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Meet the Scholar: A Conversation with Abeeb Olawuwo

In this edition of Meet the Scholar, we feature Abeeb Olawuwo, a 500-level first-class student of Civil Engineering and the current Director of Studies of the Muslim Students' Society of Nigeria, University of Ibadan (MSSNUI). He shares some of the strategies that contributed to his academic success and how he managed to stay focused while serving as an MSSN UI executive. Whether you are a fresher or a staylite aiming for academic excellence, we hope this conversation offers the guidance and inspiration you need to thrive, both academically and spiritually.

You're in your final year in Civil Engineering and you've consistently excelled academically, earning you a first-class grade. What is the major drive for your academic success?

Prior to the release of my 100-level first semester results, I was not really expecting anything much from my results, I was fine with whatever the results might be.

To be honest, I strived really hard to attain academic excellence (back then and I still strive till this moment) but we all know that to really attain excellence, you need more than just your efforts.

At the end of the first semester, I had a perfect GPA then and it was that moment that I knew that this was Allah’s blessing and it would be a shame on me if I wasted that opportunity such that at the end of my time here, I do not make a first-class (may Allah forbid that).

Another major drive is the fact that I believe that if you want to be one of the decision makers in the academic world, you need to show that you are excellent. Maintaining a good academic grade gave me the avenue to make my voice heard whenever some decisions are being made.

How has your academic journey been so far? Any memorable moments or challenges?

It has been an interesting ride so far, not without challenges though.

200-level was the most challenging level for me, I was the CPMSS coordinator and I had other personal engagements alongside schooling. I was overwhelmed at some point but Allah blessed me with wonderful people around me. It was these people’s assistance and support that kept me going during those days.

My most memorable moment in this institution was when my 200 level results were released and I happened to score 70 or 71 in three courses and 60 or 61 in two courses all amounting to a total of 16 units. At that moment, I knew it was just by Allah’s mercy that I am wherever I am (a similar situation repeated itself in 300-level again).

In your 200-level days, you were the Circle of Preliminary Muslim Science Students (CPMSS) Coordinator. How did you find the experience, and what did you learn from it?

Alhamdulillah. It was an amazing experience. I worked with an amazing set of people. May Allah bless the team and accept the little we’ve done as an act of Ibaadah.

I learnt a lot of things during my time then, but I will just highlight some.

1. Time management: I had to attend classes during the weekdays and coordinate the tutorials during the weekends. Aside from that, I had some other activities I was engaged in (private tutoring) so I dare not spend the little time I have left on frivolities.

2. Team work: I had to work with a team of about 30 principal officers then making sure that each person's role was being handled appropriately.

3. Planning: Creating timetables, sitting arrangements, publicity, mock tests among others are the responsibilities of the coordinator and all these require appropriate planning.

How do you balance your leadership roles with academic responsibilities?

Everything still boils down to how much you can manage your time and be strategic.

I delegate as many responsibilities as I possibly can. This reduces the intensity of work from my leadership responsibilities.

And as regards academics, I try to ensure that I read as much as possible alongside the classes attended. Another thing I do is to reach out to some of my friends who are better than I am and learn from them. This helps reduce the amount of time I would be needing to study them on my own.

As the current MSSNUI Director of Studies, what programmes have you introduced to enhance academic performance of students, especially freshers, and how do you measure the impact on them?

As regards this, our focus at the moment is to improve the existing infrastructure instead of introducing totally new programmes. We are implementing the existing methods that were previously used and just trying our best to improve them rather than introducing new methods.

As part of our blueprints, there are other new plans that we intend to introduce but for now (especially for the freshers) we are still implementing old plans before exploring new ideas.

How do you handle the stress and pressure that come with being a leader and studying in a demanding field like Civil Engineering?

How do I handle stress? Regardless of whatever the situation is, I always prioritize my health and well-being. Those that know me well know that I don’t joke with two things; food and sleep.

I ensure that I get sufficient sleep daily (between 5 - 8 hours daily) except during exams when the hours reduce.

To be honest, it will not be easy, but if you are fortunate to have been surrounded by good individuals, both amongst classmates and amongst the committee and executives, they will relieve you of some stresses that can come from both ends.

Outside of academics and leadership, what are your hobbies or interests?

I am not sure I have hobbies or interests, but one of the things I’m involved in is product design. I started my product design journey when I was resuming 200-level and I still do it till date.

What advice would you give to students, especially freshers, whose only dream is to excel academically?

From my experience, to excel academically, there are four main things you need.

1. Allah

2. ⁠A winning mentality

3. Right information

4. ⁠Hard work

In all you do, you have to always start with Allah and always call unto him all time. It is by Him that you can achieve whatever you aim to achieve and you should always pray that He ease your journey for you and grant you success.

After absolute reliance on Allah, you need to have a winning mentality. You need to be confident about the fact that you can achieve whatever you aim to achieve. A lot of brilliant students make it to this institution but very few maintain the excellence they’ve been nurturing from secondary because UI is beyond just brilliance. It is required that you stay confident and have assurance that you will win by Allah’s mercy.

Without the right information, you will not find your journey easy. I will use an example here, every semester, I would reach out to the former Ameer, Ameer Musa Sodiq, just to get his advice on how to go about the new semester; what I should expect, what I need to know about the lecturers taking each course, the best approach to each course and every other information he believes will be helpful. This will serve as the foundation for whatever I will be doing that semester, and Alhamdulillah, his advice has always been beneficial to my journey.

The books will not read themselves. After you’ve done all of the above, what you need is to start reading, attend tutorials, solve questions, do assignments and every other thing required of you as a student.

May Allah ease the journey ahead.