Mrs. Juliana Godwin with her son,
Sam Godwin, in front of Junior Secondary School, Gosa, Abuja.
Mrs. Juliana Godwin, a 42-year-old Junior
Secondary School I (JSSI) student of Junior
Secondary School, Gosa, Abuja, has become
one of those persons with strong will to
change her condition.
Mrs. Godwin, who hails from Riyom in Riyom
Local Government Area of Plateau State, had
her education stalled by lack of sponsorship, a
situation that made her to drop out, in 1983,
of LEA Primary School, Riyom.
“I had to leave for Jos in 1983, since my
father could no longer sponsor my education
to secondary school because he had no
money. While I was with my cousin, I enrolled
in a tailoring shop to learn dress making. I
completed it within a year and six months”,
she told Sunday Vanguard.
In 2001, she and her children left Jos to join
her husband in Abuja, where they live at Gosa
village, along Airport Road.
An industrious woman, Godwin became the
bread-winner of her family. Since had skill in
hair plaiting, that became a source of
livelihood for her and the family. Later she
ventured into hawking of water in a basin in
Gosa market to boost the family’s income.
“In 2003, I was able to save some money from
water hawking. I started pepper and tomato
business with N1,000 from the savings. I also
went into corn roasting business, but my
husband stopped me from the business in
2007,” she said.
In 2008, Godwin decided to go into vocational
training with a non-governmental organisation
called Refocusing Nigerian Talents
Organisation, RENITO, where she was trained
in soap (liquid, medicated and bar), pomade
and disinfectants production.
“Now I can produce and sell the products I
was trained on, and I started with N1,500”,
Mrs. Godwin narrated.
“I came to realise that the business was
lucrative and helpful to me and my family. I
decided to make savings towards going back
to school after I dropped out in 1983.
“My husband was against my decision and
quarrelled seriously with me. But I didn’t give
up on my decision. In 2013, I went on to enrol
at Junior Secondary School, Gosa, Airport
Road, Abuja, where I started in JSS I F. I was
able to raise N10, 000 to pay for admission
expenses.
“Why I decided to start from JSSI was
because I had never in my life stepped into
the four walls of a secondary school. I told
myself I will start from JSS I, as it will help me
to have the foundation of secondary school
education and to understand what I would be
taught.
“My principal was surprised and asked me
whether I could cope with secondary school
education as an adult and a married woman.
He and the staff also encouraged me to
continue since I had made up my mind. But
my husband continued making trouble to stop
me”.
She wants her teachers and principal to treat
her just like other students notwithstanding
her age or as a mother, because she wishes
pass through the school system, and is ready
to accept every academic and moral discipline
that will shape her future.
“I am the oldest person in the class of 80
students. I participate in every school activity,
and I am happy with that. Even when I come
late to school, the teachers do punish me just
like other students, and I have no problem
with that, but I do behave myself as an adult.”
She is a mother of four children, who she
sponsors to the tune of N9,700 in a session
while she also takes care of the family’s
upkeep. “I have seen great changes in my life,
and I am coping seriously. My aim is to study
marketing in the university after I would have
completed my senior secondary education”,
she added.
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