The noise from my younger ones preparing for school, my neighbors preparing for work and carrying out their domestic duties woke me up by 7am, as always. I got up from my bed, cleaned up, with no special feeling whatsoever about what the day has in store for me. I went for a morning walk along my street; something I rarely do but I did it that morning anyway. While I was taking that walk, I met a friend; the kind who always gives good news and is always updated with the happenings in the state. He told me to go check the Ministry of Education’s notice board, that, a scholarship scheme for both science and art students may be in place. He didn’t know what university or country the scholarship was for.
I returned home, took my bath, got dressed, and made my way to the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education at Civil Servants Quarters, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. I got to the office very much unprepared for what I saw; a crowd, wasn’t much, but very much so,neither was the time. It was Tuesday November 12, 2013. Applications were being received and in a weeks’ time the screening tests would be held. I did not carry documents to prove that I was a qualified applicant; I returned home and retrieved them.I also wrote my application letter and went on to submit it. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to carry my passport along so I had to secure new ones. This was done with my pocket money since I didn’t let anyone know about what I was doing. I was pretty satisfied with what I had done because I was doing it by myself without the help of anyone.
Two days past and it came to my notice that application forms were being given out at the Bayelsa state Scholarship board, I was very confused whether I should go and fill it out again or not. After a day of thinking and analyzing, I decided to go fill out the form at the Bayelsa State Scholarship Board. On getting there, I found out that I had misplaced my passports again so I had to take new ones. This time, I was made to write my application letter in front of my liaison officer. When I was through with the letter, I was given a form to complete, this was the time I knew the University I would be going to and it’s location. It was Friday,November 15,2013 and the advertisement displayed showed that the screening tests would be held on Tuesday November 19,2013 ; three days after all applications had been submitted.
Most people I met while applying for this scholarship rendered no words of encouragement rather they advised me to let go of the whole process.They said that Bayelsa State is not a State where scholarships were given to students based on merit. Even the students applying for the scholarship alongside me where not helpful, most of them believed it was just a scam and that the sixteen people going to The Lincoln University had already been chosen ; we were just for the public to see. I never lost my faith or hope for a transparent screening and selection system until I saw the total number of students who applied for the scholarship: 5,763. I was moved by that figure because even if the screening and selection process was transparent , how sure am I that I'll beat those people to be among the sixteen people going to the USA to study at the prestigious Lincoln University PA, the first historically black school, the University our very own first president Nnamdi Azikwe attended. All faith I had in myself left me once I saw that number.
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