The ongoing armed conflict in Anglophone Cameroon tried to stop 16-year-old Muhammad Hadi Musa, an IDP student, from going to school but instead changed his location, leading to an extraordinary performance in this year’s GCE Ordinary Level exams. Musa Saidou, his father, expressed pride in his son’s achievement but was not surprised by the results.
From a young age, Mohammed Hadi Musa’s father, Musa Saidou, recognised his son’s exceptional abilities.
Originally from Esu in Menchum Division, Northwest Region, Mohammed attended the Government Bilingual Primary School Winiki in Esu.
In 2016, Anglophone Crisis forced the family to relocate to Ndobo, Bonaberi-Douala, in the Littoral Region. Mohammed continued his education there, starting in Class Three at Government Primary School Ndobo, where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 2019.
Facing increasing challenges in Douala, the family moved to Souza in the Moungo Division of the Littoral Region.
There, Mohammed enrolled at New Hope College and excelled in the GCE Ordinary Level exams, scoring 11 A grades this academic year.
“Naturally, these are the kind of people we used to call geniuses. That child from childhood used to show me something different,” Musa Saidou told MMI via telephone interview.
He noted that Mohammed always demonstrated an exceptional memory and that his predictions often proved accurate.
Musa Saidou, who has been supporting his family through odd jobs, emphasized the importance of education for his children. Hadi, the eldest of three, has been a priority.
“I know education is more important in life,” Saidou stated, adding that his children’s education is paramount to him.
He was not surprised by Hadi’s results but was impressed by the high grades.
Muhammed Hadi Musa Receives ICT University Scholarship
Despite financial struggles, Hadi’s academic future now looks promising. ICT University, a Yaounde-based higher education institute, learning of Hadi’s exceptional results, has offered him a scholarship.
The university, committed to its corporate social responsibility, will fund his education through high school and university.
“As part of ICT University’s corporate social responsibility, we are committed to taking charge of his education, hence a fully funded scholarship at our prestigious institution after high school (if he so desires),” the university stated.
ICT University also plans to sponsor his high school education. Delly Singah, ICT University Brand Ambassador, confirmed this: “He’s going to high school sponsored by ICT and then a free scholarship from there.”
Victor Mbarika, founder of ICT University, added, “Muhammad Hadi absolutely deserves a scholarship to high school and The ICT University. I am proud of this young man. Who knows, he could be the future president of the ICT University.”
The GCE hardly produces many heroes like Hadi Musa, talk less of a very unlikely one – an internally displaced person.
The exams this year were notably poorer in performance with a 6.7 percent drop compared to last year.
But IDP students like Hadi Musa stand as a testimony to resilience, and excellence amid turbulent times in Cameroon’s English-speaking Regions, where armed conflict has jeopardised the education of hundreds of thousands of students.
