TRIBUNE
Nafiu Aliyu is a fresh graduate from the Sokoto State University, the first person to achieve such a feat in his extended family of about 1,000 members. He speaks with OLAKUNLE MARUF about the accomplishment and the accompanying challenges.
You have become a person of public interest for being the first member of your extended family to acquire Western education and, better still, become a university graduate. Tell us about this achievement?
I am fortunate to be the first person to acquire Western education in my extended family. I am not talking about my immediate family but the whole of my extended family. We are more than 1,000 members in the family.
Is the family averse to Western education or what do you think took the family so long to produce the first lettered man, a university graduate at that?
The major reason is our family elders’ fear of cultural imperialism, fear of alcoholism, unrestrained interaction between the male and female folks, possible disrespect towards elders and other anti-cultural behaviours which they feel might result from the acquisition of Western education.
They also believe that in the process of acquiring Western education, a child could lose their Islamic faith and become a non-Muslim, a situation which they believe is forbidden.
How did you break the jinx?
To God be the glory. I broke the jinx through determination and resilience. It was not a smooth journey. There were lots of challenges against my dream but with God, I was able to surmount them all and today, I am proud to be a university graduate.
Tells us about your educational background and how you ended up in the university?
Like I said earlier, I was born in 1995 in the Sabon Birni area of Sokoto South Local Government Area of Sokoto State. I had my elementary education at the Marafa Danbaba Nizzamiya Islamiyya, Sokoto, from 2001 to 2006. I proceeded to the Government Day Secondary School, Kofar, in the Rini area of the Sokoto metropolis. I was there between 2006 and 2012.
After my secondary education, I went to Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), where I obtained the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE). Afterwards, I gained admission into the Sokoto State University to study Hausa Language.
My struggle has paid off. I wrote my final exam a few days before last Christmas and I earned a Bachelor of Art (BA) degree from the university.
