The People Who Made My PRNigeria Fellowship Memorable
By Adegbite Anuoluwapo Rafat,
Two weeks can seem like a short time to know ten people.
Yet, sometimes, two weeks are enough to notice the little things: who speaks first, who waits until everyone else has finished, who asks questions, who tells stories, who listens carefully and who somehow manages to make their presence felt without saying very much.
That was part of what made the 2026 PRNigeria Young Communication Fellowship in Ilorin memorable for me.
The fellowship brought together ten young people from different backgrounds and with different interests. We came into the same classroom to learn about strategic communication, public relations, journalism, fact-checking, social media and artificial intelligence.
But somewhere between the lectures, assignments, conversations and shared moments, the classroom became more than a place for learning. It became a place where ten different personalities gradually became familiar to one another.
Looking back now that the fellowship has ended, I realise that I remember the people as much as I remember the lessons.
Arafat, the Calm Presence
As-sayyidul Arafat Abdulrazaq is one of those people who is difficult to overlook.
He is articulate and social without being overly social. He is not loud or boisterous, and he does not seem to need to be everywhere. Yet somehow, you always know he is around.
There is something calm about Arafat.
I interacted with him more than I did with most of the other fellows, although many of our conversations remained within the classroom. There was a friendly back and forth between us, the kind that grows naturally when two people are comfortable enough to talk but do not feel the need to force familiarity.
He was one of those people whose presence became easier to appreciate as the days passed.
Femi and His Prestigious University
Adeleke Oluwafemi Emmanuel is another person whose presence is easy to notice.
Several facilitators joked about whether he was related to the Osun State Governor. The coincidence is that he is actually from Osun State.
His facial features can give him a rather serious appearance, and his strong
Yoruba intonation is noticeable whenever he speaks. But beneath that first impression is someone who is not afraid to express himself.
If Femi believes something is a certain way, he will say it. If you disagree, he is likely to explain why he thinks otherwise.
He is also very proud of his school and never seems to miss an opportunity to remind us about the “Prestigious Federal University of Oye-Ekiti.”
Interestingly, Femi was the first fellow I interacted with remotely. Even before the fellowship started, he was already asking questions in the group.
By the time we finally met in person, he was no longer a stranger.
Sabi Boy
Mohammed Mohammed Sabi quickly earned himself the nickname “Sabi Boy,” partly because of his name.
He is calm and collected. He is not exactly introverted, but he is reserved. He seems to take a little time to settle into a new environment before becoming fully comfortable.
But Mohammed is also a fun person.
One thing I noticed about him was his attention to small details. He notices things that many people overlook. If someone has not eaten, he is likely to notice and ask.
He is also a storyteller.
Whenever someone’s experience reminds him of something similar from his own life, Mohammed has a story to tell. Somehow, he manages to make those stories part of the conversation rather than turning them into distractions.
That ability to listen, connect and contribute made him one of the quieter but memorable personalities in the room.
Fashola Will Answer First
Fashola Abayomi Olawalarami is on the louder end of the spectrum.
You have to know that Fashola is in the room.
If a question is thrown to the class, there is a good chance he wants to tackle it first. Whether it is an answer, an opinion or an attempt at solving a difficult question, Fashola usually has something to say.
I remember walking into class on the first day and greeting everyone with a good morning.
“Oh, you must be Anu,” he responded.
I confirmed that I was.
He had already recognised my face.
It was a small moment, but it was one of those little interactions that helped make the unfamiliar classroom feel less unfamiliar.
Mukhtar, the Quiet Engineer
Mukhtar Bio Jibril is almost the opposite.
He is very introverted and barely talks.
Even his voice is quiet.
What fascinated me about Mukhtar, however, was not simply his personality but his academic background.
He is an electrical engineering student who found himself in a fellowship centred on communication and media.
I admire that.
There is something refreshing about someone being willing to step outside the field they are familiar with and explore something completely different.
Mukhtar reminded me that curiosity does not always follow the boundaries of one’s academic discipline.
When Olanshile Speaks
Olanshile Olalekan Ogunrinu is also calm.
He seems to know quite a lot without making a show of it.
There were moments when everyone became quiet because nobody seemed to have the right answer or even the right word. Then Olanshile would speak in his calm voice and somehow provide an answer that helped the rest of us pick up the conversation again.
He was not necessarily the person trying to dominate the discussion.
But when he spoke, there was usually something worth listening to.
Halimah and Her Many Thoughts
Halimah Abdulrahman Seriki is different.
Halimah rambles.
I sometimes wonder if she knows that she rambles.
She says things as they come into her head, and sometimes she says so much that everyone else is simply trying to keep up.
But that is also part of what makes her interesting.
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She enjoys talking to people and seems genuinely comfortable around others. She brings energy into conversations and rarely seems afraid to say what is on her mind.
Halimah also makes pastries, and at some point during the fellowship I became convinced that she was sitting on an untapped business opportunity.
I told her I would gladly buy chinchin or anything else she brought to class. I like having something to munch on in my room, so I was willing to become a customer.
Whether she eventually took the hint is another story.
But that little conversation is one of the many ordinary moments that made the fellowship feel less like a training programme and more like a temporary community.
Sa’adat Knows What She Wants
Sa’adat Bibire is probably the most inspiring fellow in the cohort for me.
She is a politician, and you can tell that she is opinionated. If she thinks something, she will say it. If you think otherwise, she will tell you why she thinks the way she does.
What stands out to me most, however, is her willingness to pursue things.
I admire women who can stand their ground and know what they are pursuing. Sa’adat seems to embody that quality.
She is humble, but she is not necessarily quiet about her achievements. At the same time, I sometimes think she has a way of making herself appear smaller than she actually is.
She does not always draw attention to herself, even when she has every reason to.
I like her personality. I like her willingness to keep going.
If she has a target in her head, she appears ready to go after it.
I can imagine reaching out to her sometime in the future and saying, “This is what I have in front of me. What do you think?”
I value her perspective that much.
Dolapo Sounds Like a Broadcaster
Oluwadolapo Bamigboye is a broadcaster, and I think you can tell she is a broadcaster even before she tells you.
The way she speaks gives it away.
She is eloquent, and her accent and intonation are noticeable. She is also relatively quiet, but she is present. She interacts with people, contributes to conversations and seems comfortable in the space she occupies.
Dolapo studied English and is now pursuing postgraduate studies in journalism.
I find that transition interesting because it shows how communication can take people from one field into another.
Her journey also reminded me that our academic backgrounds do not necessarily determine where our professional stories will end.
Then There Was Me
And then there was me.
I genuinely wonder what each of them thinks about me.
Do they see me as boisterous? Do they see me as someone who is simply present and easy to notice without being overly in your face?
I honestly do not know.
The truth is that I did not interact deeply with most of my classmates during those two weeks. A lot of what I came to know about them came from classroom conversations, assignments, projects and the little things I noticed during the day.
Once I returned to the hostel, I was mostly indoors until the next morning.
Maybe that is why I became more of an observer.
I watched people.
I listened.
I noticed that some people in the cohort were more culturally inclined, while others appeared more professionally focused. Some were comfortable expressing their opinions, while others preferred to listen. Some spoke often, while others waited until they had something meaningful to say.
And perhaps that was one of the quiet lessons of the fellowship.
People are rarely as simple as the first impression they give.
The loud person may also be thoughtful. The quiet person may have the most to say. The person who appears serious may be the one who makes you laugh later. And the person you barely notice at first may eventually become someone whose opinion you value.
What Remains
The fellowship has ended now.
The classroom is no longer filled with the same voices. The semicircle of chairs has been left behind. The assignments have been submitted, the sessions completed and the final goodbyes said.
But I think some things will remain.
I will remember Arafat’s calmness, Femi’s confidence, Mohammed’s stories, Fashola’s eagerness, Mukhtar’s quietness, Olanshile’s measured contributions, Halimah’s endless thoughts, Sa’adat’s determination and Dolapo’s broadcaster’s voice.
I will also remember the ordinary moments that never appeared on any timetable.
The greetings.
The jokes.
The arguments.
The questions.
The laughter.
The moments when nobody knew the answer and the moments when someone unexpectedly did.
We came into Ilorin as ten people who did not know one another very well.
We left with a better understanding of each other.
Perhaps that is what made the fellowship memorable for me.
Not only what I learnt about communication, journalism, public relations or artificial intelligence, but what I learnt simply by spending two weeks around people who were different from me.
The fellowship gave us lessons that will probably remain useful in our careers. But for me, some of the most lasting memories will be attached to people rather than PowerPoint slides.
And maybe, years from now, when we have all moved on to different jobs, cities and careers, I will look back at those two weeks in Ilorin and remember that before we became colleagues, professionals or alumni, we were simply ten young people sharing one classroom and slowly learning each other.
That, more than anything, is what made my PRNigeria fellowship memorable.
Adegbite Anuoluwapo Rafat is a Mass Communication graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University and a communications professional with interests in public relations, digital media, storytelling and content creation. She was the Best Fellow of the 2026 PRNigeria Young Communication Fellowship, Ilorin Cohort, and is passionate about using communication to inform, connect and create meaningful conversations.
