Oke Victor, a student of the Department of Foreign Languages(French and German), emerged as the best graduating student of the Faculty of Arts, with a CGPA of 4.94.
Victor narrates how he achieved this feat, his academic journey and his experiences in Obafemi Awolowo University, in this interview with a correspondent of the Association of Campus Journalists, OAU.
Please, can you briefly introduce yourself to the generality of the campus populace?
BGS: I am Oke Victor from the Department of Foreign Languages. I am part of the 2022/2023 graduating set. My course of study was French/German.
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Oh, great! So you mean you studied both French and German languages as foreign languages? I thought one only had to pick just one language to study.
Yes, I studied both languages. But you are also right. One could gain admission to study only 1 language. However, I applied for a change of course form in my second year to study French/German(double honours). My original course of study as a fresher was just French.
Wow! Combining two foreign languages. That is massive.
Thanks. I am not the only one though. It is a common practice in the Department of Foreign Languages to combine 2 languages.
With a CGPA of 4.94 points, you emerged as the overall best graduating student of the Faculty of Arts. How was this possible even with foreign languages? What was your secret, sir?
In all honesty, there is no secret. It wasn’t really by my power. It was just by the grace of God.
As the scriptures say: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happeneth to them all”. I am not the one who reads the most neither am I the one who prays the most. How I emerged as the BGS is, I’d love to say, only by grace. However, my desire to speak the languages I study played a great role too.
But did you do any of these two languages elsewhere (secondary or primary school) before choosing it as a course of study at OAU?
Yes, French was one of the subjects I took in secondary school. I also wrote French in my O-level exams because I didn’t want to partake in subjects like Yorùbá. Putting signs on Yoruba words was problematic for me then. I didn’t put signs on French words in my O’level exams because it was a pardonable sin at that level. However, I had never studied French and German at any tutorial centre or anywhere else. The only knowledge I had of French was secondary school knowledge which we all know about.
Wow! That’s thoughtful of you.
You smartly worked on your strong point.
Well, the question remains: was it a strong point? Getting to the university as a fresher, I attended my first 3 classes on the first-day lectures were administered, and then I realized I knew nothing in French.
I felt like an idiot. All the classes didn’t make sense to me. I thought I was going to fail. The only strong point was this: my French teacher in secondary school taught us how to read French even though we didn’t know the meaning of the words we read, we could correctly pronounce the sounds. That helped me a lot as a French student in my 100-level days.
Would you say you knew you were going to be the best-graduating student?
No, I didn’t. What I wanted to be was the overall BGS in the entire school.
But at some point, I started getting some grades that were below my expectations, so I practically gave up.
Such a high aim! OAU sha! And, were you pained that the aim was dashed along the way?
Pained? Yeah at the moment when I saw those grades. I felt disappointed. Sometimes I felt enraged and bitter. But today, I am not pained any more. Being the Faculty Best Graduating Student (BGS) is not bad too. I am rather grateful to God, the lecturers, and all OAU students for making me feel special for having a 4.94 CGPA.
It is definite now that you had low moments while in school. How did you overcome them?
Did I overcome them? I don’t think so. I just lived through them. I am grateful to God that my low moments were not too difficult to live through. I am also grateful to my parents for being the best parents ever.
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What was your reading pattern? Were there any special methods you adapted?
Did I have a reading pattern? No, I did not have one. Special methods, I don’t have to. The special thing about studying foreign languages is that it is all about knowing your languages: how to read, write, listen, and speak them. My favourite is speaking though, followed by listening. I listened to French and German songs and French and German rap music. I watched French and German movies. My best friends on campus were those who loved speaking the languages. The goal is to become an erudite in the language. To become so knowledgeable in a foreign language takes many years. And learning never stops. So we keep reading and digesting books and knowledge in other forms.
It sounds nice and practicable to others too out there.
I was not a die-hard reader. I just wanted to speak the languages. That’s all I wanted. Well, I was a die-hard speaker.
For me, it wasn’t just about speaking. It was about being able to speak wisely and philosophize in the languages. Thinking deeply and responding to existential questions in a foreign language. I see many OAU students reading so hard that I am driven to ask why life is so HARD!
I must salute OAU students for the way they read!
As in! Reading round the clock.
I know right? OAU students will always make me fear for my life.
Would you say your choice of friends influenced your grades in any way be it negative or positive and how?
Oh Yes! My friends contributed positively to my grades. Birds of a feather flock together.
No negativity record on their part?
Not at all. Most of my friends graduated with a first class too. The Bible says, ‘ Iron sharpeneth Iron..’
What were your most fun moments as an undergraduate?
My most fun moments were when I tried rapping in German with a friend, danced to German music and my intimate moments with ladies.
Rapping in German?! Were you able to do that excellently without flopping?
No, I am not a rapper. I have never even tried rapping in English.
Aside from Foreign language study what else do you do or enjoy doing?
I enjoy watching Asian dramas (Chinese and Korean). I enjoy playing table tennis. I once played table tennis for 12 hours straight. I played overnight.
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Were you preparing for a tournament?
No, just a casual game. I love meeting women too. Older ones by the way. They are just better at everything.
How did you feel when you were informed that you were the faculty’s best graduating student and what was the feeling like, sir?
I felt like “Let’s have it… let’s have it!’ I just felt grateful, to be candid.
Oh yeah. That is the spirit, my brother.
Buga won. On a final note, what advice would you give to students who want to achieve great academic excellence like you in any of their areas of discipline?
Life is not as serious as we take it sometimes.
For example, take some sand in your hand, the more you hold on to it and squeeze, the more it slips from the hand.
Just do your thing. Pray. Work. Read. And never forget what brought you to campus.
This is deep!
Thank you very much for your time.