I have carried a very simple rule throughout my career, and it has served me without fail: I don’t employ anyone with a second class lower or anything below that line. A lot of people have strong feelings about this rule, although most people in leadership circles follow the same principle quietly and hope no one calls them out on it.
Whenever the topic comes up, the reactions usually come with accusations that people like me are looking down on others or deliberately shutting doors that should be open. I have heard those arguments, and I understand how emotional the subject can be, but I prefer to speak from the life I have lived rather than from the opinions people try to impose on me.
The best advice I ever got from my brother
I learned the importance of grades early, and no I did not arrive at it by reading motivational books or listening to career coaches. I arrived at it the way many Nigerians do. I had an older sibling who understood how the world worked long before I did.
One day in university, my brother sat me down and told me without blinking that anything below a 2:1 would make my chances of securing a good job close to nonexistent. It did not sound encouraging. It sounded like a harsh verdict. He was not trying to scare me for entertainment. He had seen what was happening in the job market, and he wanted me to move through life with both eyes open.
Sure enough I heeded his advice and took his word as gospel, so I stayed on track untilI discovered one particular Igbo babe who occupied more mental space than my textbooks. That little detour cost me my 2:1, and before I could fully understand the danger I had walked into, my CGPA had started to sink.
No one needed to repeat my brother’s warning because the fear entered my bones on its own. I had to drag myself back through three very difficult semesters in order to climb above that line again. It was not a heroic act at all, rather it was pure survival because I had seen what the alternative looked like.
By the time I found myself in Taraba State for NYSC, the warning had hardened into reality. Standard Trust Bank, which was not UBAGroup at the time, had a clear requirement and was only accepting graduates who had at least a 2:1. That tiny piece of information saved me from ending up as a village teacher somewhere in the middle of nowhere. A small difference in CGPA became the reason I was sitting in a bank instead of standing in front of a chalkboard in a dusty classroom, waiting for salary alerts that never arrived on time.
When I completed NYSC, the banks and Big4 firms had all aligned around the same threshold. If you did not have a 2:1, you simply were not considered. That was how I got into Access Bank Plc. Looking back, the fear my brother handed me was one of the most useful gifts anyone has ever given me. I’m still thinking of what I to get him for Christmas, because how do you repay someone for advice that shifts the entire direction of your life.
Grades influence the opportunities life makes available
I have been in the workplace long enough to know that grades don’t always predict brilliance. I have seen people with first class degrees who could not handle basic tasks, and I have worked under leaders with third class degrees who were capable of solving problems in ways textbooks cannot teach. But when you look beyond individual stories and study outcomes across many careers, patterns start to appear. People with 2:1 and above tend to perform better, learn faster, adapt more easily, and grow more consistently. The advantage might be small at the beginning, but it becomes meaningful over time because the world keeps rewarding the people who show they can maintain discipline and push through pressure.
I don’t rely on wishful thinking when it comes to hiring. I rely on patterns that have repeated themselves so often that ignoring them would be irresponsible. Whenever someone tells me to take chances on people with lower grades, I remember the number of times I have tried exactly that. The outcome usually left me wondering why I ignored the data in front of me.
At some point you learn that running a company is not an emotional hobby. The hiring decisions you make determine whether the organisation moves forward or gets dragged into a cycle of avoidable setbacks. Lendsqr cannot afford those experiments, especially when we operate in a highly technical environment where execution must be precise.
That is why the rule exists. We’re not trying to claim any special status or feed an ego; this approach just keeps our talent pipeline stable and predictable in a way that nothing else has managed to do.
A second class lower is not the end of a career
Even though I have my standard, I am not one of those people who believes that a 2:2 or third class is the end of the world. I know too many people who used those grades as fuel rather than punishment. The issue has never truly been the grade; it comes down to whether the person chooses to stay stuck in disappointment or accept what has happened and begin putting in the kind of sustained effort that builds a new path.
Life has never rewarded people who rely on sympathy. Life responds to hunger, effort, discipline and the willingness to endure discomfort for long stretches of time. If your results are not great, you can still turn things around. That journey, however, requires sacrifices that feel almost surgical. I sometimes say it takes a kidney, but the point is simple. Big transformations demand a level of commitment that is uncomfortable but necessary.
Young people today have advantages that my own generation did not enjoy. You have the internet, unlimited tutorials, free textbooks, open communities, online mentors and an entire world of knowledge that someone like me could never access at your age. The path to a first class or a strong 2:1 is easier now because you do not need to wait for lecturers to decide whether they feel like teaching. If you want it, you can get it, as long as you are willing to put in the hours.
If you choose to dismiss what I am saying, that is your choice. Some people prefer to defend mediocrity rather than confront it. The truth, however, remains the same. Life rewards people who stack advantages wherever they can find them.
The evidence is everywhere if you look closely
There are many examples across Nigeria and Africa that show how academic effort can rearrange an entire future. Zacch Adedeji is one of the clearest examples. He was raised in Iwo Ate in Oyo State in a household that had little access to privilege or networks. Nothing in his early environment suggested he would grow into a national figure. He began with a National Diploma in Accountancy and graduated with distinction. That achievement opened the first door.
He proceeded to Obafemi Awolowo University and graduated with a first class in Management and Accounting. He continued with a Masters degree and later earned a PhD after many years of sustained intellectual effort. That path eventually carried him into national service where he became the head of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. The opportunities he received did not appear out of nowhere. They came because he treated education with seriousness and used it as leverage in rooms that reward excellence.
Another example is Taiwo Oyedele, who is widely regarded as Africa’s most distinguished authority in taxation. He began at Yaba College of Technology, studying for a Higher National Diploma. He graduated with exceptional results and used that foundation to build a career defined by consistency and deep technical commitment. His journey through the world of tax policy did not rely on luck. It relied on the kind of preparation that positions someone for national relevance.
Today he leads the presidential tax and fiscal reform committee and continues to influence policy conversations across the continent. His background did not limit him because he approached his education with the seriousness of someone who understood what was at stake.
These examples show that academic performance matters because it creates an entry point into places where talent can be developed. It does not mean those without strong grades cannot succeed, but it does show that good grades can reduce the number of battles you need to fight.
What I want young people to take away from all this
If you are still in school, the simplest advice I can give you is to take your grades seriously. They will not determine your entire life, but they will determine the ease with which you enter into opportunities. A 2:1 or first class shows discipline and reliability. That is what employers see long before they meet you. It does not mean your entire identity should be shaped by grades. It simply means you should collect every advantage you can find because the world is already difficult on its own.
If you have graduated with grades that fall below that line, do not shrink. Accept what has happened and begin the slow process of building new leverage. Read widely. Learn aggressively. Build portfolios. Find mentors. Volunteer. Work twice as hard as the next person. You can reinvent yourself if you want it badly enough, and we have seen many people do it. No one rises simply because life is fair. People rise because they take responsibility for the story they want to tell in ten years.In the end, my hiring principle at Lendsqr is simple. I want people who understand the cost of excellence. I want people who have shown discipline during difficult seasons, who have demonstrated the ability to push themselves, who understand the real price of opportunity. If you carry those qualities, education becomes only the beginning of your story rather than the limit.
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