I am starting this series of people who changed the world and attained leadership position without having an academic degree, a lot are high (secondary) school drop outs. Although most of these people have poor academic background, they can be regarded as geniuses in their chosen career whether it is politics, business, religious or social sphere.

This series was initiated to counter the wrong notion held by Nigerians that acadenic qualification correlates to success in politics and business. This is the reason why Nigerians strive to accumulate academic degrees without acquiring the leadership skills neccessary to succeed in business and politics.

[size=14pt] John Major [/size]
John Major was elected on November 28, 1990 as England's prime minister after the resignation of Margret Thatcher. Major was Conservative Party leader until 1997 when he lost to Tony Blair and his Labour Party at the polls.

Major was born at St. Helier Hospital in Sutton, Surrey, the son of Gwen Major, née Coates, and former music hall performer Tom Major-Ball who was 64 years old when John was born.[3] He was christened John Roy Major but only "John" was recorded on his birth certificate. He used his middle name until the early 1980s.
Attended primary school at Cheam Common and from 1954.
Attended Rutlish School in Merton.

Major left school at the age of 16 in 1959 with three O-levels in History, English Language and English Literature. He later gained three more O-levels by correspondence course, in the British Constitution, Mathematics and Economics. His first job was as a clerk in the insurance brokerage firm Pratt & Sons in 1959. Disliking this job, he quit, and for a time he helped with his father's garden ornaments business along with his brother, Terry Major-Ball. Major joined the Young Conservatives in Brixton at this time.
Major was 19 years old when his father died at the age of 83 in 1962. His mother died eight years later in 1970 at the age of 65.

After a period of unemployment, Major started working at the London Electricity Board in 1963 which is where incidentally his successor as Prime Minister, Tony Blair, also worked when he was young. He later decided to undertake a correspondence course in banking. Major took up a post as an executive at the Standard Chartered Bank in May 1965 and he rose quickly through the ranks. He was sent to work in Jos, Nigeria by the bank in 1967 and he nearly died in a car accident there.

[size=14pt]Frank Lloyd Wright[/size]


Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 532. Wright was recognized in 1991 by the American Institute of Architects as "the greatest American architect of all time.

Frank Lloyd Wright born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867. His parents, William Cary Wright and Anna Lloyd-Jones, originally named him Frank Lincoln Wright, which he later changed after they divorced. When he was twelve years old, Wright's family settled in Madison, Wisconsin.

Frank Lloyd Wright Attended Madison High School. In 1885, he left Madison without finishing high school to work for Allan Conover , the Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Engineering department. While at the University, Wright spent two semesters studying civil engineering before moving to Chicago in 1887.

In Chicago, he worked for architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee. Wright drafted the construction of his first building, the Lloyd-Jones family chapel, also known as Unity Chapel. One year later, he went to work for the firm of Adler and Sullivan, directly under Louis Sullivan. Wright adapted Sullivan's maxim "Form Follows Function" to his own revised theory of "Form and Function Are One." It was Sullivan's belief that American Architecture should be based on American function, not European traditions, a theory which Wright later developed further. Throughout his life, Wright acknowledged very few influences but credits Sullivan as a primary influence on his career.

[size=14pt]Roman Abramovich[/size]

Roman Abramovich is a Russian businessman, investor and politician. He is currently ranked by Forbes as the 15th richest man in the world. He is the owner of Chelsea Football Club.

Roman Abramovich was born 24 October 1966, he was born into a Jewish family of Latvian origins in the southern Russian city of Saratov. During the Second World War his grandfather and grandmother were forced to leave Latvia, only to be repressed in the USSR. Abramovich’s mother, a musician, died when he was only 18 months old. When he was three, his father died in an accident at a construction site where he worked as a supplier.

Roman was raised in his uncles' families, living first in Ukhta, in the Komi Republic, and then in Moscow.
He attended simple state schools and was, at best, an average student. Information on his university education is controversial. Some sources suggest that he attended the Ukhta Industrial University, while others point to The Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Moscow.

Both universities deny his attendance. In Abramovich’s official biography it is stated that he graduated from the Moscow State Law Academy in 2001, but rumours still circulate that he dropped out.

[size=14pt]Winston Churchill[/size]
Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a writer (as Winston S. Churchill), and an artist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was the first person to be made an honorary citizen of the United States.

At the start of the second world war in 1939, the then prime minister, Neville Chamberlain was forced to resign and General Winston Churchill was appointed prime minister to lead Britain to war with Nazi Germany. His steadfast refusal to consider defeat, surrender, or a compromise peace helped inspire British resistance, especially during the difficult early days of the war when the British Commonwealth and Empire stood alone in its active opposition to Adolf Hitler. Churchill was particularly noted for his speeches and radio broadcasts, which helped inspire the British people. He led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured.

Independent and rebellious by nature, Churchill generally had a poor academic record in school, for which he was punished. He was educated at three independent schools: St. George's School, Ascot, Berkshire; Brunswick School in Hove, near Brighton (the school has since been renamed Stoke Brunswick School and relocated to Ashurst Wood in West Sussex); and at Harrow School from 17 April 1888. Within weeks of his arrival at Harrow, Churchill had joined the Harrow Rifle Corps.
Blenheim Palace, the Churchill family home

Winston started attending Harrow School, he was listed under the S's as Spencer Churchill. In his first year at Harrow he was recognized as being the best in his division for history, however, as the boy with the lowest grades in the lowest class, and he remained in that position. Winston never even made it into the upper school because he would not study the classics.

Rebellious by nature, he generally did poorly in school. Flunked sixth grade. After he left Harrow, he applied to the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, but it took him three times before he passed the entrance exam. He graduated 8th out of a class of 150 a year and a half later. He never attended college.

My favourite high school drop out is Professor John Moffet. He was the first,if not the only the student to be admitted into Cambridge University for a Phd degree without first obtaining a bachelors degree. In fact he never completed high school. He got admission solely on the recomendation of Albert Einstein. He later rose to become a professor of Physics.

I will write his profile when i have time. Today is monday and there is work to do.

This is very enlightening....
Kindly share with us what the Nigerian Constitution says about the eligibility of a presidential candidate?