How My Failure Aligned with My Success Through Mr. Sebastine Okafor
Failure might occur, but it is not the end of it all. A mistake sometimes may happen by the will of God.
My journey in journalism started like a mistake but has now become a glorious and realistic thing.
It started when I wrote JAMB to study Law at Enugu State University of Science and Technology. Unfortunately, I didn’t meet the Faculty of Law’s cut-off mark. I thought all my hopes were gone because my dream was to become a successful politician with a Law degree. I wanted to study Law to gain recognition and avoid the existing intimidation my family faced in my village.
But I couldn’t achieve this because of my score, until I met Mr. Onyeagba Ifeanyi, who advised me to put Mass Communication as my choice and switch to Law in 200-level, which I did.
I changed to the Mass Communication Department with irritation and lost all hope. But upon getting to the department, the reverse was the case. Mr. Sebastine Okafor, who happened to be a lecturer, politician, and journalist, was teaching in my department. I saw him as an idol—if someone in Mass Communication could be this productive and also a politician, who was I not to be celebrated?
I approached him for mentorship, which he accepted. He encouraged me to write, edited my works, and mentored me throughout my journalism journey. He even taught me how to use his website during my early days in journalism, a skill I still utilize today.
I thought all hope was lost, but today, it has become a blessing in disguise. I can’t even dream of switching to Law again. Imagine myself, a 200-level student, working with professors, deans, HODs, and many political figures in society. My failure has transformed into success. Cheers to Mr. Sebastine Okafor, who brought out the zeal and hidden potentials in me.
Today, I am a student journalist, News Editor of the ESUT Monitor newspaper, and a political figure in school politics. No one can intimidate me anymore because I now know the power of media and human rights—even without being a lawyer or a Law student.
Every day, when I wake up and remember the course I am studying, I always thank my stars. Journalism is the best profession and the only constitutional profession with the right to hold all public servants, including lawyers, accountable for their actions, as stipulated in Section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution.
All thanks to Mr. Amechi Agbo, Staff Adviser of the ESUT Monitor newspaper, who has also been there for me, shaping and ensuring I become the best.
My fellow Nigerians and student journalists, tomorrow has many stories to tell. If your story ends today, there is no hope of being successful. “Rome,” they say, “was not built in a day.” Let the mistakes we make be an encouragement to build a better future.
Long live the Mass Communication Department!
Long live the ESUT Monitor newspaper!
Long live Journalism!
