Yinka Oduwole,girl empowered by TB Joshua earns PhD, set to tackle cancer

After her Ph.D programme at the University of Oxford, fully sponsored by Prophet TB Joshua at a cost of approximately N50 million, Miss Yinka Oduwole, a first-class graduate of the University of Lagos, is now set to contribute toward finding a cure for cancer.

This is because with her graduation on 16 September 2017 and the graduation ceremony held on Saturday 17 March 2018, she is now in a position to carry out her passion for extensive cancer research.

Cancer has been a great scourge in her native nation of Nigeria where it has almost reached an epidemic proportion, with survival rate very low.

This is why Mr. Jonas Maduabuchukwu Ojukwu, a director at Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd., is highly excited that the man of God at The Synagogue sponsored Miss Oduwole to earn a Ph.D that has prepared her for the task of fighting cancer.

Throughout her scholarship at Oxford up to her graduation, Yinka was very well spoken of by her professors not only for her academic performance but also for her sterling character.

The young lady’s journey toward attaining her Ph.D in Engineering Science started in November, 2012, with the decision by Prophet TB Joshua of the Synagogue, Church of All Nations, SCOAN, to sponsor her tertiary education to the zenith.

“What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you,” Joshua had said while announcing his decision to support the then-teenage student with £100,000 (about N50,000,000) to pursue her Ph.D. in Oxford.

From a humble background, Yinka was working diligently in the church when the philanthropist, Prophet T.B. Joshua, spotted her and offered her the scholarship.

As reported on the Pastor’s Facebook page, the beneficiary has been a member of the church for many years. She is a first-class graduate from the University of Lagos and was sponsored by Prophet T.B. Joshua for her Masters Degree in Broadband Communications at The University College, London. She graduated with a distinction and was the best graduating student in her class.

She was later granted a position to study her doctorate degree in Engineering Science at the prestigious 800-year-old Oxford University in the United Kingdom, also fully sponsored by Prophet T.B. Joshua. Her doctorate degree studies included extensive cancer research.

On the rationale for the sponsorship, Prophet T.B. Joshua said he did it because he knew that he was sponsoring a leader of tomorrow.

Speaking on Miss Oduwole’s outstanding academic feat, Mr. Jonas Ojukwu, a great follower of TB Joshua, said the world-renowned prophet was so gifted such that he could even pray and God would cause a dull student to have improved brain power.

For that reason, Mr Ojukwu was not surprised that a student like Miss Oduwole, whom Prophet Joshua sponsored her university education, was such an exceptional performer academically.

Giving an outline of her plans for the future, Yinka said: “I intend to use my skills to help encourage young ones in my country (to pursue) science and engineering; I intend to help revive the declining state of research in my country.” She stated this on the Oxford University website, which used her as an example of an African student who was excelling amidst the competitive environment of the prestigious university.

Yinka, a study in humility, has freely expressed her strong desire to change the world. She wrote in her profile, featured prominently on the University of Oxford’s Department of Engineering Science website: “I have been privileged to meet enormously gifted personalities, who are not just academically strong but with ambition to change the world in which they live and leave a permanent footprint in history.”

The new Ph.D holder, who has been a youth worker for many years at the SCOAN, stated: “My advice to youth all over the world is that they should pray as if everything depends on God and work as if everything depends on them.”

Giving some insight into her life, she said growing up as a young girl, she had always been fascinated by the use of mainframe computers (in those days) and electronics. “I genuinely wanted to be involved in the design of the new generation electronic devices that would be used by my generation and encourage the younger ones to follow in my footsteps.

“While in secondary (school), I had a natural love for mathematics, calculations, physics and wanted to use these skills in developing my passion in the electronic world. This led me to pursue a first degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and I was so privileged to gain a widespread knowledge ranging from power electronics, power, telecommunications, control and instrumentation, computers, high voltage, to mention a few.

“My first internship led me to develop genuine interest in telecommunications, especially radio frequency. I particularly enjoyed working with my colleagues, most of whom were male and I enjoyed the privilege of climbing some of the radio masts (which could be risky for a lady) to check the antenna conditions and I was amazed when I saw the look on people when they suddenly noticed a feminine figure on the mast. To them, it was unusual and they had not seen any female doing such.

I visited so many base stations to carry our maintenance activities, radio frequency sweep and site survey. I was also involved in the acquisition of so many new radio-frequency sites across my country; helping in the spread of mobile communication in my country. This made me to decide to pursue a masters’ degree in Broadband Communications in University College London.

“Within a year, I had acquired so much knowledge in telecommunications and I decided it was time to actually use some of these skills to develop innovative solutions to some of the world’s challenges by doing a high quality research.

Hence, I was particularly excited when I got an offer to research here at the University of Oxford to use my electromagnetic skills to develop a bio-magnetic separator with potential applications in the medical industry.

Most of the research in the department of engineering science is multi-disciplinary and it is a strong requirement to develop skills within so many areas with particular relevance to your research.

The support from members of staff, at the department and the college, and other colleagues have been so overwhelming that there is a positive drive to continue striving for better results in my research.

“My experience here at Oxford has been so overwhelming; from the first day I stepped foot in the University, I had been amazed and thrilled to work with amazing talents in such a historic environment producing world class research that are affecting lives.

I have been privileged to meet enormous gifted personalities, not just academically strong but with ambition to change the world in which they live and leave a permanent footprint in history such as sports, politics, and charities and so on.”

According to Miss Oduwole, a typical Oxford day started very early around 6a.m with rowing sessions on the rivers, to busy debating sessions, singing sessions, societal and charities events at Oxford Union to Turl Street, and colleges, to mention a few.

She said: “In my research, I have been privileged to be part of such a great network of world changers and future leaders in every area of life. Thus, this makes me feel special pursuing a doctorate here at Oxford and I am gently working towards changing my world.”

From the foregoing, Mr Ojukwu remarked, it is evident that Prophet TB Joshua’s efforts at changing lives, changing nations and changing the world are yielding the desired results in all spheres of life.