Former First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan, has opened up about the personal and academic challenges she faced while pursuing a doctoral degree, describing the experience as one of the most demanding periods of her life.
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Speaking during a testimony and thanksgiving service held at Streams of Joy International Church in Abuja, the former First Lady reflected on the mental, emotional, and physical toll of her three-year Ph.D. program, which she likened to a forty-year journey.
“When I went to pick up the Ph.D. form, I asked myself, ‘What am I going to do with this now that I have finished as First Lady?’ But God told me, ‘If these young children can make it, why can’t you?’ So, I tried. Honestly, those three years felt like 40,” she said.
Dame Patience Jonathan revealed how, despite being older than most of her classmates, she fully immersed herself in the academic environment, determined to succeed.
“I wasn’t ashamed. When the teacher was teaching, I raised my hand and asked questions. The younger ones understood things quickly, but I, Mama, I had to ask three times before I understood one. I kept going. I wasn’t afraid to learn,” she recounted.
She used the occasion to encourage Nigerians to embrace lifelong learning, stressing that education is not bound by age.
“There is no age limit in education. You are 100 years old, you can make it. You are 10 years old, you can make it. Just sit like me. Be determined, and you will succeed,” she said to loud applause.
The former First Lady also appealed for national unity, calling on Nigerians to rise above divisions and work together toward building a better country. She urged religious leaders to continue interceding for Nigeria in prayers, noting that the country needs divine intervention and collective effort more than ever.
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