Nigerian Man Lists over 132 Rejections He Has Received as He Inspires People With His Story
- A Nigerian youth who has been turned down more than 132 times in the past few years has inspired people with his failures and eventual wins
- Starting from the current year, he highlighted his rejection timelines, which included the London Business School Launchpad Pitch and the Deloitte One Young World Scholarship
- His entries for the MasterCard Foundation Postgraduate Intern (2021), the Mandela Washington Fellowship (2018), and the YALI Regional Leadership Centre, Accra (2016) were also rejected
Hammed Kayode Alabi, a social entrepreneur and Mastercard Foundation Scholar, has inspired people with his many failures.
Kayode, an alumnus of the University of Edinburgh, UK, faced more than 132 rejections in the last few years, including multiple rejections in 2025.
Source: Facebook
Man rejected 132 times gives rejection timelines
In a Facebook post, Hammed made a list of his numerous rejections, starting from the ones he received in 2025.
Some of the programmes he applied for in 2025 and was overlooked included the Swavorski Foundation Creative for our Future Programme, Global Citizens Cisco Youth Leadership Award, Google GenAI Accelerator for Non-Profit and the World Economic Forum Tech Pioneers.
Speaking on his rejections, Hammed said he considered them wins as he now has a draft to keep building on and acquire a new knowledge.
He emphasised that rejection is part of the equation, noting that rejection is now even scared of him, as he never allowed it demoralise or discourage him in his endeavours. His Facebook post partly read:
"...This is about 132 rejections and there are some I could not remember or some that are too sensitive to share but the truth is these are 132+ wins too because I now have a draft to keep building on and learned something new about myself and work. Rejection is always part of the equation. In fact, this year rejection is now even scared of me. Rejection will be like this one does not feel it anymore. This is because it is now built into my creative and development process..."
Source: Facebook
Read Hammed Kayode Alabi's post below:
Reactions trail man's numerous rejections
Legit.ng has compiled some reactions to the man's post below:
Uchechukwu Obasi said:
"Hey Hammed Kayode Alabi, I got hit yesterday with one of the biggest rejections so far and it came at me really hard. But, I'm confident that I'll have my victories too... Sooner than later.
"Thank you very much for inspiring young folks like me."
Esther C. Ibekwe said:
"Wow. Never seen anything like this...and as the average Nigerian girl who is not exposed to certain kinds of information, honestly I don't understand these.
"How does this work?
"I am seeing rejection, but I honestly don't it..rejection of what?
"What were you applying for, why were you applying, and what are the effects of these rejections?"
Eddie Gold said:
"You are not alone, I guess I apparently have 30 rejections, but though I was giving up l, this gives me courage, being rejected is not that we aren't good, sometimes God wants to awaken the lion within us."
Francisca Edeh said:
"Up to 22 applications for 2025?
"Despite your busy schedule?
"Meaning every month you invest in 1 application at least. I am not serious yet.
"Francisca wake up ooo.
"Rejection isn’t my fear, it’s just me creating time to give things a try that am struggling with. Atimes you start some and forget it only to realize the deadline is past.
"God go arrest procrastination for me this year.
"Well done Hammed Kayode Alabi."
Abdussalam Amoo said:
"Posts like this let people know that the success people celebrate has so many rejections before it's achieved. I don't keep track of things like this. It's brave and inspirational of you to do so."
In a related story, Legit.ng reported about a 29-year-old rejected 15 times by medical schools who now runs a N630 million business.
Lady lands job offer after 38 rejections
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Nigerian lady secured an international job offer after 38 rejections.
According to her, she sent out many applications, only for them to fail in getting her a job. She, however, did not give up or stop trying.
Sharing her story on LinkedIn, she said she decided to change her strategy to secure the job of her dreams.
Proofreading by Kola Muhammed, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
