Roland Bayode
"A lady once told me that she never believes I can make it in life, considering the way I was on campus then. I have one bag and walk around like someone who has no future but within me, I know my life is beyond campus."
Multiple Award-winning journalists; Shola Ilesanmi, who is a research fellow, 2021 Kwame Karikari Research Fellowship works with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Yoruba Service as reporter and Agence France-Presse (AFP) as a researcher. He narrates his success story of how he looked beyond grades after leaving the Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko to become a firebrand journalist who now plies his trade with reputable international media organizations.
One of the funny things about the media is that most of the people who are vets now started little and the majority of them do not even like the course when they began. Shola ilesanmi is just another example of this as he discloses that he wanted to go for law and after three attempts, fate brought him to mass communication where he studied journalism.
When he started his career, resilience according to him has always been one of the principles that helped him to build the needed skills from the onset.
"I started by working with a campus magazine Echo newspaper where I developed my skills. I'm always chasing after the news. One of the things that helped us is that those who started the paper in 2004 left in 2005 with only one or two people left. So, we had the chance to come in at a very early stage mainly to work and this gave us a drive."
Journalism has quite been a risky and threatening job, this legman journalist as at then said he knew every profession has its threat, and journalism is not exempted. So, as a smart guy, he has decided to be a man by chasing a dream out of a dreamless course he had no choice but to pick after all hope on studying law proved futile.
To him, he believes that it is more advisable to back up on some stories because no one has a backup life when one falls off and becomes food to worms.
"Journalism risk is quite higher but it takes God and wisdom to discern because no story is worth one's life. it is better to back up on a story and live because no one has a backup life."
When questioned to know the paradigm shift that makes him 'someone who does not at first understand or have any desire to study journalism to drastically grow to become a firebrand international journalist.'
The pace-setter reporter responded that he had faced lots of impediments that could have worn him out, but he was not in any way thinking of backing out, instead, he was focused and his passion was fired up.
"There was no phone at that time we could not browse, we could not snap pictures, we have to beg and pay a photographer to come and take pictures for us. It was very difficult. Despite that, I kept going and I have many national newspapers I wrote for while on campus. Immediately when I finished school, I have job opportunities then I chose the one I wanted and that's how I find myself in international media as a product of prayers, resilience, and hard-working."
Apparently, from sight, one can tell that this frontward pen-commander is not the big muscle type of person, as he appears simple and approachable. Until when one is told that yes! This is the Shola ilesanmi whose name has always been ringing the bell. This implies that success is not by height, not age, not even power as the pen with the big eyeball exemplify.
He divulges that just like every other person, there were times he was down, depressed, and felt things has fallen apart but he did three essential things that keep him back on his track.
"I sit down to question and assess myself to know if I'm still doing the right thing and the answers to those questions got me bounced back. By the time I left school, I was already convinced that this is what I want to do but it is necessary to have the right set of people, have the needed conversation, good contacts list."
For grades, the pen connoisseur has quite not been on a green page his lecturer's red pen as he's of the idea that there is a life beyond grades that students must understand. He didn't dispute that good grades are needed to get access to scholarship opportunities but he emphasized that journalism is far beyond the grade and what he focused his attention earlier on is three things.
"I didn't come out with one of the best grades you would possibly think. Students need to know that there is life beyond grades. The contest out there is crazy, nobody will ask for good grades, what they will ask you is if you have a degree and skills related to journalism. Then you have the job but there is a need to understand the market language, the market forces, and what is obtainable on the field, then you can fit in"
Busy, sited on a duke club black birchwood frame and soft linen cushions chair in Akure is this star reporter as he takes the next question to share from his experience what media students need to have in them to become a successful member of the fourth estate. As someone who is fully prepared, he adjusted his sitting posture and said three things are needed.
The first he mentioned is that one must be a versatile reader and self-conscious
journalists to avoid being embarrassed.
"You need to be vast and smart so you won't be embarrassed."
The second he detailed is understanding the environment and having contact with the newsmakers.
"I remember then that I used to go to Mosque, go to church, social events just to cover events or get someone to do that and at the end, I have people who have recommended in that line because I give reports about them and this was because they knew I was doing it while on campus."
The third as he further divulged is that good angel has their enemies, so one must put God in everything to scale through from foes.
"It is not everyone that likes you. Some people are brilliant and talented, the next thing you hear is that they died mysteriously so there should be a place for God in everything"
The rabble-rouser pen adept reveals that they had no money when they were doing it with all their sweat and blood then unlike now where students have access to the internet on their phone and can easily get things they needed to be done at a button.
"When I was working for The Nation Newspaper, I would have to go to the cyber cafe to type my story, while typing, the system will just go off and I will have to buy more time. If at that time, things were difficult and we did it, then students now do not have an excuse to give." He remarked...
The front-runner stringer also narrates his horrible starting moment of how he had sleepless nights for a week inside mosquitos around an old stadium in Akure just to make a publication of the Echo newspaper.
"We will put our stories in a floppy disk, only to get to akure and realize that the floppy disk has been corrupted, so we will go back to Akungba to revert. Some typed stories would have been stale because of the delay. Just like the end of labor, there is always a reward waiting, Shola and his men today now have a remarkable feat in their efforts.
"Some of those who were committed then are now doing well and have big shot in the media. This is not because they all finished at top of their classes but because they understood that it is beyond the grades in class"
He emphasized that journalists must make themselves relevant with times and season as the profession is a no-nonsense one, even a gentle person has to be firm and smart with it to retain their job.
He also reinforced that journalist does not have to be religious in the newsroom.
"I'm a Christian, I had several interns who behave religiously in the newsroom, I do tell that I will slap them if they behave too religious and those who have cared to listen are now firebrands today."
He gives his final remarks stating that there is life beyond grades and students must get that.
"Some people look fine on campus and later turn out to be struggling after they leave school. Just follow up on your passion, strive to be excellent and even your enemies will praise you because they know that If they want the best, they will go for you."
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