After eight attempts at UME, orphan emerges best graduating student

Hers is a story of resilience and perseverance. Though she finally graduated at the age of 29, the story of Oluwagbemisola Mann reflects how the human spirit and willpower could be deployed to turn adversity into prosperity.


Mann lost her father when she was three years, her mother at age nine and her grandmother, who was her mainstay, at 13.

Her admission to the Lagos State University, Ojo, where she graduated last Wednesday as the best graduating student, did not come cheap as well. She sat for the Universities Matriculation Examination eight times before she was admitted to the university during the 2003/2004 session. But, from the first week of her admission to the university, she made up her mind to graduate with a first class. And she did.

Born on December 21, 1980, Mann, who had her primary school education at Command School, Mile Two, Lagos between 1983 and 1989, worked as a baby sitter; housemaid; cleaner; house teacher; and a photographer to make ends meet. She was born in Itoku, Abeokuta, Ogun State and completed her secondary school in 1997 at Command Day Secondary School, Ikeja, with four credits and four distinctions. She was the cynosure of all eyes when LASU celebrated its 16th Convocation last Wednesday. Though she was not the only one that passed out with a first class, three other graduates- Omoye Akhagba, Tijani Olakunle and Wusu Ashiribo did, the ovation that trailed her announcement was inspiring. With a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.73 out of a possible 5.0, Mann soared higher than all the 9,303 students who bagged their first degrees during the convocation. Olakunle, who emerged the second best graduating student, had a distant CGPA of 4.57, while Akhagba and Ashiribo who jointly came third had 4.54.

When she was called for her award, many who graced the occasion stood up to catch a glimpse of the brainy girl. Surrounded by her siblings and principal officers of the university, including the Vice- Chancellor, Prof. Lateef Hussain, his deputy, Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji- Bello, Mann took over the dais and dazed the crowd with her smooth but emotional speech.

She told the audience that she was an orphan, who sat for UME eight times before she gained admission to the university. This disclosure moved a lot of parents particularly women at the venue to tears.

In a chat with our correspondent after the event, Mann said but for God’s grace, the generosity of her poor siblings and the scholarship introduced by LASU management in 2006, life would have been more difficult for her in the university.

According to her, life became unbearable for her and her seven siblings after they lost their father, Captain Edward Mann, on July 14, 1983, in a road accident, their mother, Mrs. Ramotu Mann (nee Kosoko), on December 3, 1989 and her grandmother in 2003.

She said, “I didn’t quite know my father. I was told he died in a road accident when he was 39. I was the last child in a family of eight. My mother died when I was in Primary 3. I remember she was sick, took an injection and the thing led to abscess, she died in the process. We were devastated but the worst happened in 2003 when my grandmother died. That was the beginning of hre travails.

“As a child and as a fresher at LASU, circumstances around me threatened to kill my dream of having university education. As an orphan, I had to work as a babysitter and a housemaid to make ends meet during my secondary school days. I worked as a cleaner with an airline and as a photographer to make ends meet during my first two semesters in the university.”

Explaining how she sustained her dream of having university education in spite of the many challenges around her life, and why she engaged in menial jobs, she said the need to survive and to stop being an appendage to her siblings informed her decision to raise money through any legitimate means.

“You see, there is a stage you get to that you want to stop begging people for help. Even if people are ready to help you, if you are in my condition, you will see the need to do something for yourself,” she said.

This mindset was what took her to the house of a neighbour who was a nursing-mother.

“I just went to her and offered to take care of her baby and clean the house. She agreed. My pay was N150 and a free meal,’’ she said.

After this encounter, she said, “Something within me said you can beat lack by rendering free service. I picked it up by meeting people.” She got some positive responses, and from there she started the job in earnest.

She later graduated from cleaning houses to organising home lessons for nursery and primary school pupils. She used the proceeds from her menial jobs to rescue herself from possible embarrassment in secondary school.

A particular occasion she remembered was when she got to the senior secondary school and she needed to buy new uniforms.

“My school mates made jest of me. They taunted me, saying I was still behaving like a JSS student. Because I knew that I had no parents to buy new uniforms for me, I redoubled my efforts at home lesson where I earned between N500 and N1000 in a month. I also started making sobo drink which I sold to make more money. It was from this money that I bought new uniforms, shoes and school bags to save myself from the dirty jokes of my mates.”

In spite of the challenge, she worked hard and passed her WASSCE.

But why did it take her so long a time to secure admission having completed her secondary school education in flying colours? Mann said though she made eight credits at her first West African Senior School Certificate Examination in 1997, she did not make a credit pass in English Language.

“I started writing the UME in my final year in secondary school in 1997, but unfortunately I made an ordinary pass in English Language, so I could not proceed immediately to the university,” she said.

But the major challenge that delayed her was her insistence to study Accountancy in the university. So from 1997 to 2003, she was writing UME. But she couldn’t just meet the cut-off point. It was after writing the UME seven times that one of her sisters, Feyi now Mrs. Egbebiyi advised her to pick another course of study. She agreed, picking Public Relations and Advertising. That was in 2003. She sat for the UME again and scored 247, a score that qualified her for the admission. At the university, she discovered that she could not combine babysitting with cleaning job so she got a job with an airline.

But she did this after she had perfected her skills in photography which she learnt from a course in the School of Communication at LASU. She became a photographer and the first job she got was to cover a wedding ceremony, which fetched her N15, 000. “Though there is money in photography, I discovered that it was seasonal. I was in the middle of this confusion when the university introduced an annual scholarship. I won and I was given free tuition and extra N20, 000. This helped me a great deal as it put a stop to my problems,” she said.

She said she planned to graduate with a first class the very first week she gained admission to the university. To achieve this, she promised not to engage in any amorous relationship until after her graduation. She kept her promise and her best friend is Seun Salami, who authored a book as a student.

So, how did she cope with pressure from male students? Mann said, “I gave my life to Jesus Christ at 12. And His teachings have been guiding me since then. So, when they (men) came, I made them know my stand and because a lot of them were only looking for fun, they didn’t come back.”

On what it would take an undergraduate to make a first class, Mann said such a student must be focused, disciplined, studious and diligent.

She advised people particularly those who are passing through challenges to put their trust in God, be prayerful, and do something to help themselves.

“Rather than folding your arms, look around your environment, you will definitely find something you can do to help yourself,” she said.

Some of her lecturers, including Dr. Rotimi Williams, applauded her scholarship and industry. According to them, Mann is an example of what a student should be.

“She is not wayward. She’s not frivolous. She’s ever serious with her studies. I knew she was made for the top when she started working as a photographer,’’ Williams said.

The convocation was not about Mann alone. Others, including 2, 726 postgraduate students, were awarded degrees while another 369 bagged diploma certificates in various disciplines