The ‘Book of Life’: Ariola’s Formula for Academic Excellence

By Daniel Nnam, Esther Popoola, Boluwatise O-Oluyomi, Oluwakemi Okeowo, and Toyyeebah Yusuf 

There is no one-size-fits-all formula for academic success. While several scholars have attributed their performance to specific techniques and reading methods, Ifeoluwa Ariola’s premium formula is what he calls “the book of life.” This unique innovation and other practices helped him emerge as the Best Graduating Student of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, with a remarkable CGPA of 4.89.

Revealing how the idea of this book of life came about, Ariola said: 

“So this thing started in year 3. I would make condensed versions of everything taught in class, together with a little research. It pretty much caught on in my classroom and within my circle. We called it the Book of Life.”

A rather classic name, wouldn’t you agree? A resource like this would typically save the lives of students who like to read at the last minute. Even without his knowledge, his priceless material was circulating the class, and he’d often get random direct messages from coursemates asking him to explain certain portions of it.

Beyond this book of life, his regular class attendance was another major factor that contributed to Ariola’s academic excellence.

“Classes were a major routine. I wasn’t much of a big note writer, but I always attended classes,” he pointed out.

It took Ariola a great deal of discipline to attend most of his classes amidst his busy schedule. While pursuing his degree in Estate Management, he took on some writing and branding gigs. 

“It wasn’t easy. I remember when exams were coming up, and I had a lot of work to do. I would have to finish work on time, so I had enough time to prepare for the exams.”

Surprisingly, work also significantly contributed to Ariola’s academic performance. “I would say work helped with school because there are specific skills I’ve gotten from work, like writing, for instance, enabling me to take out a large body of information from a big book or publication.”

Although Ariola maintained the leading position in terms of CGPA across the faculty, significant challenges, such as the intermittent strike action from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the COVID-19 lockdown of 2020, were discouraging. He even considered pursuing a degree in another school.

“At one point, I lost the whole school vibe and energy for the school. So many times, I even considered transferring out of UNILAG.”

However, as soon as Ariola returned to school, his energy and passion for his course of study were reignited. He eventually grew to enjoy Estate Management, even though he initially had no interest in it. Although he had always dreamed of studying architecture, he settled on Estate Management after two unsuccessful attempts.

These unsuccessful attempts were not directly tied to poor academic performance, though. He had always been a scholar, and his journey to excellence began long before his university days. His father, a businessman, and his mother, a teacher at his primary school, played a huge role in instilling in him the values of discipline and excellence.

“My mom is a teacher, and I’ll probably say that’s what has had the biggest influence on my educational background because I attended the same school where my mom taught,” he mentioned. 

Looking forward, Ariola hopes to enrol in a business school outside Nigeria. He intends to learn how businesses work and apply that knowledge to building his real estate firm.

Advising students who want to attain a remarkable feat as he has done, Ariola said: “You have to want it bad, and you have to be nice to yourself.”