They told me I will die in poverty - BGS, MTNF MUSON School of Music

On July 5, 2022, Aghulor Uche graduated as the most excellent student from MUSON School of Music under the aegis of MTN Foundation. She was a recipient of the MTN-MUSON Scholarship Program.

Even though she discovered her passion and ability for music at a young age, Aghulor’s resolute entry into music was met with both familial and communal opposition in an atmosphere where music as a course of study and a career path was considered unusual.

 “I grew up in an underdeveloped place. Unlike the city of Lagos, I grew up in my hometown, Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria. So, talking about studying music was strange.”

“They were like, you are going to die in poverty young lady.”

In the face of resistance, grooming to become a lawyer and hobnobbing between church choirs, Aghulor has gone on to achieve her dream of studying music, concretizing innate abilities with practical, academic knowledge and kickstarting a name-making trajectory in the industry – thanks to MTN Foundation’s relentless music scholarship scheme.

Speaking on her journey to becoming the best graduating student, Uche attributed her outstanding performance to her excellent spirit.

“Being average is not my thing. I don’t mean to be proud but if there’s something like excellence, why do I have to settle for good or okay. And this is not just academically: if I want to eat and there’s a better way to make the food, I would say, “why don’t I have it the best way rather than just manage the food? Or why don’t I use the best plate rather than the broken one?”

More so, it took a whole lot coming here. A lot of people told me, ‘stay back home and look for what to do with your life.’ So, was I trying to say to them that I would come here and still be lazy about it? No. For me, I still had a point to prove, which is the fact that I want this and I’m going to give it my all.”

Aghulor Uche also expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to go through the MUSON School of Music. She said, “I would always, always remember this act of kindness every day of my life. I would wake up 10, 15, or 20 years from now and tell anyone who cares to listen to me in any part of the world that I find myself, that in my sojourn, somebody somewhere was kind and good enough to pay for my tuition and allowance.”

MTN Foundation is currently accepting applicants for the MUSON scholarship program 2022.

The scholarship, currently in its 16th year, is an annual award that provides young talented and eligible Nigerians with an opportunity to study music for two years at the leading music academy in Nigeria, MUSON, for an internationally recognised Diploma in music on graduation.