By Marie-Therese Nanlong

The misadventure of young people to ‘get rich quick,’ is fast gaining momentum. People as young as 17 years old have been seen to engage in suspected ritual killings, yahoo yahoo, drug peddling and the like.

These young people with misplaced priority chase after ill-gotten wealth at the expense of building an enduring future. Worried by this, a Professor of Administrative and Commercial Law, Thomas Oyelami of the University of Jos urged youths to put their priorities right.

In a chat with Vanguard in Jos, Professor Oyelami recalled how his father took him from Ogbomosho in Oyo State at a tender age to tend a shop in Jos, Plateau State, saying, “My father was a farmer in our village, a polygamist with many children, he could not afford to send me to secondary school after my primary education so he brought me to Jos to an uncle who was equally overburdened with challenges to stay and work as a shop boy.

“At that time, (1969), the civil war was ongoing, many people were trading in Jos, shops were flourishing. I was there till 1973, collecting seven pounds which could not sustain me even while I was eating once a day. Towards the end of ’73, I heard about a vacancy at the Jos campus of University of Ibadan.

“With my basic education as a teenager, I applied for the post of a messenger and got employment. By 1976, the University was no longer a campus of UI so we were asked to join either the University of Ibadan or the University of Jos.”

He continued, “I opted to stay in Jos, fortunately, we were promoted a level ahead instead of a step so I was promoted from Messenger Grade III on GL 2 to Clerical Assistant but that was the bar. I was attending an extramural school where I sat and obtained five credits in 0’L and two A’L papers. I was admitted to read Political Science in 1981.

“That forced me to resign my appointment because that was the condition. I was already married at that time as an illiterate so some good lecturers employed my wife who was a typist, by the time I completed the programme, a Librarian advised me to go and get a Master’s degree in Library Studies so I went to UI and did that.

“After that, a friend advised me to leave Pol Science and MLS to read Law. When I returned to Jos to read Law, life was tough, but upon completion, I was reemployed and posted to the Centre for Continuing Education to teach until I got to the post of Principal Tutor in 2002 which is the bar. I crossed to the Faculty of Law in 2003. Six years ago, I became a full fledged Professor of Law.”

On what motivated him to seek knowledge, he stated, “…I attended a party at Ogbomosho and we were dancing, at a point, they switched on the light and said, “if you are below higher school certificate here, go out,” that was very embarrassing because we were all driven out.

“Again, as a messenger, after cleaning, we used to assist in registering new intakes in school. When I see someone, who is younger than me, coming to register to study, I will be very sad about my situation. My saddest moment was during registration so I took the challenge despite lack of resources to study.

“I did odd jobs to sustain my family and my studies. I challenge young people not to be too ambitious about money. There is time for everything.”