Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has announced a cash prize of N10 million for the best-graduating Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo Aminat Yusuf student.
Yusuf emerged as the best-graduating student for the 2021/2022 academic session with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.00 (First Class Honours).
The Governor announced the cash reward during the school’s 26th convocation ceremony on Thursday, June 22.
Sanwo-Olu explained that he would reward Yusuf with N5 million while the state government would give her another N5 million.
Speaking to journalists after her heroics, Yusuf, an indigene of Edo state, thanked her parents for motivating and inspiring her to achieve the feat.
She reminisced on her ordeals as an undergraduate and how she overcame them all to achieve to emerge as the best graduating student of her set.
Her words:
“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 similar situation as I was and are striving towards excellence.”
She further revealed that she called for financial support only when the circumstances were compelling, or she had exhausted her options.
She noted that she faced demanding financial challenges during her stay at LASU.
She also made it known that she settled for garri and groundnuts for a larger part of some semesters, which one of her friends considered absurd and told every available listener.
Yusuf also recounted how she lived on the university premises for most of her undergraduate days because she couldn’t afford a hostel, and going home daily would be 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 everyday in a neatly ironed white and black dress, acting like everything was perfect,” Yusuf said.
Yusuf further 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.
She appreciated the LASU management for sustaining the friendly and conducive environment that contributed to her excellent performance.
Yusuf then commended her parents for their sacrifices and support towards her education.
Watch the video below:
Video: Sanwo-Olu rewards LASU’s best graduating student with N10m
Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced a cash reward of N10 million for Ojo Aminat Yusuf, the best graduating student of the Lagos State University.
Yusuf emerged the best graduating student for… pic.twitter.com/c7dpH706Si
— Vanguard Newspapers (@vanguardngrnews) June 22, 2023
