making sure the reviews matter in some way.”
He also believes that
Nigeria needs to improve funding to universities especially for research and
development, conferences, and periodic training of staff.
“For example, the budget
for Oklahoma State University for fiscal year 2019 was $1.3 billion, while that
of Nigeria as a whole was about $1.72 billion (N620.5 billion).
“However, we will only
be kidding ourselves if we continually pump money into our universities and do
nothing to get rid of loopholes that enhance systemic corruption with little
consequences in our society.”
Life as a black student in
Oklahoma
His experience in
white-dominated Oklahoma can be described as smooth sail. He described
residents of his host community as “the nicest people to be around both on and
off-campus.
“I have a very much
collegial relationship with my classmates and professors.
“Here, professors treat
us as colleagues, with much dignity and respect. Their doors are always open
for discussion and they will sometimes come over to your desk to discuss as
well if they know you have developed expertise in an area.”
He explains that this
was a huge culture change for him in comparison with his home country Nigeria.
“The way some of our
professors in Nigeria relate with their students can sap all the confidence in
your ability to relate with older professionals if you don’t experience life
elsewhere.”
A student with many
laurels
Ojo is a student who has
worked his way to the top. Upon arrival in the US, he had to improve his
hands-on laboratory experience from EKSU standard to the standards in the US
due to the huge differences.
Among tackling other
challenges, his doggedness and diligence earned him the Honorary Marshal award
which is the highest honour awarded to a student during the graduation season.
He explains how he got
the highest honour.
“Each programme in the
university nominates one applicant for this award and the university selects
only two candidates noted for their academic achievements, scholarly
contributions, and service to the university and community.
“I was deeply honoured
with this award which meant that I got to lead my esteemed colleagues in the
procession at graduation, have reserved seats for my proud family, recognized
at the ceremony among other perks,” he explained.
Other awards Ojo
received during his Ph.D. include the 2016 top five Minority Investigator award
by the American Society of Nutrition, the 2017 most outstanding Ph.D. student
award by the College of Human Sciences, and the 2018 excellence in mentoring
undergraduates in research award also by the College of Human Sciences, in
Oklahoma State University.
His next move
His next programme
centre around inflammatory bowel disease research with a team, led by Michael
Rosen at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Ohio.
In addition, he hopes to
continually use his Bestman Academy platform to enlighten good students all
over the world on how to take advantage of graduate degree opportunities that
exist all over the United States. (Channels TV)
Source: News Express
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