By Timothy Nwobodo and Joseph Joy

The Enugu State Commissioner for Water Resources, Honourable (Dr) Felix Nnamani, in an exclusive interview with ESUT Monitor, disclosed that he graduated with a Third-class degree from the Department of Political Science, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT in 1996.

He made this disclosure while recounting his days of humble beginnings saying “I graduated from Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Department of Political Science in 1996 with Third-class Honours,” but didn’t stop at that level as the desire to acquire more knowledge to impact the society continued to push him in the ladder of his academic excellence.

“I didn’t stop there, I had to go to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where I obtained Postgraduate Diploma in Public Administration and Local Government. It gave me the leverage now to get admission and go for Masters Degree.”

However, he highlighted some challenges he faced as an undergraduate that led to his graduation with third-class, decrying the hostile environment in which they were made to learn.

“We were the first to be admitted into the Faculty of Social Sciences, I went through pre-science programme in Abakaliki then ASUTECH (Anambra State University of Technology), at the point of getting admission in 1991, we were moved to Adada Campus in Nsukka. Adada Campus was not a joke, it was not an easy place. We were bathing in the stream, snakes were biting people, you couldn’t even concentrate, the few lecturers that were coming made enormous sacrifices coming from Enugu in a school bus to come and teach us on daily basis. We did that for almost three years before the then Military administration closed the campus and we came back to Enugu.” He said.

Asked if his grade is a true reflection of his intellectual ability, Honourable Nnamani responded in the negative stressing that his set then should not be judged by their academic performance because they lacked the basic facilities for a conducive learning environment coupled with their relocation to Enugu which brought them into a different situation entirely.  

“No, coming back to Enugu, it was difficult for us to integrate because we were looking different, the suffering and experience we got there is only God that knows. We were not supposed to be judged by our academic performances there because the facilities for you to really excel and pursue your goal were not there.

“And it’s not like we’re coming from a family where the resources are available. I came from one of the poorest villages in the state. I’m from Ugwuomu, it is one of the remotest villages in Enugu State. We trekked 15 kilometers from Ugwuomu to be able to go to St. Patrick in Emene to get secondary education. I remember going to farm with my mother to uproot cassava, go to Orie Emene and sell it before you can get money to go to school. I remember washing cars at the airport corner in order to get money to get to campus. A lot of factors contributed and God helped us to surmount, but that didn’t shift our focus to becoming who we are today.”

He also stressed that his resilience and commitment to his goals is what helped him surmount all the challenges life threw at him.