Be wary of decisions you make, psychologist advises undergraduates
APSYCHOLOGIST, Dr Amajuoyi Festus, has advised students of higher learning to be careful with choices they make, cautioning that decisions made while in school usually have long- term effect on individual endeavour.
Festus, who is a retired Comptroller of Nigeria Immigration Service, said this in his lecture titled: ‘ Attitudinal change and choice making for academic excellence,’ delivered at a one- day seminar organised by the Counselling unit of the Federal
College of Fisheries and Marine Technology ( FCFMT), Victoria Island, Lagos.
He noted that choice making for every student is something imperative that needs to be taken seriously by every learner in tertiary institutions.
Festus further advised students to desist from unlawful groups and behaviour that do not conform to societal norms, which have capability to mar their aspiration.
“To be an excellent student, you must have a positive attitude towards studying hard and devoting much time for your class activities. You must not have divided attention of absenteeism in school, indulging in parties, criminal activities, prostitution, money rituals, yahoo- yahoo and so on. This is because all these can never guarantee the concentration required for efficient and effective academic work. In fact, these are by nature distractions.
“Most of the students who are in higher institutions of learning are not advised enough before they enter school. We have seen instances where peer pressure has led many students to derail from their aspirations. They need to realise that any wrong choice made won’t take them anywhere but destruction, “he added.
He urged students who are bent on making money while schooling to retrace and focus on how to excel in their education before any other thing.
“Don’t think about making money now, because there are two things that cannot go together. You must sit down and get what you are being taught in school. First be successful and get out from school, then you will now know what next,” he said.