Foundation...Tombo,Tombo.

I beg your pardon??? (Shocked)
I've got 9 years work experience in the Banking and Financial sector, and I still need to take a Foundation course to progress directly into the MBA Programme? I asked, my ' I ' glowing with righteous emphasis.
This has got to be a joke.
But it wasn't.
The Enrolment Officer at the University, made it quite clear via her email to me, that besides my 'wealth of experience', I need to take the Foundation course, because my first degree is not business related.
So all those years of work experience...don't they count for anything? I asked, with the easy manner of the entitled.
Errrr...apparently, they don't. :-(

Anyway, I began the Foundation course in Economics, Accounting, Statistics and Research.
Economics was pretty interesting as it examined the fundamental economic principles such as scarcity and choice, opportunity cost, demand and supply, elasticity, cost of production and market structures...an area I was quite interested in way back in Secondary School.
Accounting on the other hand was a whole new ball game! The accounting module examined the basic principles of accounting, and the ways in which accounting statements and financial information can be used to improve the quality of decision making. The truth is, the more I read about it, the more confused I became...I could literally feel my brain suffocating with every page.
Statistics and Research didn't help either. I skimmed the opening chapter braced for further boredom. In my head, all I could hear was, 'na who send you message'?

I decided to send an email to my Tutor, because unlike the online diploma courses I took last year with online, real time classes via a webinar, I'm yet to be notified of any in this case. I must have missed it in my mail I thought.
The reply from my Tutor came in barely 5 minutes later:


"There are no webinars for this programme. You have all the e-books and module materials you require for the course at your disposal. I suspect that you're an adult student. Should you require further clarifications, contact me".

My interpretation.

The hook for me, was the fact that the Tutor was suspecting that I'm an adult student? As though to make me see the gravity of my own foolishness.

For me, I learn better and faster when there is a class...some sort of interaction on the course content. How about you? How best do you learn?
Just reading, reading all by myself, and cramming to come and pour in the exam cannot work now o.
It worked back then while I was in the University, because all I was thinking about at the time was my faith in God and my books. So I had enough space in my brain to download up to 5 textbooks in my head and pour it all out for the Lecturers during the exams.
Now? The brain has been fully compartmentalized to house my faith in God, hubby, children, mum, siblings, work, money, more money, much more money, etc. No space to even memorize my Bank account number. I always have to call an Account Officer If I need to do a transaction that can't be carried out via the ATM.

The course assessment was a few days away. I had to get my act together, because if I didn't score at least 60%, I won't be able to progress to the main MBA programme. That would be it for the entire programme.

After reading for days, with depression lurking around the corner, my greatest joy was to discover that the assessment for the Foundation course will be in multiple choice format!!!
Ope oooooo!!!!!!!!! tombo...tombo to the rescue!!!!

Do you remember what that is? Let me take you back...wayyyyy back to JAMB (UTME) jamming days :-)

You attempt a question with multiple choice answers A - E. You're caught between A, C, or E, being the correct answer (In fact, let's just be honest...you don't know the answer). You can''t leave the question unanswered...it was called negative marking or something like that? So you close your eyes, and recite (or sing) this slowly, while touching each multiple choice answer with your index finger, one after the other...

"Tombo, tombo baskelebe Iya amala ku...amala, amala kai, kai, tiki bosa bos, bread and butter baskelebe, maje ko tutu, baskelebe, maje ko gbono, gbono o".

If the recitation stops with your index finger on multiple choice answer C, that is your answer.
CRAZZZZYYYYY right? :-)

Oya talk true, have you done this in any exam you wrote? Was it a different recitation, song or poem?
Please let me know all about it in the comment section. I'll love to hear how and when you did apply guess work in any exam you had to take. :-)

You want to know how that tombo, tombo panned out for me? I'll tell you all about it next week!

Till next week Sunday (God willing)...Believe you can and you're half way there.

''Hello My Darling"...2

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!! (Shaking my head vigorously) This is not your typical home video sequels:

The Dying King  - Part 1
The Dying King - Part 2
The King has died - Part 1 (a sequel to the Dying King Part 2)
The King has died - Part 2 (a sequel to the King has died Part 1)
The Dead King (a sequel to the King has died Part 2)

In order words, the movie has got 5 parts!!!

This is not some random Sunday fiction, I did encounter 'The Dying King' sequels (or should I say franchise?) when I visited Port Harcourt recently.

When I checked in at the Hotel in Port Harcourt, I quickly switched on the TV while I freshened up for the business meeting. The Dying King Part 1 was showing on Africa Magic.

After the meeting, I had to dash back to the Hotel to pick up some documents for the next business meeting...the Dying King Part 2 was on.

Meetings for the day done. Got to the Hotel for a quick nap and attend to my emails afterwards...The King has died Part 1 was on.

I wanted to have a power nap, but ended up sleeping for over 2 hours...The King has died Part 2 was on.

Done with my emails, dinner...slept off...woke up at 9:12pm to use the bathroom...The Dead King was showing...arrggghhhhhhh!!!!

Do people actually sit down to watch all these sequels when the plot of the movie is pretty much about how the King's only son 'in the abroad' could not ascend to the throne after his death? Oh my days!!!!

Don't get it twisted, I'm a huge Nollywood fan (though I have been struggling to finish a movie script since 2011 :-( ), but sometimes, some movies on Africa Magic no just dey try.

Back to Mr "Hello My Darling"...I had to let you know how the story ended abi? See them, already scrolling to the end of the blog post... :-)

Well, I ignored the chat messages and focused on studying the module description.
Then I got a notification on my University email account. The guy has sent an email! (If only I was this persistent with my life goals...)

You see, the student chat messenger is connected to the student email account created by the University. It was a no-brainer to reach me via email, considering I was ignoring his chat messages.

I opened the email...come and see orishirishi photos from the guy. Chai!
From posing in his Father's living room, to his latest mobile phone acquisition, to an exact model of my Dad's Peugeot 505...It just kept coming and I didn't know what to make of it.
Oh, did I mention he's Ghanaian?

I decided to ignore the emails and photos, like I did the chat messages. Silence they say is golden right? But there was something about his emails (besides the fact that they just kept coming) that made being silent about it absolutely impossible.
A quick fix...a quick email will cut it. Not a chat message, lest he thinks I'm encouraging an instant communication link between the both of us. I wasn't even patient enough to attach a subject to the email or a salutation:

"Charlie, this is not facebook. We're here to study...well, at least I am. If you need assistance with the study materials, kindly contact the course tutor. You can find his details on the VLE page. If you'll like to ask me questions relating to the course...let the classes begin first as I do not possess supernatural powers to assist you with any question you might have on a course that is yet to begin".

THE END.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY. (According to Nollywood, abi?)

The chat messages, emails and photos died a natural death. The power of an appropriate response shey?

Let me know what you think of my response to this in the comment section!
Have you had a similar experience? Do share! :-)

Till next week Sunday (God willing)...Whatever you are, be a good one.

"Hello My Darling"

That was exactly how the chat message I received from a 'potential classmate' started.

Ok, it's just been about a week in, still trying to remind myself why I decided to take this online degree course, when a chat message pops up below the screen of my PC, on the University home page.
I opened it and the opening sentence was "Hello My Darling"  Hia! (Looks around)

I read further..."How are you coping with the class my dearest"  What Class???

Mba nu...there's got to be a mistake somewhere.

I quickly checked my browser and the web link to be certain I wasn't on www.singlesonheat.com or something like that.

May I repeat myself, that it is ABOUT A WEEK in the virtual learning environment, reading through information toggle, sorting out tuition payment plan, student profile and a fellow classmate on the class chat list was already being super familiar.

Maybe it's just me, but I do not use endearments loosely.  Do you?
I equally do find that the 'friend tag' is used arbitrarily when one is just a contact on Whatsapp?

Ok I'm taking this up a notch right?

All of this reminded me of a work event I anchored some weeks ago in Abuja. When it's was time for the lunch break, a guy walked up to me, going on and on about 'Our' service year in Jos. (Shocked).

I noticed he smiled the most and laughed the loudest (exaggerated histrionics) at my really dry jokes when I was moderating the event some minutes earlier.
Standing next to me, he kept on about how close we were during the 3 week orientation programme in Jos. Truth be told, he remembered my name (or did he pick that up during my intro?). When he was done, I looked straight into his eyes and said "I'm sorry, what did you say your name is again?"

A SILENCE FELL.

"Are you saying you can't remember my name?" He asked. "We were really close in Jos. I even told most of my friends and siblings that you were my best friend". He continued.

Huh???

The whole scenario looked so surreal. Best friends in 3 weeks? And we haven't been in touch in 9 years?
I could see he was visibly hurt and I didn't want to make him feel bad any longer...but I had to tell him the truth while I swallowed an intense urge to laugh.
"Dude, 3 weeks in Kuru camp was tough on me o. The only thing I remember is not having a bath in days. After I left Kuru, I completely shut down that part of my life. I honestly can't remember you nor the events itself. But guess what? No time as the present! (I smiled). Here's my card, say hello when you can and don't be a stranger".

Nonsense. Those lines didn't work. The guy sulked through the entire event like a 2 year old whose favourite toy has been tossed out of the window.

The point I'm driving at is that, the guy was just an acquaintance. Little wonder I forgot him in a hurry. He wasn't a friend. Or was he? It seemed like a clear case of 'he was close to me but I wasn't close to him'?. Ever been in that situation?

Let me know what you think in the comment section! :-)

Till next week Sunday (God willing and after I'm done putting 'Mr Hello My Darling' in his academic place...Oh, it is a HE by the way)...Be true...Be happy!


N.B - I want to say a big THANK YOU!!! For taking out time to read my first blog post and dropping a comment to cheer me on. It means a whole lot to me. I am super encouraged to go on. I will try to do better in personalizing my responses to your comments other than Thank you. :-)

I'm just going to lean back right now and wait for your comments...

The Rebirth...

I wanted to post this in the month of May, my birth month, but just like my high school dream of graduating at the age of 20, owning my first home and a couple of cars at 23 and getting married at 24...here we are, 3 months later :-)

I have equally struggled to write a blog in the last couple of years. Maybe at the time I had nothing to write about like I did in 2006, where I was privileged to write a column on the Sunday pages of This Day newspaper titled 365 days with Adamilola. A column where I chronicled my journey as a typical 'lagosian' undertaking the mandatory National Youth Service year in Jos, Plateau State.  Oh...how I love Jos.
Anyways, here we are! 9 years later! The Rebirth! But this time, I am chronicling my journey (it is indeed A JOURNEY...a road less travelled?) in acquiring an online MBA degree, as a wife, a mother, a full time employee (9am - 5pm whenever I sleep off on my laptop while sending emails) in her thirties, hence the title - Adult Education abi  na night school?

And the name - Adamilola? To my DB Family in Jos, that has been my pseudonym.
I'll take a second to explain (...ok, maybe a minute). Way back at the University, I was 'christened' Oluwadamilola which means God has bestowed honour on me in Yoruba language (I'm not Yoruba...that's what they told me...I hope it's correct because I absolutely love the name). I decided to adopt the name...a fusion with my first name - Ada = Ada Milola = Adamilola. Cool right? :-)

So WELCOME! To Adult Education with me, Adamilola. (Shines teeth)

First, this blog is to encourage me to go on with my studies because trust me, swinging all that I have going on in my life, with an online education is not puff - puff. One thing I do know is that it is not IMPOSSIBLE.
Second, and most importantly, this blog is to challenge you reading this post, that you can begin to dream again and make it happen. It's not too late. Never a time as the present. You just can't sit back and watch others living your life. If you want it, go for it. You can still earn a degree while building a strong momentum in your career or business.

Why an MBA? You may ask. Well, because key employers in the Oil & Gas sector are searching for the right candidates with an MBA degree? Errrr...(scratches head) wrong answer.

An MBA because I'm done 'fighting' 2015 battles in the boardroom with 1865 strategies. Worse still, delivering humdrum observations as grandiose discoveries during management meetings...oh dear... :-(

Every Sunday (God willing and with your encouragement), I will blog about how my week has been trying to acquire this online degree, while balancing work and family at the same time.

Have you tried earning a degree (online or traditional) while you keep your regular 9 - 5 job and it's such a jagbajantis hassle, making no sense and leading no where? Or even if you're not working at the moment and tried getting an additional degree to give you that edge while you apply for a job or run your business and it just didn't happen?

Let me know what you think in the comment section. Also. I'll like to know how I fared with my first blog post :-)

Till next week Sunday, God willing...Believe...Become.