I’ve always been an animal lover —Abraham Adeyemo, UI’s Vet. Medicine best graduating student

Abraham Adeyemo amassed eleven distinctions out of fourteen in his veterinary courses, making him the best-graduating student of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, he speaks about how he ended up studying veterinary medicine, the secret behind his stellar academic performance, the challenges with veterinary practice in Nigeria, what is next for him after graduation, among other things.

What inspired your interest to study veterinary medicine?

I’ve always been an animal lover, and I believe this was my main motivation for studying veterinary medicine. I initially applied for medicine and surgery in my PostUTME, but couldn’t meet the cut-off mark. I was then offered admission into the veterinary medicine programme. I must admit that, at the time I was offered the admission, I was hearing about the course for the first time. I enquired about the programme and I immediately fell in love with it. So, I decided to study veterinary medicine with a whole lot of expectation.

You made eleven distinctions out of fourteen in your veterinary courses, making you the best-graduating student in your class. In your first year, if you were told you would graduate with such stellar academic performance would you have believed it?

I certainly wouldn’t have. I was coming to this larger-than-life university, the University of Ibadan, very anxious and unsure of myself. I had no distinctions in my O’level. I couldn’t have imagined it at the time.

Could you list the eleven courses you made distinctions in? And, which aspect of veterinary medicine interests you more?

I made distinctions in Veterinary Physiology, Veterinary Anatomy, Veterinary Pathology, Veterinary Parasitology, Veterinary Microbiology, Clinical Pathology, Clinical Anatomy, Aquatic Animal and Wildlife Ecology Management and Diseases, Veterinary Surgery, Veterinary Public health, and Preventive medicine, and Theriogenology.

I suppose every aspect of veterinary medicine is interesting to me. It kind of makes it difficult to choose.

What do you think prevented you from making distinctions in all the fourteen courses? If you were to study veterinary medicine all over again, would you make the fourteen distinctions?

Perhaps I didn’t study hard enough? I can’t really say. And if I were to study veterinary medicine all over again, I suppose it’s only logical that, all things being equal, I should do better than I did. I can’t be sure if I can make distinctions in all fourteen courses. It’s not impossible

What are the secrets behind your exceptional academic record and performance?

I believe it took the grace of God. But, really, there is no secret because, it’s something we’ll know about studying—that the more we study, for example, an article, the more easily we can recall what we’ve read.

I realised this and planned my study schedule in a way that’ll allow me to read my lecture notes at least twice a week. I don’t let lecture notes pile up before reading them. I read everything I’ve read the previous week(s) the following week. That way, I read everything from the beginning to the end every week. Then, I also use past questions— not that I use them to study, I just use them to give myself an idea of how questions are set for each course. I try to get these past questions as early as possible in the semester. When I get them, I read through to get that general picture of how questions are framed, which questions are repeated frequently, and the likes. Armed with this information, I study first to understand and, at the same time, note those aspects that are important for exams. With the way I studied, I realised that impromptu tests never shake me. I only need to flip through my notes a few times and I’m ready.

I also try to manage my time well. Not that I didn’t do other things. I never missed church fellowships. There are even some days I decide to read less or not at all, and just sleep or watch movies instead. The important thing, I guess, is to not lose sight of what is most important at a particular point in time.

Most students prefer to study medicine and surgery than veterinary medicine. What do you think could be done to inspire or encourage students to enrol more into veterinary studies like they do in medicine and surgery?

I believe that most Nigerians are completely ignorant oft he veterinary profession or have an incomplete knowledge about what we do and stand for. We can encourage students to enrol for veterinary medicine by showing them the beauty of our profession, what we do, what we stand for, and the potentials of our profession. This can perhaps be done by systematic exhibition of the veterinary profession at its best through various means such as television shows, radio programmes, social media, and through educative seminars in secondary schools.

There seems to be low patronage of veterinary doctors in Nigeria, prompting many veterinary doctors to travel abroad to practice or to seek other professions in the country. How can this sad narrative be changed so that pet owners and animal farm managers could see the need to patronise veterinary services?

To the best of my knowledge, more than enough pet owners and livestock farms seek veterinary personnel. The real issue is that a lot of them are snatched up by quack veterinarians. If the problem of quackery is taken care of in Nigeria, I’m sure there would be a big boom in the patronage of ‘legal’ veterinary services. But the question is how can the quackery problem in veterinary practice be best handled? I believe that the best way is to involve law enforcement in this issue and make them take an active role in the veterinary council’s effort to control illegal veterinary practice. Also, qualified veterinary surgeons in practice, and veterinary students, should report any and every activity of individuals that they suspect to be quacks. This will go a long way in discouraging quackery in veterinary practice. It has become normal to see quack veterinarians openly practice without any consequences. Although quackery is one of many factors affecting veterinary practice in Nigeria, I think it’s by far the most significant factor.

Tell us about your social life (any girlfriends and parties) while on campus.

I’m not a very social person. I’m the typical introvert. I’m usually uncomfortable in an environment that is too stimulatory, like parties. I’m not exactly antisocial—I just easily get tired when I’ve to interact with a large group of people. I actually like talking about topics that I find interesting like astronomy, science, visual arts, tech, politics, religion, human rights, to name a few—not that I’m well-read in these areas—I just find them more stimulating. I wasn’t in any relationship during my programme, and this I did intentionally to prevent distractions. Not that being in a relationship is a distraction in itself, I just personally preferred to be single.

What is next for you now after graduation? And where do you see yourself five years from now?

What’s next is NYSC, I guess. At the same time prepare for post-graduate studies. In five years, I see myself done with postgraduate academic pursuit and at the early stages of expansion of an agro-based start-up (which is still an idea at the moment).

Actually we can’t really say that this or that is what I’ll be or this is what I’ll be doing by then. We can have a hazy view of the future, but we can’t say with a certain level of precision that this is what the future holds. So, for the time being, let’s just take things one step at a time while aiming to attain our goals.

What was your most trying moment as a veterinary student and how did you manage it?

My most trying moment in vet school was in my 500 level, because during this period I was somewhat tired and fatigued from the stress of a just-concluded DVM part II exams. I got through this period, all thanks to encouragement from my parents, siblings, and classmates.

What advice do you have for students who are aspiring to attain the same academic feat as you did?

You can’t be anyone else, but yourself. Discover yourself and give it your best. Your best is always enough. What I mean is when you give it your best effort, you can be satisfied that you did your best, and you’ll be content with the results you get.

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