a 16-year-old girl named Osasere Okundaye has become the youngest qualified chartered accountant in Nigeria. She recently shared the story of how she started this difficult journey when she was only 13 years old.
Osasere shared her story on a Saturday during a big church program called “Power Must Change Hands.” This program takes place at the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) headquarters in Magboro, Ogun State.
Just a few days before her church testimony, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, officially announced her achievement to the whole country. The minister praised her heavily. He said that her success shows what happens when someone works very hard, stays focused, refuses to give up, and always tries to do their best.
Many people wonder how a 16-year-old could pass exams that give grown-ups a lot of trouble. For Osasere, it all started because she finished her high school (secondary school) very early.
Because she graduated so young, she was not old enough to enter the university yet. In Nigeria, universities have age rules, and she had to wait. Instead of letting her sit at home doing nothing, her parents gave her a great idea. They advised her to register for the Accounting Technicians Scheme (ATS) exams.
The ATS is a special program run by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). It allows young school leavers to start learning accounting from the bottom up.
Osasere agreed to her parents’ advice. She decided to use her waiting time to do something very big, even though she was just 13 years old at the time.
Starting the ICAN journey was not easy for Osasere at all. In fact, she faced a massive problem right from the beginning: she did not study accounting in high school. In secondary school, students are usually split into different classes like Science, Arts, or Commercial. Accounting is taught to Commercial students. Since Osasere was not a commercial student, she did not know the basic rules of accounting. She did not know about debit and credit, balance sheets, or how to keep financial records.
When she sat down to read the ICAN textbooks for the first stage, everything looked like a foreign language. The exams were very hard for her—much harder than they were for other students who had already learned accounting in school.
Instead of crying or quitting, Osasere knew she had to work twice as hard as everyone else. She spent extra hours studying, reading basic topics, and trying to understand the hard concepts. She confessed that it was only through this double effort and the grace of God that she was able to pass that difficult first level. Once she crossed that first big wall, her confidence grew, and she kept moving forward.
Even though she kept passing after the first level, her journey was not perfect. Last year, she faced a very painful setback. She wrote her final set of ICAN professional exams, but when the results came out, she found out that she failed one of the papers.
Failing a final exam can make many people want to give up, especially a young teenager. It is easy to feel like you are not smart enough. But Osasere did not let failure stop her. She did not sit down to cry over spilled milk.
Instead, she rolled up her sleeves and prepared to try again. She registered to rewrite the failed paper in May. She studied hard, corrected her mistakes, and went back into the exam hall. When the results came out, she passed with flying colors.
Thanks to her refusal to give up, she can now boldly tell the world that she is a fully certified, qualified chartered accountant at the age of 16.
Osasere’s achievement is a massive deal because she broke a very recent record. Just one year ago, a young lady named Temilola Blossom Arise made headlines across Nigeria. Temilola, who was an 18-year-old student at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), passed her final ICAN exams and became a chartered accountant at 18.
People thought Temilola’s record would stay for a long time. But just one year later, Osasere has lowered the record by two whole years, setting the new bar at 16.
There are many important things that young people, parents, and the whole country can learn from this 16-year-old girl’s success.
Osasere’s parents played a major role in her success. When she finished school early, they did not let her waste her youth watching television or playing games all day. They saw an opportunity and pushed her into professional studies. This shows that parents need to guide their children and help them use their free time well.
Even though Osasere did not study accounting in high school, she still passed ICAN. This proves that you can learn anything if you put your mind to it. You do not need to have a background in something to become a master at it. Hard work can beat a lack of background knowledge any day.
When Osasere failed her final paper last year, she could have walked away. If she had quit, nobody would know her name today. Her story teaches us that failure is just a temporary stop sign, not a dead end. If you fail an exam, a test, or a project, you just need to learn from it and try again.
Many times, society tells young people that they are too young to achieve big things. Osasere has shown that you do not need to wait until you are 25 or 30 years old to become a professional. If you have the brain, the drive, and the support, you can achieve greatness at any age.
Osasere’s story brings a lot of hope to Nigeria. At a time when many young people are looking for easy ways to make money or losing interest in education, Osasere has shown that honest hard work still pays.
The youth minister’s public statement shows that the government is watching and celebrating excellent minds. Osasere Okundaye is now a shining light and an example for millions of Nigerian children, proving that with discipline, focus, and faith, any dream is possible.
