A mother of two has emerged Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State overall best graduating student with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.97 out of the 62 first class in the 2018 graduates.
She is Edafe Bawa-Dogo, a Business Education student who said that her achievement of the academic feat was made possible by God.
Bawa who spoke with Weekend Woman of The Vanguard traced her success to her husband, two daughters and classmates, describing the role of her mother who is a retired teacher as massive.
According to her, the encouragement from her mother while on campus brought out the best in her. “My retired mother was always calling to remind me of the need to read me my books despite my busy scheduled,” she said.
On the choice of her course as Business Education graduate she said: ‘’My mother’s love for teaching influenced also my passion for education course. She makes me love the teaching profession.”
As a mother of two, Bawa-Dogo disclosed that another important factor to her academic success was hardwork, noting that in spite of her busy schedule of taking care of her children, she used to go through her lectures several times at home to ensure every lesson taught was well understood.
“As a working mother of two, I combined my studies with my work as school officer at the Department of Computer Science, Babcock University. After work, I had to come back home and assist my children in their home work and church activities every Saturday. So, it was important that I worked very hard.”
Recapitulating her academic performance while in primary and secondary school , she said; “It was not as if I have always been at the top of my class ever since I started school. However, at a point, God turned everything around and I became a serious student.
Bawa-Dogo who hailed from Cross River State said: “I remember the first time I took first position in my class while in primary school, my sisters shouted and could not believe it. ‘’I recalled that my worst subjects were Mathematics and English Language. I struggled to understand Mathematics and English Language.
“My father will always say Mathematics is the key, therefore, I picked interest in Mathematics and English Language, but somehow in the higher institution, God gave an understanding grace to read and remember. It was not as if I was born a genius, however at a point in time in my life, I picked interest in success and God turned everything around.”
Also speaking during convocation, Professor Ademola Tayo, the President/Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, congratulated the best graduating student and other graduates, adding: “The past few years have been challenging economic periods for us as a nation. ” However, we have remained focused on our core mission of providing the finest undergraduate and graduate education and maintaining a research endeavour to the best of our ability.”
“Despite the challenges and economic drawbacks, we have worked in a very disciplined and prudent manner to achieve our goal. The results have been remarkable, leading to the smooth drive of our academic calendar, culminating today in both the graduation of our undergraduates and postgraduates”.
On his part, Professor Oloruntoyin Falola of University of Texas, Austin, USA and the guest lecturer, who lectured on: Faith, Fact and Fiction which underscored the relevance of faith in the context of the related ideas of fact and fiction.
According to him faith and society have always been linked since the birth of human civilization stressing that religion has made enormous contribution to the growth of civilization. He therefore, urged Nigerians to tap into the advantages of faith and avoid inter-religious conflicts.
Furthermore, Prof. Falola said that one’s behaviour must undergo a revolution to embrace faith and fiction because it engenders creativity. According to him, every developed society has forever been known to stand on the shoulder of its youth. He noted that the vibrancy, the zeal and commitment shown by this demography are directly proportional to the stage of the growth of such society.
So, he said, “I urge Babcock students to be part of the solution to Nigeria’s problems. The world is fraught with mending puzzles waiting to be unraveled and solved.”
