A University Don, Nicholas Uchechukwu Asogwa, has recounted his grass-to-grace rise in academia, surmounting all odds as a one-time wheelbarrow pusher and shoe mender to become a professor of ethics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Asogwa, who was among the lecturers recently promoted to the ranks of professors at UNN, attributed his remarkable success story to God and those who contributed to his academic excellence.
He wrote, “Today is a momentous occasion in my life as UNN announced my elevation to the sublime rank of Professor. My gratitude goes to God. I stand before the world, overwhelmed. I am a living testament to the power of persistence and determination in the face of adversity.”
“Times were hard, resources were limited, and dreams seemed unattainable. However, I was blessed with parents who instilled in me the value of education and the belief that anything is possible with hard work and perseverance.”
Asogwa noted that he circumvented financial constraints and societal stereotypes with the burden of breaking a family poverty cycle before becoming a professor.
He said, “The very day I was offered employment, I knew that I carried the weight of breaking the cycle of poverty in my family and proving to all those who doubted me that a person’s background does not define his or her potential.
“I faced numerous rejections, disappointments, and setbacks along the way, but I refused to let them define me. The position of professor that I attained today is an affirmation of the truism in the saying that ‘determination is the key to success.”
“I recall with tears my days as a barrow pusher at the popular Orie Orba market in Udenu LGA of Enugu State, and then my days as a shoe-mender in one of the female hostels (Bello Hall) in UNN.
“They are Barrister Mrs. Nkechi Ohanuka and Mrs. Proscovia Ndoboli, from Imo State and Uganda, respectively. My relationship with them dates back to my days as a shoemaker. Both of them were my regular customers then.
“Upon realizing that I attended school up to secondary level, Nkechi Ohanuka asked me why I didn’t want to further my education. I replied that I badly desired higher education but that, owing to my background, I needed to make some money that would help me to forge ahead.
“Coincidentally, the discussion took place at a time when the JAMB form was on sale. In the evening of that same day, Mrs. Ohanuka came back to my shop and handed me a wrapped piece of paper to buy the form. When she left, I unwrapped the paper, and it contained six hundred and twenty naira—the exact amount of the JAMB form that was sold then.
“In the case of Proscocia, when I informed her that she might not see me in my shop when next she comes to repair her shoes, as I was due to leave, having gotten admission to further my education, she was shocked—shocked because she said she didn’t know that I attended secondary school, much less sitting for the JAMB examination.
“After congratulating me, she told me that she would like to know my place and see my parents. We fixed a date, and after visiting my place, she told me that even though my place is very close to the university, she wouldn’t want me to be attending lectures from my place. In addition, she told me that she would pay for my initial school fees. She fulfilled her promise and left Nigeria the next year, following her graduation.
“I promise myself that I will not disappoint God, my lovely parents, Nkechi Ohanuka, and Proscovia Ndoboli. In this regard, I have been doing my best to serve humanity and help shape the destinies of those that come into contact with me.
“Investing in material things is good, but investing in people is far better.” Look at me: ever since I got employment as a lecturer, there has been no day without my remembering Nkechi Ohanuka.
“Look at what the seed she sowed in me some years ago has grown into. I, myself, have leveraged that seed to sow seeds in others, and it will continue like that. What I am today and the more that I will become tomorrow are in one way or another the results of that seemingly small investment she made in me,” Prof. Asogwa emotionally recalled.
