TOWARDS A SUCCESSFUL EDUCATIONAL JOURNEY!

It was a great privilege for me to be present at a well-organized and educative gathering held by an Arabic institution on the 7th of March 2026 to explore possible ways towards a successful educational journey for students of knowledge. It is an annual gathering initiated by Aljannat Institute under the proprietorship of Dr. Sheikh Abdul Fatai Abdul Rohuf Babatunde (Yaa Baba) during the month of Ramadan. The gathering was blessed with several scholars from different fields and disciplines deliberating on the chosen theme: “Towards a Successful Academic Journey.” Experiences were shared, perspectives were presented, and opinions were expressed on how an individual, particularly a student, can thrive and attain academic success. Be that as it may, some of the points and opinions mentioned will be shared in this insight. Starting with self-discovery, it was stated that self-discovery is one of the first crucial aspects of achieving academic success. It is very important for a student to discover himself or herself. By virtue of discovering oneself, one will be able to know what he or she is competent at doing. More emphasis was placed on self-discovery because many youths nowadays are forced to study courses in the university that they are not interested in—courses they have no idea or background knowledge about—which hinders their academic development and success. After self-discovery, the next step is self-assessment, which must be attached to a goal. During the assessment, students will be able to identify their strengths and weaknesses for further improvement. Self-assessment reviews the improvement and performance of students, which may determine whether they pose a challenge to their competitors. In this regard, setting a goal and objective is also one of the factors that can lead to academic success. It was mentioned that having a target goal at the beginning of an academic journey strengthens a student’s focus and prevents deviation as well as distraction. When a student has a goal he or she desires to attain at the end of the academic journey—for example, a first-class grade—such a student will never relent, deviate, or become lazy. The set goal becomes a motivator throughout the academic journey, leading to academic success. Also, avoiding “over sabi” and going out of context helps in achieving a successful academic journey. Particularly in the university, students must ensure that they understand what their lecturers want when answering questions. They must provide expected and appropriate answers to the questions asked by their lecturers. What is expected in the introduction, body, and conclusion should be well organized in order to obtain a good grade. Some students try to prove themselves through what is commonly known as “over sabi,” which often results in failure for them. Therefore, over sabi must be avoided, and adequate answers must be provided to questions in order to have a successful academic journey. Moving forward, commitment and closeness to Allah is also one of the vital factors towards achieving academic success. Students are expected to fear Allah and also seek His help in their academic journey because prayer makes everything possible. Faithfulness and commitment to Allah will ease students’ affairs and soften their difficulties. It will strengthen their trust and reliance on Allah in times of hardship and obstacles. When students believe that with Allah they can achieve greatness, they will never relent but will continue to work towards it. In addition, to have a successful educational journey, students must have a good role model who will stand as a mirror for them. A role model is someone who imparts knowledge to others. A role model may not have a car, a house, or wear expensive clothes, but he saves lives through his knowledge. Thus, there is a difference between a role model and a celebrity. Many youths today have favourite celebrities but do not have role models due to this misconception. Students must not use celebrities as their role models if they want to have a successful academic life. For a successful academic journey, students must avoid gambling, magic, and fraud (particularly yahoo). These activities are distractions to students and can never generate sustainable wealth for them. It was mentioned that gambling revolves around the theory that “the house never loses,” meaning the hosts and initiators of any gambling game will never lose. Gambling is organized in such a way that players may win or lose, but the initiators always profit in the long run. However, the losers are far more than the profiteers. Furthermore, magic is an illusion that consumes large amounts of money from students. Many students want magic to happen in their academic and personal lives. They want to earn what they did not work for, which is impossible and can serve as a major distraction from achieving success. Also, yahoo (internet fraud) has become a central problem in attaining educational success among students in this contemporary era. Many students have lost interest in learning and education due to yahoo. The expensive lifestyle displayed by yahoo boys and fraudsters has shaped the perception of students towards education, which serves as a major threat to a successful educational journey. In conclusion, students must try to adhere to these aforementioned opinions and factors postulated by the guests and scholars at the Ramadan talk organized by Aljannat Institute in order to have a successful career and educational journey.

Other insights from Bolaji

Referral Earning

Points-to-Coupons