By Helen Omowumi Ajiboye
Dr Stephen Ilesanmi Ajiboye was born to Pa Festus Okunrinyo Ajiboye and Mrs Leah Folake Ajiboye in Odo-Ape Bunu an agrarian, peaceful community in Kabba/ Bunu Local Governmemnt Area of Kogi state. He began his academic journey while he was with his aunt mama Sarah Omotilegha Kolawole (aka Iye li Kachia) in Kotoko Barrack Kawo, Kaduna. Mama also carried him along when she moved to Kachia Barrack in the late 70s to early 80s. He was eventually taken back to Odo-Ape to continue his primary and secondary school education at St Bartholomew LEA primary and community secondary schools respectively.
In November, 1987 he lost his father to the cold hands of death and mama Sarah Kolawole has to take responsilities of his upkeep, until his uncle Deacon Solomon Obamoh came to take him to government science secondary school Abaji in Abuja. He couldn’t finish his secondary school there and has to go back to Odo-Ape and continue to stay with mama Sarah, having retired back home where he enrolled in Okebukun High School and wrote his WASSCE and came out with a fair result.
Having completed his secondary school education, he travelled in the early 90s to meet his mother in Kaduna to look for greener pasture, but when the pasture refused to be green he was advised by some family members to go enrol as an artisan due to lack of fund to continue his education but he vehemently rejected the offer because of his quest for education. He then travelled to Kano to meet his cousin brother Mr. Olorunleke Samuel Adebola where he took up a teaching job in a private nursery and primary school coupled with home lessons and simultaneously joggle a hotel job as a bar man. Later, he got a job in Universal Textile Company Dakata, Kano, these hustles were just to safe money to re-take his WAEC in order to further his education.
As an external student in government secondary school airport road Kano, he passed all his WAEC subjects except a pass (P) in Mathematics, he bought an admission form in Federal College of Education Zaria in 1999 and secured admission to obtained Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). On completion of the program with flying colours and because of his hunger for education, he immediately applied to continue his degree but couldn’t secure admission due to the competitive nature of admission to degree programme in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria then. He went back to Kano to take up a teaching job again so that he could get money for the degree programme in the next admission session which he got. While in the university, he met his beautiful fiance whom he is happily and gloriously married to today.
On graduation, he went for the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Tsokundi, Wukari local government, Taraba state. He toiled all through in Taraba to secure a job but to no avail. After the NYSC, he went back to Zaria in search for job because he believed in self-sustenance and independence but Job was no where until a classmate told him about a teaching job in Kaduna which he quickly grabbed and moved to start.
As someone who has passion for education, though married, he registered for WAEC as external student to remediate his deficiency in Mathematics in order to proceed to a postgraduate studies as it was a requirement to secure admission in Ahmadu Bello University Zaria where he obtained his Masters degree in Educational Psychology and Counseling. This was made possible because of the undiluted determination, resilience, perseverance, hard-work and absolute faith in God who carried him through in this journey. After the masters degree, he secured a lecturing job at the then Federal College of Education now Federal University of Education, Zaria. This aptly suit his dream of imparting peoples’ life, moulding destinies and helping younger generation to discover their dreams, get directions and focused so that they can be useful to themselves, families and the society.
Again, to reach the pinnacle of his educational pursuit and career, he proceeded to obtained his PhD in Educational Psychology at the Federal University.Dutsin-ma Katsina state. Today, history has been made as he has never got any success on the platter of gold, he has been called to the hall of fame to be among the giants in the field of education in Nigeria.
In the course of his career, he has attended local,national and international conferences, published many articles in national and international journals and has contributed chapters in reputable books in his area of expertise. With his soft spot for quality education, he has trained many students who are successful in their various chosen career across the globe and many are still under his tutelage to becoming world class experts in their various field of endevours. He is a teacher, father, role model, motivator, psychologist, counselor, entrepreneur and educationist per excellence. He is grateful to his family, friends, colleagues and God almighty who has kept to his promises throughout this academic journey and life challenges with ease without been consumed. To God alone be the glory.
