"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
This quote has guided my journey from the rural communities of Nigeria, where I witnessed systemic failures firsthand, to my aspiration to study International Development at Sciences Po. I am deeply motivated by the belief that education-particularly in fragile and crisis-affected contexts-must be redesigned as a tool for inclusion, resilience, and social transformation.
Growing up in a community where economic constraints defined opportunity, I saw how children were raised on survival rather than stability. In many villages, success was measured by becoming a motorcycle taxi rider, not by completing school. This personal reality impressed upon me that education policies cannot be measured by documents produced in capital cities, but by the tangible opportunities they create in forgotten communities. As I write this, academic staff across Nigerian universities are on strike once again-a reflection of how fragile and unequal our educational ecosystem remains. It reinforces my conviction that reform must begin from the grassroots, integrating data-driven policy with human-centered design.
I hold a Bachelor's degree in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos, where I graduated with Second-Class Upper honours, ranking among the top percentile of my class. My academic training sharpened my ability to analyze governance structures and social systems critically-skills that have become indispensable in my work within the education sector. After graduation, I served with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and became an active member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Community Development Group. There, I co-designed the iLead Literacy Programme, which provided over 100 out-of-school children with foundational literacy and psychosocial support. This experience taught me that education delivery requires more than pedagogy-it demands empathy, safety, and adaptability to social realities.
Currently, I serve as an Educational Support Officer at St. Aggrey Memorial Secondary School, where I helped develop the Peer Group Initiative-a project providing psychosocial support and mentorship for students facing social and emotional difficulties. My role involves project coordination, qualitative research design, and collaboration with traditional leaders, local authorities, and civil society partners to implement inclusive, replicable education support models. Through these experiences, I have come to understand development as a complex interplay of actors-states, communities, and institutions-working within governance and financial systems that must be reimagined to deliver social justice.
The Master in International Development at Sciences Po offers the interdisciplinary and analytical foundation I seek to deepen this understanding. I am particularly drawn to the programme's emphasis on the cooperation and partnerships between actors, sectors, and mechanisms that drive development outcomes. Its unique combination of applied economics, policy design, project management, and monitoring and evaluation will provide me with the quantitative and strategic tools to link educational reform to measurable social impact. I am also attracted to the courses on governance, development finance, and sectoral analysis, which are highly relevant to my ambition to strengthen the governance of education systems in low-income and crisis-affected settings.
Guided by the advice of Professor Thibaut Jaulin, I believe my academic background in strategic studies and my professional experience in education policy are well-suited to the programme's analytical and multidisciplinary approach. I look forward to learning from the faculty community that integrates academic depth with field experience, and to developing a research-driven understanding of how institutions can design and implement inclusive policies at scale.
Upon completion of this programme, I intend to return to Nigeria to establish a Policy Innovation Hub for Education, an initiative that bridges academic research, grassroots implementation, and evidence-based policy design. My long-term vision is to work with international organisations and national governments to develop education systems that remain inclusive and functional even in times of political instability, displacement, and social crisis.
For me, the Sciences Po International Development programme represents not just an academic pursuit but a moral and professional responsibility-to ensure that no child is denied learning, stability, or hope because of where they were born.
Please @Admin. I need your help in helping me critique my statement of purpose for MSc International Development at Science Po.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
This quote has guided my journey from the rural communities of Nigeria, where I witnessed systemic failures firsthand, to my aspiration to study International Development at Sciences Po. I am deeply motivated by the belief that education-particularly in fragile and crisis-affected contexts-must be redesigned as a tool for inclusion, resilience, and social transformation.
Growing up in a community where economic constraints defined opportunity, I saw how children were raised on survival rather than stability. In many villages, success was measured by becoming a motorcycle taxi rider, not by completing school. This personal reality impressed upon me that education policies cannot be measured by documents produced in capital cities, but by the tangible opportunities they create in forgotten communities. As I write this, academic staff across Nigerian universities are on strike once again-a reflection of how fragile and unequal our educational ecosystem remains. It reinforces my conviction that reform must begin from the grassroots, integrating data-driven policy with human-centered design.
I hold a Bachelor's degree in History and Strategic Studies from the University of Lagos, where I graduated with Second-Class Upper honours, ranking among the top percentile of my class. My academic training sharpened my ability to analyze governance structures and social systems critically-skills that have become indispensable in my work within the education sector. After graduation, I served with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and became an active member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Community Development Group. There, I co-designed the iLead Literacy Programme, which provided over 100 out-of-school children with foundational literacy and psychosocial support. This experience taught me that education delivery requires more than pedagogy-it demands empathy, safety, and adaptability to social realities.
Currently, I serve as an Educational Support Officer at St. Aggrey Memorial Secondary School, where I helped develop the Peer Group Initiative-a project providing psychosocial support and mentorship for students facing social and emotional difficulties. My role involves project coordination, qualitative research design, and collaboration with traditional leaders, local authorities, and civil society partners to implement inclusive, replicable education support models. Through these experiences, I have come to understand development as a complex interplay of actors-states, communities, and institutions-working within governance and financial systems that must be reimagined to deliver social justice.
The Master in International Development at Sciences Po offers the interdisciplinary and analytical foundation I seek to deepen this understanding. I am particularly drawn to the programme's emphasis on the cooperation and partnerships between actors, sectors, and mechanisms that drive development outcomes. Its unique combination of applied economics, policy design, project management, and monitoring and evaluation will provide me with the quantitative and strategic tools to link educational reform to measurable social impact. I am also attracted to the courses on governance, development finance, and sectoral analysis, which are highly relevant to my ambition to strengthen the governance of education systems in low-income and crisis-affected settings.
Guided by the advice of Professor Thibaut Jaulin, I believe my academic background in strategic studies and my professional experience in education policy are well-suited to the programme's analytical and multidisciplinary approach. I look forward to learning from the faculty community that integrates academic depth with field experience, and to developing a research-driven understanding of how institutions can design and implement inclusive policies at scale.
Upon completion of this programme, I intend to return to Nigeria to establish a Policy Innovation Hub for Education, an initiative that bridges academic research, grassroots implementation, and evidence-based policy design. My long-term vision is to work with international organisations and national governments to develop education systems that remain inclusive and functional even in times of political instability, displacement, and social crisis.
For me, the Sciences Po International Development programme represents not just an academic pursuit but a moral and professional responsibility-to ensure that no child is denied learning, stability, or hope because of where they were born.
Please @Admin. I need your help in helping me critique my statement of purpose for MSc International Development at Science Po.
