17-year-old secondary school certificate graduate, Master Jonathan Adewale, has been offered a scholarship to the university level by the Institute of Chartered Accounts of Nigeria (ICAN).
Announcing the award at the 69th Induction Ceremony for new members recently in Lagos, ICAN President, Mrs Comfort Olu Eyitayo said it was in recognition of Adewale’s outstanding achievement as the youngest candidate to have fully completed and passed all the levels of ICAN examination in record time.
He however could not be admitted as a fellow of ICAN during the ceremony due to his age, stressing that by law, the minimum admission age is 21 years.
He took ATS 1 in September 2020 and passed all in flying colours. Six months later, he cleared ATS 2, and six months after, again he cleared ATS 3.
“Haven completed all stages of ATS, he went further to start the professional stages. Six months later, he cleared six levels, which was May 2021, and in November 2021, he cleared all his papers at the final part.
“He needs to be celebrated. He needs to be showcased to the world because this is what no one ever imagined could be achieved. This is is the first time it is happening.
“He has broken the glass ceiling in the institute. As of today, nobody has made this record in Nigeria. We are celebrating him because he is an outstanding, and dynamic young man,” Eyitayo stressed.
She said 1,264 persons were inducted, adding that they have joined over three million global accounting professionals under IFA.
For the teenage genius, growing up with a Chartered Accountant father, he grew to love counting and calculating.
On his journey to achieving this feat, Adewale admits he faced some challenges, including walking long distances (sometimes up to two hours) from his house to the tuition centre.
“My dad lost his job in 2020, so the major challenge I faced was in the area of finance. He lost his job when I was preparing for ATS 3 so they had difficulty in paying my tuition and examination fees,” he said.
However, the director of the tuition centre as well as his pastor intervened and he was able to write the examinations and qualify.
For him, the next stage is to get admitted into the Accountancy department of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife where he hopes to make a First Class.
