Patience Jonathan, wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan,
said she nearly abandoned her pursuit of a Doctor of Philosophy at Ignatius
Ajuru University of Education due to pressure from her lecturers.
The former first lady recently earned a PhD in Psychology,
Guidance and Counselling.
While speaking during a testimony time at Streams of Joy
International Church, the ex-first lady recounted how her academic journey was
marked by moments of frustration and self-doubt.
According to her, academic demands, such as repeated
assignments and high expectations from lecturers, almost pushed her to abandon
her educational pursuit.
“At times, my lecturer would get me angry and say, ‘Go and
repeat this page.’
“Shey this man don’t know that I’m old.
“Very soon, I will leave this place and rest because what
will I do with it? It’s just to keep the brain moving.
“But to God be the glory. That thing that seemed impossible,
God made it possible, and I graduated,” she said.
Jonathan said she thought she won’t make it when she started
the programme, having served as Nigeria’s First Lady.
“When I went to pick up my PhD form, I thought I would not
make it.
“I said, I have finished my career. I have served as First
Lady of Nigeria. What am I going to do with a PhD?
“But God told me to go there. He said, ‘If your children can
make it, why can’t you?”
She said during the programme, she was not afraid to ask
questions even though she was the oldest student in the classroom.
“I would go to class and sit on the bench with my children.
I was the ‘Mama’ among them, and I wasn’t ashamed.
“The teacher would be teaching, I would raise my hand and
ask questions because the younger ones would understand immediately, but, as a
‘Mama’, I had to ask questions three times before I understood one thing,” she
said.
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It is encouraging. Congratulations to our former first lady.
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