Global sales and partnerships expert Ezekiel Bamigboye has recounted how his failure to gain admission to study engineering at the University of Ilorin redirected his academic journey and eventually laid the foundation for an international career....
Global sales and partnerships expert Ezekiel Bamigboye has recounted how his failure to gain admission to study engineering at the University of Ilorin redirected his academic journey and eventually laid the foundation for an international career.
Bamigboye said he had initially hoped to become an engineer but could not secure admission to his preferred university because his Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) score was not good enough.
Rather than spend another year at home waiting to reapply, he enrolled to study Business Administration and Management at the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State.
Speaking on TVC News’ Diaspora Connect, Bamigboye said the decision was initially an alternative to his preferred course but gradually became the beginning of a career he came to embrace.
“That wasn’t what I wanted to do. I really wanted to study engineering. I applied to the University of Illinois at the time — well, I didn’t get it. My JAMB score wasn’t really very good,” he said.
He explained that he had intended to use the polytechnic as a temporary option before trying again for admission to the University of Ilorin, but eventually developed an interest in his chosen course.
“I didn’t want to stay an additional year at home. So I decided to start with the Federal Polytechnic, Bida, hoping that the following year I would then go back to the University of Ilorin. But then I fell in love with the school and the course,” he said.
Bamigboye described the experience as an example of how an unexpected turn can reveal opportunities people might not have considered.
“Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know. As the journey continues, you begin to unveil some of the areas that you don’t know,” he said.
Reflecting on whether studying engineering might have produced a different outcome, he said he could not be certain, but credited his business education with providing the foundation for his professional growth.
“What studying Business Administration and Management did for me was to lay that foundation that I currently leverage,” he said.
Bamigboye went on to spend 18 years at telecommunications company MTN, holding senior positions in enterprise and team sales, before relocating to Canada.
He now serves as Director of Global Sales and Channel Partnerships at DigitalEd Canada, where he supports universities in using technology to improve student success.
He also holds a postgraduate certificate from the University of Wales in the United Kingdom and has undertaken executive training at institutions including Lagos Business School, Humber College in Canada, Manchester Business School and IMD in Switzerland.
The author of Selling for Beginners and Brand Arrogance said his experience reinforced the importance of remaining open to opportunities, even when life does not follow an individual’s original plan.
His journey offers a reminder to young people facing admission setbacks that an unexpected academic path does not necessarily limit future achievement.