Date: 2017-03-09

Call her jack of all trades and master of all, you might not be wrong. This, perhaps, is the best way to describe Lawal Maryam Bukola, a 22-year-old 2016 fi rst class graduate of Bachelor of Agricultural Technology in General Agriculture (Soil Science and Land Management), in the Federal University of Technology Minna.

A young and promising Ilorin born Muslim lady, Maryam, has carved a niche for herself in both Western and Islamic education. Apart from being the second female since the creation of her department to bag a fi rst class degree in the dreaded and male-dominated fi eld of Soil Science and Land Management of the university, she also came third at the just concluded state category of the Quran Memorisation Competition (Musabaka), held in Ilorin, Kwara state recently. Born into the family of Alhaji Mohammed Sulaiman Lawal and Hajia Fatima, Tegbesun compound, Alapata, Ilorin, Blueprint gathered that Maryam was the second female to have bagged fi"rst class honours from the department, a feat that earned her respect and accolades from both academic and non- academic staff, as well as students of School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology of the university.

Though her father was a part-time lecturer with the University of Abuja but now private businessman, the scholar tells our reporter that she is never under unnecessary pressure from him, neither was her choice of career also influenced by them. ‘‘Nothing like pressure because if pressure wants to come from any angle, I have my mum there, if I call her, even at midnight, she will always tell me the way to do things. Mostly, the pressure I passed through in school was mainly financial, because there is no amount of money you will give a student that will be enough. We will always come back to ask for more and I think that is general. "But thank God, my dad has been very , very supportive in this regard, so also my mum," she explains. Providence and choice of career Though her wish was to study Medicine in the University of Ilorin before the Soil Science option came, Maryam says she has learnt to always make best use of any opportunity that comes her way, because according to her, "the blessing of Allah is the most important in whatever man does’. Recalling how providence played out in her choice of carrier, she says, "the course was not actually what I had chosen. Medicine so was what I opted for.

I chose University of Ilorin as my first choice but something went wrong with my JAMB result. ‘‘In JAMB exam then, you had to shade your subjects, I only answered the questions without shading one of the subjects and that is Physics. So, instead of me having scores from four subjects, the scores I got were from three subjects. So that affected my results and I could not obtain the required scores for admission for Medicine". Trying moment For Maryam, the feat recorded was also a ‘‘surprise’’ to her even when she knew she actually worked hard and merited it, but never knew she would be the one to break the jinx in her department, after several years that fi rst class honour had eluded the female students of the department. "Actually, every success is just the work of Almighty Allah .He has always been How Icombined western, Quranic education – First Class graduate UMAR BAYO ABDULWAHAB encounters Maryam Bukola Lawal, who speaks on her road to academic stardom at FUT Minna. with me since I started at FUT ,Minna.

Initially , it was so hectic ,the stress of going and coming was almost unbearable for me ,and at a point, I felt like, If I had known, I would have stayed back in Ilorin "I started with determination and prayer to ensure that in my stay in Mina, I must make a difference. I tried as much as possible to proceed on my Islamic and Western education. I always attended tutorials.

I was always alone because I tried not to mingle with bad friends. And by the time I got to 300 Level, I was clearly able to discover the bad ones, so they had their space, and they also knew me by my nature. That was how we managed ourselves till I graduated." Extracurricular activities In between her tight academic schedules, Maryam, determined not to let any time pass her without making judicious use of it, embraced Quran memorisation, a spiritual exercise which, at different times, saw her participating in the state Quranic memorisation competition and also in similar contests in Katsina, among theirs. "Actually, before I left for Minna, I attended Arabic schools where we learnt memorisation of Holy Quran every weekend. I completed my Idadi (equivalent to JSS) at Zumura in Okekere ,Ilorin, in 2009, and memorised up to 10 hisbus, "I continued on that line when I got to FUT Minna. Every day, after school activities, when I got home, I would memorise two hisbus before going to sleep, after that I would cook and go to bed around 12 midnight.

That's how it went every day. I was able to complete 30 hisbus with the assistance of a friend and my Mallam(coach), today I have memorised up to 60 hisbus." Pains and gains For her, engaging in such spiritual exercise was also a blessing in disguise. Before I got to 500 level, a lot of people were saying that it is the most diffi cult stage, and that I will definitely fi nd it quite challenging. So, I became scared, but had to overcome the fear and remained resolute, and continued praying to God. "It (Quran memorisation) really helped me when I got to 500 level, because I saw the changes in me. The more you memorise, the faster you assimilate. As I got to 500 level, it was easy for me. That semester, my CGPA was the best in the whole Faculty". And for every sweet moment, there is always an unpleasant experience. And Maryam for her it was not any different, as she recalls 'farming' as the most diffi cult of her programmes. "It was very, very stressful time.

Our lectures ran from 8am to 6.00 pm and we had to work for 5 hours every day on the farm. We did that for two weeks. We had two farms each, Maize and Cowpea. It was a very difficult, very difficult period for me," she recalls with satisfaction. Asked if she plans to own a farm, she responds thus, "that's a long term plan because to own a farm is not easy.

You need a lot of money and incentives but with the right support and incentives, I hope to own one in future." Road to success Like every child, the young scholar attended Police Children School, Ilorin , for her nursery/primary education, from where she proceeded to Alade College, also in IIorin for her secondary education and obtained her ‘O’ Level Certifi cate in 2010.

Rising from that humble background to attaining greatness ,Maryam describes her success story as "a product and outcome of proper mentoring, parental guidance, determination, focus, prayers and steadfastness", even as she acknowledges that "the road to success is not easy, it is narrow ,you have to work your way out."

"Though, I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but my parents try as much as possible to satisfy us. Th ey give us the best they can , they teach us how to do things even in their absence." Plan after school For now, Maryam, who is happily engaged with her heartthrob, is looking forward to her marriage from where she hopes to further pursue her Master's degree and P.hd programme, with preference for academic as a career.

Kwara Class of Honour With this feat, the 22-yer-old scholar is set to be admitted into Kwara Class of Honour, an initiative of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, launched in honour of First class indigenes from the state who have distinguished themselves in their various disciplines. With this perfect match and blend of Quran and Western education, Maryam is certainly a model of how parents should raise their wards for them to be of immense use, not only to themselves, but also the society.