A young Nigerian man has gone viral after sharing how he moved from repeated rejection at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) to successfully joining the United States Air Force on his first attempt.

The inspiring story was shared on TikTok, where he recounted years of unsuccessful applications before eventually achieving his dream of serving in the military abroad.

Years of rejection at NDA

According to him, he applied to the Nigerian Defence Academy seven times between 2017 and 2023 without success.

He listed his application history in a viral post:

“2017 – NDA ❌
2018 – NDA ❌
2019 – NDA ❌
2020 – NDA ❌
2021 – NDA ❌
2022 – NDA ❌
2023 – NDA ❌”

Breakthrough after years of trying

Despite repeated setbacks, he said his situation changed in 2026 when he successfully joined the United States Air Force on his first application attempt.

“2026 – Air Force ✅,” he wrote.

He added that it took him about nine years in total to achieve his goal of becoming a military personnel.

“Stay locked in.

It took me 9 years to achieve my dream,” he added.