Peter Adeniran, a 21-year-old poor student at the University of Lagos’ Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies, has committed not to disappoint department alumni who have put their faith in him.
Adeniran was speaking during a private ceremony held by the department on Saturday in Lagos to give out a 150,000 check to him.
The presentation was made by the department’s graduates in 2008, who agreed to pay his mandatory fees in the institution for the session.
On the sidelines, he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was astonished by the gesture, which came when he least anticipated it.
According to him, he could not ballot for bed space, as payment of the fees was a requisite for balloting.
“I must say I am overwhelmed and shocked at this turnaround of events in my life.
“I had already zeroed my mind to drop from school because help was not coming from anywhere, and so, there was no hope of continuing with my studies,” he said.
He said what the group had done would be part of the history of his life journey and remain indelible.
“I want to thank and assure them that I will never disappoint them for believing in me.
“I finished my year one, and suddenly, as we were about to resume this session, the management of the institution reviewed the obligatory fees upward and I was not expecting it.
“I was hoping that as usual, as a self-sponsored student, I would go out and struggle and be able to pay my fees on time.
“So, I kept wondering what next to do, to meet up with the payment of my new fees and be able to go ahead and register for my courses and take care of other issues.
“I had even gotten to the extent of discussing with my course adviser on my plight, before the close of registration of courses for the semester.
“While we were on all these, suddenly, I got a call from her that I need to come over to school and see her and here we are”, he said.
Dr Adedoyin Eleshin, a lecturer in the department, said that the story of Adeniran was touching and was selected after a thorough screening exercise was carried out among other indigent students in the department.
According to her, as a 300-level students’ course adviser, she was delegated by the head of the department to do the screening, together with the course adviser of the 200-level students, to identify the most indigent student, as requested by the group.
“When we carried out the individual screening among the indigent students, we discovered indeed that there was no hope for him, as he had no one to help out.
“He came to Lagos all the way from Oyo all alone in 2019, to hustle for a better life, with no family member to stay with.
“He kept doing menial jobs to survive and pay his way through the 100 level. As we speak, he lives with the elder brother of a friend, at Ikorodu.
“Now he does transcription and translation as well as proofreading among others. His current GPA is 4.50 and that is a first class in the 200 level that he is.
“If he should continue in that manner, he will graduate with a first-class,” she said.
Tunde Oladipo, Chairman, Reunion Committee 2023, of the department’s set of 2008, told NAN that the gesture was part of activities lined up for their get-together.
According to him, the set deemed it an obligation to give back to society by coming to the rescue of an indigent but academically sound student.
”What we have done is our own little way of giving back, by identifying and supporting academic excellence. It is also a unique effort by giving back to society.
“We have just given a kind of encouragement to Adeniran because as it were, there was no hope of him paying his fees for the session. With his current CGP of 4.50, we cannot afford to see such brain waste.
“All we want is for him to show more dedication and commitment to his studies so that it will encourage us as a group to do more by our next year’s reunion.
“We will continue to monitor his academic progress to ensure that he remains on the right course,” he said.
The Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Ilupeju Mudasiru, described the gesture as a welcome development that was worthy of emulation, considering the fact that the department was the least in the faculty, in terms of the number of students.
According to him, the gesture is also in line with the vice chancellor’s resolve not to allow any of her students to drop out of school following the review of obligatory fees.
“This gesture is in line with the vice chancellor’s appeal for assistance for indigent students of the university and her commitment to ensure that none of them drops out of school.
“I must commend this set of 2008, for thinking along this line.
“I guess this is just the beginning of greater things to come. If this department which is the smallest in terms of number in the faculty could do this, I am sure other departments too will like to do something even bigger in scope, and soon, it could become a thing of competition among other departments.
“It will now be on us to institutionalise it, create alumni day so that all of them can give back to their respective faculties,” he said.
