SEGUN OLUGBILE
Against all odds, a beggar who gained admission to the University of Lagos in 2006, Mr. Abdulsalam Idowu, was part of the 8,209 students that graduated from the university last Wednesday. SEGUN OLUGBILE, who covered the event, chronicles the academic sojourn of the beggar, who has also begun a law programme in the university.
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For two days last week, the University of Lagos was thrown into a festive mood with the conferment of various degrees and diploma certificates on 8, 209 students. Though 119 of the graduating students, including Segun Alawode, who emerged as the best graduating student, passed out with first class degrees, Idowu Abdulsalam, who graduated with a second class lower degree in Political Science, was the most celebrated.
Idowu, formerly a beggar, had secured admission to the university in 2006 with no hope of completing the programme. On the day he got the admission, he had just N39,000 in savings, the money he made from his begging business. But he exhausted this on the first semester registration. With no parent to turn to, Idowu had planned to continue his alms begging business to raise money to continue his education. But fortunes smiled on him after some compassionate Nigerians and organisations decided to sponsor him after reading his story in The PUNCH.
Born into a poor, polygamous family, Idowu lost his mother at the age of three years. An attack of malaria left him crippled shortly after. He could not complete his secondary school education because of his inability to pay his school fees. With nobody willing to employ him, he took to begging. He sat for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination O'Level as a beggar and passed after two attempts. He also gained admission to UNILAG as a beggar and so it was with glee that Idowu graduated on Wednesday. Idowu, who crawled to UNILAG in 2006, rode high on a tricycle amidst encomiums and cheers from colleagues and the university authorities during the convocation.
The 31 -year-old man, who has also started his law programme, in a chat with our correspondent after the convocation, said he was grateful to God, The Punch and many Nigerians who had helped to make his dream a reality.
"When I came to UNILAG, I had no mother, but God gave me compassionate mothers such as Justice Ajumogobia, Alhaja Osonaike, Alhaja Fowosere, Alhaja S.O Yusuf, Mrs. Comfort Obi and wife of the Kwara State Governor, Mrs. Toyin Bukola- Saraki.
"When I came to UNILAG, I had a very poor polygamous father, but God gave me very rich and responsible fathers such as Mr. Peace Emokaro, Pastor Adewuyi, Alhaji Olajobi, Prof. Oye Ibidapo-Obe, Prof. Tolu Odugbemi and the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Tokunbo Sofoluwe.
"When I came to UNILAG, I was moving around with the aid of a local skateboard, but God used organisations such as Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria, UNILAG Muslim Community, the Christian Community, Young Men Christian Association and some churches to give me walking aids and money.
"When I came to UNILAG, I had no voice but The PUNCH gave me a voice and here I am today, the yesterday's beggar has become a university graduate. I thank all the people God has used to help me thus far," he said poetically.
Asked how he intended to pay his way through the four-year law programme he had just started, Idowu went spiritual, saying that God that saw him through the first degree would not abandon him.
He, however, added that he would search for employment to help himself.
"Yes, I have thought about the challenges. However, I believe that God who has seen me through many difficult challenges before now will make a way for me. But I will plead with Nigerians and government to please give me a job so that I can help myself," he said.
But did he have any regret while on campus for his first degree, Idowu said no...
"I didn't have personal regret, the only thing I don't enjoy is seeing touts, street boys and hustlers, who saw me while I was begging on the streets of Lagos and who still refused to have a rethink. I wonder why they still continue to live like that. Only two of the street boys have changed. They are now students of UNILAG and they have made me their mentor," he said.
One of his mentees, Lukman Lawal, who is now a 200 Level Economics student, said Idowu's story motivated him to abandon the street for education.
"He is wise and inspiring. I knew him when he was begging and I was shocked when I saw his picture and his story on the front page of PUNCH one day in 2006. I went to see him afterwards, and he advised me that if he could make GCE and university admission that I could make it, too. I took to his counsel and today I'm in 200 Level. He's a worthy mentor," he said.
Idowu, who came all alone to the convocation ground, said he had no regret that none of his relations accompanied him.
"Yes, I can see that a lot of my colleagues came with their parents. I'm not bothered by this. My mother is dead and my father is too poor to come to Lagos from Adamawa where he does menial job. I have long overcome this because I have been living a lonely life since I lost my mother at a very tender age," he said.
He advised the nation's youths to shun criminality and acts capable of destroying their future.
"I want to advise youths to desist from criminality. Criminality is not the way out of poverty; it's only a fast lane to self-destruction. They should know that 70 per cent of Nigerians are poor; therefore, if they continue to engage in crime, the victims of their criminality are largely going to be those battling with poverty too. So, they should stop embarking on vices and set developmental targets for themselves, be focused and determined to realise their ambitions," he said.
Some of his colleagues, including Audu Okaala Nathaniel, Willams Nuatin, Chinaza Akabuogu and Adenike Ogunleye described Idowu as determined, focused and a brilliant motivator.
Akabuogu, however, added that Idowu was not just brilliant, he was also a non-conformist. "When you discuss issues with him, he always flows against popular views. Maybe, he does that intentionally but Kabasa (that is Idowu's popular name among his course mates) is intelligent and logical in his presentation of issues. He argues with facts and lecturers used his story to challenge us in class. I love him for his never-say-die spirit. He's my man any day," he said.
Also, the VC of UNILAG, Prof. Sofoluwe, had while addressing the press on the activities lined up for the convocation, said that the institution was encouraged by the graduating students' performance particularly Idowu and other physically-challenged students for their determination and will to succeed.
He pledged the university's determination to do more to enhance the welfare of the physically-challenged on the campus. Sofoluwe also commended the students for their peaceful conduct, which he noted, was responsible for the harmony on the campus.
But the convocation was not about Idowu alone, other students who distinguished themselves were also celebrated during the ceremony.
The graduates included Adedapo Aladegbaye, who obtained a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.74 out of a possible 5.0 to get a rare first class degree in the Department of Mass Communication, and Austin Andem, who obtained a first class in the Department of English.
Aladegbaye, 24, was said to be the second graduate after popular columnist, Dr. Olatunji Dare, to have passed out with a first class degree from the MASSCOMM department since it was established in 1966.
The Akure, Ondo State born young man in a chat with our correspondent, said that he did not set out to make a first class.
He said, "We were told during our first year that first class degree was a rarity in the department. But I just set my mind at making a good grade. It was when we got to 300 Level that I woke up to the reality that I could make a first class because my CGPA was within the first class range."
Aladegbaye's dream was nearly truncated when his father died in the first semester of his 400 Level.
But rather than allowing this setback to affect his studies, he was further propelled to make a first class. At the end of his degree programme, he made it in style beating his closest rival who obtained a CGPA of 3.98 to the second position.
Aladegbaye had shown signs of his brilliance when he
graduated from Government College, Ibadan, Oyo State, with eight As and a B3 in the 2002 WASSCE.
He, however, called on the university authorities to invest more in the purchase of relevant books to libraries in the institution.
He also faulted the process whereby lecturers were made to develop curriculum for their courses. This, he said, should be done by a body of experts.
He applauded his colleagues and lecturers, including Dr. Remi Ologbenla, Dr. Okoye and Dr. Ben Nwabueze for helping him to make history.
Also, Andem, 46, who obtained a CGPA of 4.64 out of a possible 5.0, was also applauded for his academic performance.
Born in Uyo, in Ibesikpo Asutan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Andem had graduated from the Government College, Victoria Island, Lagos in 1982. Andem later moved to Federal Polytechnic, Idah, Kogi State and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism for his certificate and diploma programmes in journalism.
In a chat with our correspondent after the ceremony, Andem said his desire to understand English informed his decision to study the language at the university.
Before he went to the university, Andem said he got a scholarship to read cartography at the Federal School of Surveying Oyo, Oyo State, where he graduated with a distinction in 1989.
"My love for journalism led me to the Federal Polytechnic, Idah and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos. I had a stint with the Voice of Nigeria as a student on attachment. From there I got involved on a part time basis with DBN TV, MITV, Crime Fighters television programme and Superscreen Television where I present the Campos Square programme on weekends. I still edit the Business Update Newspaper till date," the father of one said.
He hopes to pursue a postgraduate programme if a scholarship he is pursuing at a foreign university sails through.
At the event, some distinguished lecturers and the Proprietor, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN) were honoured by the university.
While Ajibola was conferred with the honorary doctorate degree (Honorius causal) in Laws, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Prof. Giwa Osato-Osagie, was given the Distinguished Professor award for his contributions to the development of fertility in women.
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