Pregnant At 18, Best Graduating Student At 25

Seven years after an unwanted pregnancy
forced her to drop out of the University of
Ilorin, Aishat Farooq emerges the best
graduating student of the Bells University of
Technology, Ota, Ogun State, reports
Temitayo Famutimi
When Aishat Farooq gained admission into
the University of Ilorin at 15, to study
Zoology, little did she know that she was
not going to be an alumnus of the
institution. That was in 2003.
Despite the fact that she was a high flyer in
her first two years in UNILORIN, the now
25-year-old indigene of Ilorin West-Local
Government Area of Kwara State got
distracted along the line. She played the
campus love game and got a shocking
result: she got pregnant.
It was in 2006 and in her third year. She
was pregnant for a fellow student whom
she had been dating. She was disappointed
in herself and thought the whole world was
crashing on her. Yet, she vowed not to
terminate the pregnancy.
Although she wanted to continue her
studies in the university, she became
disillusioned and dropped out at 18. She
sought consolation in trading.
But her father, Mr. Shehu Farooq, who
believed that his daughter’s academic
prowess should not be wasted, was
determined to get her back on the
academic track.
Today, Aishat has a different story to tell.
On Saturday, she stood tall among her
peers at the 5th convocation ceremony of
Bells University, Ota, Ogun State, where she
emerged the overall best graduating
student with a Cumulative Grade Point
Average of 4.93.
“The rebel in me won,” she declared while
giving the valedictory address on behalf of
the 208 graduating students of the
university.
“I hope my story will inspire at least one
person to change his or her circumstance. I
was pregnant at 18 and by 19 I was already
a mother. I had disappointed my father
who believed so much in me. He had such
big dreams for me and feared the dreams
would become unfulfilled,” she added.
Breaking the news of the pregnancy to her
father, who was at the time based in the
northern part of the country, was not easy.
Aishat’s mother, Fatima, who stayed in
Lagos with the family, did not break the
“sad news” to the man until the lady was
almost due. The mum feared her husband
would be too angry.
Fatima narrated to our correspondent,
“Looking back, we knew her to be very
brilliant. But all of a sudden she got
pregnant. Though her father and I were
always discussing on the telephone, I hid it
from him. Whenever he said he would be
coming to Lagos to visit us, I would quickly
chip it in that I would like to be the one to
visit. So, I ensured I was the one always
visiting him.
“That was how I managed the situation
until the pregnancy was eight months. But
even when we broke the news to him, he
felt really bad. Although there was nothing
he could do, he couldn’t go out for three
days.”
Aishat studied Business Administration with
specialisation in Human Resources
Management, and received the Vice-
Chancellor’s Prize for the Overall Best
Graduating Student with a cash reward of
N50,000 and a plaque. She also won the
College of Management Sciences Prize and
Department of Business Administration
Prize for the Best Graduating Student.
Speaking with our correspondent after she
received the awards, Aishat, whose face
beamed with smiles, expressed gratitude to
her dad for not losing hope in her during
her trying time.
She noted that the popularly-held notion
that the child that goes astray belongs to
the mother, while the good ones belong to
the father, was not applicable in her
situation as her father did not give up on
her.
Asked why her dad had so much hoped in
her, she stated that her history of academic
excellence from childhood right to the
university was a major driving force.
Aishat, who attended Nazareth Nursery and
Primary School, Lagos; Penny International
College, Lagos and Model Secondary
School, Maitama, Abuja, said she bagged
several academic awards while growing up
and noted that she secured admission to
UNILORIN the same year she completed
her secondary education.
She noted, “I did exceptionally well and
bagged awards in the schools I attended. I
had the overall best result at the Senior
Secondary School Certificate level at Model
Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja. In fact
in UNILORIN, I was on the first class grade
in my first year but in 200 Level, I dropped
to second class upper division because I
had already started getting distracted by
the boys.
“It just happened that things turned out the
way it did. But here I am, a product of
God’s unending mercies, unconditional love
and grace – all coupled with the faith my
dad had in me and my fierce
determination.
“I’m a goal getter. I push myself hard. Even
here (BELLSTECH) in spite of being a
mother, I was pushing for the best despite
the challenges. I wanted to make my dad
proud again. Once you are determined,
nothing is impossible. Nothing can stop
you.”
She said her decision to study Business
Administration as against the sciences,
which she was studying in UNILORIN, was
informed by her two-year experience in the
world of business after she dropped out of
university.
She explained that incessant strikes by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities,
however, informed her decision to attend a
private university. “Age was no longer on
my side and I wanted to do it fast. And my
dad could afford it because he was a
businessman,” she added.
Asked if she was involved in any
relationship at the Bells, she explained that
she was a popular “snob” on campus
because the majority of male students were
younger than her. Besides, she did not
want to get distracted or disappoint her
parents and herself again.
Aishat, who has been posted to Lagos State
to observe the mandatory National Youth
Service Corps scheme, said, “If you ask
around you will be told that I was a snob.
My favourite spot was my room. I rarely
went out of the room for social events. I
went to mosque. However, when I
contested for the president of my
departmental association, Business
Administration Students Association, the
Nigerian system worked against me.
“I lost to my male opponent. Although I
had plans to take some giant strides if I
won, especially in the academic aspect for
my fellow students, the fact that I was not
the type of person who hangs out worked
against me. I didn’t have a social life.”
She said she has no plans for marriage for
now. She wants to pursue a master’s
degree programme in Human Resources in
the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She
added that she also plans to work in a
corporate environment to garner
experience and afterwards go back to the
university to teach “as a way of giving
back.”
The second child in a family of eight
children, Aishat brought her six-year-old
son, Damilola, to the convocation. It was,
however, learnt that the Edo State-born
father of the boy has since got married to
another woman.
She noted that her major challenge on
campus was the randomness of classes
which denied her the opportunity of
spending quality time with her son while
her stay in the university lasted.
“We had visiting professors who came into
the campus at anytime. Although we had
schedules, many of them had a bit of
flexible time. Sometimes on Sunday when I
took permission to visit my child in Lagos,
my classmates would call me up on the
phone that there was going to be a class.
Because attendance is very important, I had
to rush down. This affected me a little,” she
added.
Aishat’s father advised parents to give their
children and wards the best of tutelage and
close monitoring. He noted that he least
expected the feat achieved by his daughter
as he was at a time disturbed that “she
could no longer make it.”
Asked if it was lack of adequate monitoring
that made Aishat go astray at UNILORIN,
he said, “Let’s just say that is how God
wants it. You see, 70 per cent of the fault is
on us the parents. Parents should give
their children good supervision and
tutelage. With this, they cannot derail. I
thank God for her because it’s is not easy
to have raised her from grass to grace.
“I screamed on the phone the day I learnt
she was pregnant. I started asking
questions: When, where and how. I burst
into tears. But today, she is a new being.
And I know the mistake will not repeat
itself. My expectations for her are that she
should fly higher and higher.”
Some other graduands who distinguished
themselves were also recognised at the
convocation ceremony.
Kolawole Lawal, who finished from the
Department of Economics with a CGPA of
4.73, received the Olusegun Obasanjo’s
Prize for being the best graduating student
with outstanding academic performance
and leadership qualities. Former President
Obasanjo who is the Chief Promoter of the
university, also attended the event.
Francis Sogunle, from the Department of
Computer Science, who had a CGPA of 4.74,
received the Chancellor’s Prize for excelling
in external competitions of academic
nature.
At the ceremony, 208 students were
awarded first degrees with Aishat and 13
others being conferred with first class
degrees, while 64 of them got second class
upper degrees; 83 bagged second class
lower; just as 43 were awarded third class
degrees. Meanwhile four of the graduands
finished with pass degrees.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof
Isaac Adeyemi, charged the graduates to be
patriotic and dedicated to nation building.
“Our beloved country is currently going
through a rather stressful period. All hands
must be on deck to seek lasting solutions
to militancy and insurgencies and disregard
for the rule of law. This is the time to prove
your worth as you can’t afford to fold your
arms or sit on the fence,” he observed.
http://www.punchng.com/education/
pregnant-at-18-best-graduating-student-
at-25/

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