A Brief Review of Peter Moses’ ‘The Tunnel’
The Tunnel, as aptly entitled, is one of the best operational manuals any worthy student or young adult can possibly have in his/her arsenal of books. During the editing of this brilliant work of literature, I was marveled by the combined efforts of the writer to project these hitherto complex principles into such simple strategies that even the most ordinary student can utilize and gradually but magically launch him/herself into the famous extraordinary league of Peter and friends. (I think they should start a club. Don’t you?)
Beginning from the first chapter, “Positive Attitude”, Peter strategically found a way to pave the mind of its readers into the hitherto complex principles. With the right attitude and many testimonies of it, Peter preached the gospel of academic success beginning from a mind-strength perspective. Simply put; whatever academic success you desire is a function of what your mind is.
All other chapters-cum-principles (to the last one; Divine Engagement) therefore drive home his message in outright ways that cannot be overridden in the quest for academic success. Indeed, The Tunnel is an all-encompassing, one-size-fit-all compass to everyone out there who desires to achieve unparalleled academic success.
Furthermore, the action points at the end of each chapter is a brilliant attempt at giving its readers a specific focus after regurgitating the principles as they read and try to comprehend them. They are the author’s advice that the reader must in his/her best interest do well to follow. The action points are specific but not limited suggestions to aid the maximal utilisation of each principle. Its importance cannot be over-emphasized.
In that vein, highlighting key points and emphasizing them provides an easy-to-read approach for the somewhat quick readers of The Tunnel. Although it is unwise and almost suicidal to read The Tunnel with a quick glance, such methods utilised by Peter has considered such group of readers and given them pivotal points to run with.
The same goes for patient and thorough readers who genuinely hope to benefit from the avalanche of wealth in The Tunnel. Such key points are missiles that can be launched during their daily attempts at academic excellence; during lectures in class, study groups, personal study, reading moments and various moments associated with academic success.
Another aspect of the book that intrigues me is the wealth of experience that resides in this book! The Peter and friends club again. Really, that is a 100% killer for me. Reading through the experiences while editing, and remembering Peter’s personal lifestyle as a roommate in our final year in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) gave me a pictorial lifelike imagery of each one of the principles. I could almost see them living – through Peter and his friends.
As a reader, I can attest to the veracity of the testimonies and experiences shared in The Tunnel. Even others I am not privy exclusively to, some were friends I met and associated with through Mospet (Yes, Mospet – I’m sure you will figure it out) while on campus. The willingness of these academic high-fliers to share their experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly furthermore cements the greatness of these people and emphasizes their willingness to transfer and translate their tested and trusted principles to newcomers into the club. It shows that they desire more students to succeed. They desire success to be a norm, not an exception. They are interested in the success of more than just a few. They are not monopolistic of success. It is truly an amazing feat, which Peter achieved, especially in this Nigerian contextual society.
Summarily, two other media of message dissemination that Peter utilised are the Biblical references and the diction (choice of words and use of language). Peter made prominent his strong belief in God as the only divine source of true success. All through the book, he stressed the place of God and His leading taking forefront position in his success. As a Christian myself, I really appreciate the efforts and commend it. I strongly believe that non-Christians alike can benefit from the arsenal of principles in this book.
In addition, the choice of words in The Tunnel is apt and reader-friendly. The language is simple, straightforward and easy to comprehend. The style of writing is also a brilliant style of discourse – conversational and precise – devoid of unnecessary rhetoric and repetition of thoughts. The arrangement of the chapters and each paragraph is also worthy of novel mention. Words appropriately put in their places, well-arranged lines, precise quotations and mentions from notable quotable sources. In all, I rate highly the process and final piece, The Tunnel.
I therefore strongly advise every well-meaning and academic-success-hungry student out there (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary; Undergraduate, Postgraduate and more) to go out there and make the best use of this golden opportunity and pick up a personal copy of this masterpiece, The Tunnel.
‘Deji Adeyemi
The Conversation Series
CEO/Lead Editor
