‘Using my phone, I engaged in e-commerce to survive’

With a CGPA of 4.81, 23-year-old Bright Ngozi Chukwu Mbamalu of the Chemical Engineering Department of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, two weeks ago emerged the best overall graduating student of the institution in the 2016/2017 academic session. In this interview, he shared with ADELOWO OLADIPO his success secrets, as well as his future plans.

What informed your decision to study Chemical Engineering?

It was all about passion. I had seen chemical engineers on television, and I had been fascinated with how they could process raw materials to finished goods; for instance, the recycling of wastes. This so got to me that I became very passionate about becoming a chemical engineer.

What can you tell us about your background?

My dad is a businessman; he sells electrical appliances, while my mother is a secondary school teacher. My parents don’t have the financial muscles like the average rich family, but I thank God for them. Even as things were, they did not actually let me feel the impact; they still tried their best to make sure that I moved forward in my academic pursuit. My parents are blessed with four children. I am the first son, but the second child.

How did they feel when it was announced that you had emerged the best overall student?

They were so excited and full of joy. I had initially told them that I was actually the best in my class, based on the results, but I never knew that I was the overall best student in the university until that (convocation) day when it was announced.   When they heard it, they were so excited, and my mum actually came out and gave me a very nice hug. Daddy was around too, but he was sitting on the other side of the convocation venue and could not come out to celebrate with me.

What were the challenges during your undergraduate years at FUT, Minna?

Well, like I said earlier, the sourcing for finance was not easy, but my parents tried to meet up. As time progressed, knowing that I am the first son and the second child of the family, and I saw how my mum and dad were struggling to train me and my siblings to become responsible citizens in future, I had to challenge myself and see how I could make some money on my own to feed and to take care of things like tuition, accommodation, transport fares and some other things. Somehow, (that challenge) made me even stronger. Along the line, I discovered that anything I laid my hands on, I got something in return. This brought joy to my mother and I also derived joy in fending for myself and reducing the financial burden on my parents.

What type of business did you go into as a full-time undergraduate student that did not affect your studies negatively?

I engaged in e-commerce; I bought different kinds of things, and most of them were bought and sold online, making use of my telephone. But I was very, very careful in doing business with anyone so as not to fall prey to fraudsters. I started my online business with N20,000. Though I was not getting huge profits from my business, I did get little returns on investments that kept me in school.

What would you say was the secret of your success?

I would say it’s being happy doing what I do. If you are happy doing what you are doing, you are already successful. If you are happy reading and you write your examinations happily, when the result comes out, you will still be happy. On the contrary, if you start to give room to hatred in anything, like you don’t like one book or a course or you don’t like a lecturer, watch out: you are going to fail. The secret to success is happiness. There is a saying that for success to come your way, you have to do the best you can when you can; then, your success is inevitable. A successful man or student, to me, is not the man or woman who just goes to the class and reads from morning till night and gets a very good result. To me, that does not define success. Rather, what defines success is the ability to balance your life and still move forward and be happy.

Are you saying that in spite of everything, you still engaged social activities on campus?

Yes, I am a social man. I engaged myself in sports. I play football, and I also got involved in religious activities. I actively participated in Christian students’ fellowship, while in my department, Chemical Engineering Department, I was also in the academic committee –people that organise and make sure that things move forward in the department, especially with students. We took them in some tutorials.

Who is the person with the strongest influence on your life?

I am going to say it in two ways: one, in terms of my line, Chemical Engineering, and also in doing business. In terms of business, I see Nigerian billionaire businessman and currently the richest man in Africa, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, as my source of inspiration, because he started with nothing and he came up to be the richest man in Africa. I have read so much about him, and I so much admire his courage and his ideas. Then, looking at my line now as a chemical engineer, I admire the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation {NNPC} Dr. Maikanti Baru. I have read his biography and his achievements, and I doff my hat for him. I see him as someone I would like to tailor my life after.

What is your plan now, having emerged the overall best graduating student of FUT, Minna?

This euphoria (of being the overall best graduating student) does not necessarily amount to being the best in life. I have checked the lives of some past students before me who also performed excellently well in their academic pursuits. What I observed is that they still wear the coats of being the best even after they were already mixing up with their contemporaries in the larger society; whereas, to me, it is only past glory. It is not something that someone will just need to be carrying all along, because I personally feel that it will not take anybody anywhere.

So, talking about my ambition, being a 23-year-old boy, I feel I still need to forward in my education, and I am looking for scholarship. I am hoping that if I can get sponsorship from any organisation to travel abroad to study for my Master’s degree, I will be very happy. I want to work with big companies that can send me abroad for further studies, because I do not really like to take up lecturing job. I like to work in an industry and multinational oil companies like Total, Chevron and Shell. From there, I want to go and do my Master’s abroad. This will lead me very close to achieving my goals.

What is your advice to other graduating students out there?

What I will tell them is that this is not the end; the actual journey has just started.

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