Muhammad Muhsin Ibrahim
@muhsin234
I was his favourite student. Our
Agricultural Science teacher at junior secondary school was confident that I
understood his lesson more than others. He soon also became my fave. I admired
his pretty handwriting and his good command of English. He would occasionally
call me to another class when members of the class failed to answer his questions.
He would ask me the same question. I never disappointed him. As my reward
and a punishment for the student(s), he would imprudently order me to slap him very
hard in the face. That endeared him to me but also made me somehow infamous
among my mates.
By virtue of this endearment, I was
slowly tempted to be like him, in fact, to become him by studying his
discipline. Once I told my brother about it. He suspiciously asked why. He
simply laughed it off when I finished. I was earlier afraid that he would blast me with a litany of what was not what everyone wanted me to do, or
at least show his disapproval. He did neither. I asked why, for I was
astonished. He told me that Agric Science wasn’t bad, but he was sure that I would dispel that thought and embrace what’s better for me with time.
Medicine, he obviously meant.
As I had guessed, or rather expected, I
withdrew that dream when we were in class III, our final year. I was given
all the needed morale boosts to sit for the Science and Technical Junior Secondary
School Exam. I did and passed with flying colours. Everyone wanted me to get admission
into any of the three science colleges under the Board; I ended up in Government Technical College
I couldn’t finish GTC at Wudil due to a
protracted illness. So I was transferred to Kano
I independently studied Biology. I
registered with NECO at an ‘ordinary’ centre, not a ‘miracle’ one, where success
was/is usually guaranteed. However, as Allah had another plan for me, the plan I
relentlessly tried to escape, the two exam dates and times clashed on more
than 3 subjects. This is yet another insurmountable hurdle, practically another
failure, another depression. I, this time, didn’t consider it as such. I
honourably surrendered.
It wasn’t coincidental. Later, I intuitively realised that I, out of the blue, picked up reading as my pastime. Thus, when what I always call Destiny led me to study English/PES at the Federal College of Education (FCE), Kano, I seamlessly fit in. I had no earthly clue what “PES” was, for I didn’t apply for
that. It means Primary Education Studies. In fact, I found reading English a
lot of fun. I finished my first year with an outstanding result. After that, however, I left
FCE and proceeded to a university to study a similar course. There, I believe I
discovered where my future lies, where my talent thrives, and, above all, where
Allah wants me to be.
We should realise that destiny can never be avoided nor modified. That doesn’t,
nonetheless, mean we shouldn't strive to get what we want. Give it your best effort. Then, when it becomes apparent that that particular thing (or
person, for instance) is not for you, give up and accept what Allah provides
you with.
Allah, the Exalted, says, “…But perhaps [that] you dislike a
thing and it (is) good for you; and perhaps [that] you love a thing and it (is)
bad for you. And Allah knows while you (do) not know”. (Qur’an, 2:216). So we are only tracing the lines we have sketched by ourselves since we were in our
mother’s womb.
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