FAILURE IS PART OF THE PROCESS TO SUCCESS
–Best graduating Medical College student
By: Oriaifoh Godwins
Godknows Osarhiaekhimen, a native of Ologbo N’ugu in Orhionmwon Local Government Area in Edo State, the best graduating Medical student with fifteen distinctions from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, in an exclusive interview with Winning Media, said failure should not be seen as an excuse to give up, but rather as a part of the process in the journey to succeeding in life.
Miss Godknows who was inducted into the medical profession on the 14th of October, 2022 after bagging an MBChB degree with Honours from Obafemi Awolowo University College of Health Sciences, said; “…my advice to Nigerian youths is that hard work pays, and to achieve your goals, constantly set targets and work towards them. Surely, everyone has their time; so failure should not be seen as an excuse to give up, but rather as a part of the process.” She continued by saying; “the fact that one person seems to have achieved so much at a young age does not make the other person a failure; we're all a work in progress”.
Speaking on her next move, she said; “There’s a lot in store. First, I have to conclude my housemanship and service in the Youth Corps. I would love to acquire more knowledge and skills in the medical sector so I can contribute to the health sector of this nation and ensure that every Nigerian has access to quality healthcare at a sustainable cost.”
Miss Godknows, who said she owes her success so far to her maker, for endowing her with the skillset required and also to her hard work, dedication and consistency, as well as being surrounded by people who encouraged her from time to time, added that, her challenges over the years, has been the novelty of each class, as it took some time for her to get used to change in the system whenever she moved on to a new class.
In her assessment of the Nigerian Health sector, she said; “I think the Nigerian health sector has a lot of potential to be much better than it is, at the moment. We have the skills and the professionals. In my opinion, funding is a major issue. I believe that the existing facilities on ground could be better equipped with state-of-the art equipment and our maintenance culture could be worked on. I don’t think that any health facility should lack twenty four hours supply of electricity, too. We need to have better health insurance coverage so that all patients, regardless of socioeconomic status, are able to access the care they deserve”.
One very disturbing thing however, is that, Miss Godknows Osarhiaekhimen, who has all along in her primary and secondary schools been an outstanding student and now graduated as the best Medical student with fifteen distinctions has up till now, not been recognised with any award either by the government, a Non-Governmental Organisation, or group. We call on Edo state government, the Federal government as well as public spirited individuals and organisations to encourage this outstanding individual, as this is one way we can redirect and refocus our children to begin to develop interest in academics as well as in genuine and legitimate career.
