Helen’s phone rang in the parlour while she was in her room. The phone rang again, and she heard it, but as she rushed to take the call, the caller had already ended the call. It was a strange number. She called back twice, but the receiver didn’t take the call. She slid into her Truecaller app to see if there could be a record of the caller. True Caller came up with a name, the University of Benin. She wondered if she got admission.
A few months ago, she had written her JAMB examination with the hope of gaining admission to study medicine and surgery. This was her third time applying for such a course. After her second attempt, her uncle advised her to take another course but she insisted on studying medicine and surgery. However, she was convinced and she changed her mind.
“Medicine and surgery are competitive courses in Uniben, you can try other courses like Pharmacy, radiography and others….they’re medical-related courses. As you can see, you’re not growing any younger, three years have already gone by, and very soon, a man will seek your hand in marriage, and going to school while married is always very demanding and tedious,” he told her.
The statement was strong enough to make her change her mind. She became silent for a moment, and then she responded.
“No, problem Uncle, I will do as you’ve advised. If I am unable to gain admission into medicine and surgery then I will look for another medical-related course”
“That’s nice, therefore, whatever the case, let me know”
“Okay, sir”, she said as she greeted him goodbye.
She called the number again and on the third attempt, the person took the call.
“Good afternoon sir, please I missed your call” she spoke first
“What’s your name?” a male voice from the other end asked
“Helen”
“Your sur name”
“Ofeimu”
There was a brief silence from the other end. Helene could hear the sound of the click. He knew that the man might be working on a computer.
“Ofeimu, Helene Paul” the man breaks the brief silence.
“Yes sir”
“Alright,” he said, then he continued “, You applied to study Medicine and Surgery, right”?
“Yes sir” she hurriedly responded
“Well, you did pretty well in your JAMB scores, but, unfortunately, you didn’t make it due to the new policy of the federal government on tertiary education. On that note, it's either you choose to study Pharmacy, radiography, or you try again next year.
Helen couldn’t say anything. A moment after, she wanted to speak, but was interrupted by the man who informed her to communicate with him before the end of the day.
“Thank you so much sir”
“You’re welcome” the man responded
Helene wasn’t herself after the call. She had a mixture of sadness and, at the same time, happiness. She called a few of her friends, and they gave her their suggestions, and to which course she should go, virtually all of them went with Radiography.
She also spoke with her parents, but they had nothing to contribute since they had never been to school. She called her uncle and he told her to pray about it and choose whichever course she feels she will be good at.
Still confused, she opened a ChatGPT app and asked for a comparative analysis between Pharmacy and Radiography. Putting the two courses and how important they are in her country, Radiography took the lead.
It was past 5 pm, and time was running out. She knew that it was the only moment of her life to make the right choice, and if this moment passed her by, she might never have it again.
A month later, Helene was admitted into the faculty of pharmacy against the wishes of her friends. Moreover, she was talked down on why she chose pharmacy over a trendy course that could easily take him out of the country.
Two years into the course, the National University Commission came for an accreditation, and Radiography fell out of the accreditation, and many of the students lost their admission.
It was a slim escape for Helene. Her faculty was accredited. At the end of her studies, she graduated with good grades and was employed to work with one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Lagos. At the peak of her career, she represented the company on a global stage. This aided her regular travels across the world.
Photo source: MetaAi