A SUCCESSFUL STUDENT'S GUIDE

How to Be A Successful Student by Ayo Oyoze Baje. Published by Oyoze Creative Concept (2012), Lagos Nigeria.

The subject of how a successful student is made can be controversial, considering the multiple factors and variable that play instrumental roles. Perhaps, the simplicity of approach in discussing this issue makes the book, How to Be a Successful Student an easy read. Relying on practical

examples that the reader can easily identify with, the author of the 12-chapter book provides ample examples of great individuals who at one point in their lives were academically poor but later transformed to become strong academic achievers.

The list of such phenomenal examples include Charles Darwin, Professor Olu Akeusola, Mr. Dele Momodu as well as best graduating students from various universities across the countries who had amazing tales to tell. Their episodes of courage, hardwork and determination will likely spur on the reader to set positive goals towards becoming a successful student or raising a successful student.

The book is beneficial for parents in that it raises questions about how they contribute to the success and failure of their children. Divorce, lack of parental support and poor funding are some of the factors that rob a child of his dream to succeed. Without attempting to heap the blame on the parents, the author attempts to show the reader that the blame can be shared between the parents and the students. He pointed out in the book that sometimes, even when all the favourable conditions are made available to a child, he/she still fails to succeed.

With a detailed list of items that students need, the book serves as a handbook for every student who wishes to be guided on the path to success. Through the book, the author demonstrates the relationship between the power of positive thinking, enthusiasm, management of time and the quest to succeed. In an analytical manner, Baje describes the various kinds of students that exist. They are the fun-loving, un- ambitious; the serious minded but academically weak and the brilliant, hardworking student.

The work also provides an insight into how one can become an effective reader with tips that readers can find practicable. The author condemns the use of stimulants in reading and encourages regular reading habit, not necessary long sessions for the success driven student. He also recommends therapeutic habits to consolidate good reading habits.

In the foreward to the book, the Vice Chancellor, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Professor Isaac Adeyemi explains the rationale behind the book and his expectations on the outcome of the book.  “For

Nigeria to achieve meaningful success in attaining its vision 2020 and to be counted amongst the top 20 industrialized countries by that magic year, increased resources and various governments’ attention must be deployed to arrest the drastic slide in the standard of education in the country. This has become even more imperative, considering the abysmally low level of the number of secondary school students who pass with five credits, including English language and Mathematics at their School Certificate level.

“That is where Mr. Oyoze Baje’s life-changing, and thought-provoking motivational book aptly comes in handy. The subject matters are treated in a free flowing easy –to- understand format. They are even more interactive than similar books one may find in the market because the author has written out of his twenty years of experience as a secondary school teacher before veering off fully into journalism.

“As a book that promotes the pursuit of all-round success for the student and to prepare him for life after leaving school, there are additional relevant chapters, including ‘Choosing Your Future Career’, ‘Bad Habits To Avoid’, and ‘ Some Basics Facts of Life’. The deliberate use of quotes has added a tonic to re-invigorate the students’ desire for the acquisition of knowledge at the expense of the craze for materialism.”

The author’s view is that faith in God is also a crucial element in becoming a successful student and prescribes prayer in his theory of 3Ps namely, Preparation, Purposeful Prayer and Persistent Practice. Other aspects of a student’s life, according to the author, also impact on the performance of the student in his academic endeavours. He underscores the need for every student to be organised, neat and disciplined in order to maintain order and to stick to reading plans.

culled :thisdaylive.