Wife of former president Goodluck Jonathan, Patience Jonathan has revealed that she nearly abandoned her pursuit of a Doctor of Philosophy due to pressure and challenges she faced from her lecturers.
Mrs. Patience, who recently earned a PhD in Psychology, Guidance and Counselling from Ignatius Ajuru University of Education during the institution’s 43rd Postgraduate Convocation Ceremony, explained that, it took God’s intervention before she could continue.
Speaking during a testimony time over the weekend, at Streams of Joy International Church, the former first lady recounted her difficult academic journey, marked by moments of frustration and self-doubt.
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Jonathan admitted that the demands of academic life, particularly the repeated assignments and high expectations from lecturers, nearly pushed her to the brink.
She said: “At times, my lecturer would get me angry and say, ‘Go and repeat this page. Shey this man don’t know that I’m old.
“Very soon, I will leave this place and rest because what will I do with it? It’s just to keep the brain moving.
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“But to God be the glory. That thing that seemed impossible, God made it possible, and I graduated.
“When I went to pick up my PhD form, I thought I would not make it.
“I said, I have finished my career. I have served as First Lady of Nigeria. What am I going to do with a PhD?
“But God told me to go there. He said, ‘If your children can make it, why can’t you?’
“I would go to class and sit on the bench with my children.
“I was the ‘Mama’ among them, and I wasn’t ashamed.
“The teacher would be teaching, I would raise my hand and ask questions because the younger ones would understand immediately, but, as a ‘Mama’, I had to ask questions three times before I understood one thing.”
