I Was Mocked For Surviving On Garri – LASU’s Best-Graduating Student

The best-graduating student for the 2021/2022 set in Lagos State University (LASU) , Ojo, Aminat Yusuf, says the right mentoring by lecturers, hard work, and God’s guidance were major factors for her success.

Yusuf, whose father is a journalist and mother a businesswoman, also thanked her parents for motivating and inspiring her to achieve the feat.

She spoke in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Wednesday, in Lagos, in which she shared her experience during her undergraduate days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Yusuf, an Edo indigene, finished with a Cumulative Grade Point Average  (CGPA) of 5.00 (First Class Honours)

She said that the listed factors helped her to be the best-graduating student of her set and in LASU’s years of existence.

“The events of the past few days have motivated me to share in brief my story, in a bid to inspire many others who are in a similar situation as I was and are striving towards excellence,” she said.

Yusuf said this was considering the financial situation of her parents, coupled with the fact that was the first child.

”I called for financial support only under compelling circumstances, after I have exhausted all options.

“As a result, I experienced some serious financial constraints during my two plus four years stay at LASU.

“In 200 Level,  second semester, just because I needed to get a browsing phone and get trained in computer skills, I saved up about 90 percent of my feeding allowance,” Yusuf said.

She said that she settled for garri and groundnuts for a larger part of the semester, which one of her friends considered absurd and told every available listener.

“For the most part of my days as an undergraduate, I lived in the university premises, because I had no hostel, and going home every day would have been absolutely inconvenient.

“The school had a stand-by security and standard lighting system, so, it was safe for me; my major challenge was having to attend lectures every day in a neatly ironed white and black dress, acting like everything was perfect,” Yusuf said.

She also spoke on her first day in LASU for the physical screening, towards admission into diploma in the law programme.

“I remember fantasizing about achieving a remarkable feat in this prestigious university.

“I first did Diploma in Law programme, which runs for two years, in which students are taught compulsory law courses, with a view to offering direct entry admission to top class students.

“I studied really hard and prayed so fervently towards achieving excellence; I graduated from the programme with a CGPA of 4.98 and this was the best in my set.

“The possibility of graduating with such a grade motivated the yearning to graduate with a perfect CGPA at the undergraduate level,” Yusuf said.

She called on well-meaning Nigerians to invest in the education sector and lauded the passing into law of the Student Loan Act in the country.

“I believe this will no doubt be of immeasurable value to our education system.

“While I struggled financially through my education, I don’t desire such hardship for students coming behind us, especially the female students,” Yusuf said.

She appreciated the LASU management for sustaining the congenial and conducive environment that contributed to her excellent performance.

“I am deeply grateful to my parents for their sacrifice and unwavering support towards my education.

“My parents really motivated me from their different careers; my father is a journalist while my mother is a businesswoman.

“Thanks to my faculty lecturers for their reflex of excellence, commitment, and dedication in teaching us to be the best.

“I will like to use this opportunity to launch a YouTube channel tagged “Learning Law with Aminat* with the goal of giving back to society through my immediate community,” Yusuf said upon her acclaim as LASU’s best-graduating student. (NAN)

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