The Lessons from the Billionaires, Make an A+ in Your Process in 2026

As the march to 2026 continues, I want to focus on PROCESS, the most important non-graded course in the university of life. It does not appear on any transcript, yet it determines the soul and purpose of education. Because education, at its core, is the liberation of the mind. And minds are liberated not just by content, but by the evolution of processes through which we learn, think, and act.

Across the world, a familiar question keeps coming up: why are many billionaires not the best graduating students in their classes? In the worlds of Dangote, Elumelu, Ovia, Gates, and Musk, I am confident none graduated top of their classes. Yet, they command empires. Meanwhile, Ndubuisi, who finished top of his university class, and set all-time academic records in his secondary school that remain unbroken, is not yet billionaire. Lol.

Why? Because Ndubuisi was excellent at passing the exams of classrooms, but not as great at passing the exams of markets. Simply, classrooms and markets run on different operating systems. An A in calculus does not guarantee an A in customer satisfaction for noodles. Academic grades are not destiny; at best, they are indicators of process. What truly matters is not the grade itself, but the discipline, effort, and tenacity that produced it.

Effort that earns a First Class in one university may not even secure a Second Class in another, because standards differ. In secondary school, I was not the most gifted mind, but I was relentless. What talent withheld, hard work delivered. One teacher called me “oku na egbu akwukwo”, the fire that consumes books, because if reading Modern Biology four times was the key to an A, I would light that fire.

I never apologized for being a bookworm. I was not constrained by WAEC subjects: even though I did not take Literature as a student, I acted in plays with Literature students. When Papa Iyke heard I had memorized The Lion and the Jewel (I read all the recommended books), he invited me to join. I became Lakunle, the teacher! In university, some classmates earned Bs effortlessly. I sweated for As. Effort became my equalizer. The smartest student I met at FUTO never finished first year. Brilliance without process is fragile. He missed exams out of nonchalance and was dismissed.

So, when you look at Ovia, Elumelu, Musk, Gates, and Dangote, do not look for their transcripts. Look for their processes: grit, resilience, curiosity, and the hunger to understand customers and markets. Yes, forget that connection nonsense we love to peddle in Nigeria. Connections only work when you have done the work. Ovia returned as a young man and built. Elumelu was a mid-level banker who raised money and bought a bank. Musk was an immigrant who found alpha. Unlike perfect classroom A-students like me, they developed superior market-processes to solve real problems and deliver products and services people would pay for. That is why they are billionaires.

Good People, here is the lesson: over a long horizon, a hardworking C-student often outperforms a complacent B-student, because process endures. If your process is great, even when grades stall because talent does not align with interest (for instance, you were pushed to study medicine instead of music), this world will still give you A-results somewhere.

So, as 2026 approaches, make this your daily resolution: I will score an “A+” in my PROCESS on productive things.

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