A 22-year-old Nigerian man named Ola-Gbadamosi Ridwan who sold chicken to pay his school fees, has graduated and emerged as Lagos State University’s best-graduating student with a 4.88 Cumulative Grade Point Average.

Ridwan obtained her bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at Lagos State University’s best-graduating student with a 4.88 cumulative grade point average. His outstanding performance earned him the university’s overall best-graduating student.

He shared that despite facing numerous challenges while growing up, he remained determined to succeed and was unfazed by the obstacles he encountered. Ridwan expressed that his achievement has now erased all the hardships he endured.

Ridwan mentioned that he lost his mother to the cold hands of deatn at the age of 12 leaving his father alone to take care of he and his two other siblings. He added that upn graduation, he was attracted to Mechanical Engineering because of his love for physics and Mathematics.

Ridwan said the tuition of LASU Engineering students as of 2013 was 284,750 naira which was a big task for him considering that two of his younger siblings were preparing for their tertiary education.

“Worth mentioning is that tuition of LASU Engineering students as at 2013 (N284,750) was a big task, considering that two of my younger siblings were getting ready for tertiary education and my dedicated father had the onerous responsibility to shoulder our financial requirements,” he said.

He stated that his matriculation was a bitter-sweet day for him because while he was basking in the joy of being a university student, the thoughts of how his father was going to pay his fees stared him in the face.

Ridwan said he then he took a decision that changed his story for the better. “I made up my mind out of sheer determination to obtain a very good CGPA because I knew with this, I would be able to apply for undergraduate scholarships offered by several companies,” he said.

He said eventually his father was able to pay the full tuition, while he had to take charge of other obligations. In order to assist him financially, Ridwan decided to invest the cash prize he received at his secondary school Speech and Prize Giving Day.

He invested in the production of 150 broilers which he successfully raised from day-old chicks till maturity during the 2013 ASUU strike. Ridwan used the return on the investment to cater for his personal and academic needs.

Ridwan also became a beneficiary of the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), MTN Foundation and Federal Government Scholarships amongst other grants which he used to pay the remaining of his fees.

”I remember using bandage to wrap their broken talons and straws to administer drugs on one of the birds not because I cared about its health but because I was determined to succeed,” he said.

Ridwan stated that his story is that of zeal, passion, inquisitiveness, and sheer determination and that it shows his passion for success.b