By Monsuru Olowoopejo & Elizabeth Uwandu
LAGOS—The best graduating student of Lagos State University, LASU, in the 2016/2017 academic session, Fuad Ogunsanya, yesterday, narrated how his final secondary school examination result was ‘decorated with F9s because of the cataract he inherited from his father.

Fuad Ogunsanya

Speaking during the school’s convocation yesterday, 24-year-old graduate of Business Administration, with a Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate, CGPA, of 4.7, said the health challenge, which initially affected one eye, later spread to the other and this affected his academic performance.

His words: “In order to prevent it from extending to the next eye, I was asked to undergo another surgery which was not successful. After some years, the defect extended to the other eye.

“The defect extended all through my secondary school years and my secondary school leaving examinations result was decorated with F9. I left my father’s house to reside with my uncle.

“While residing with my uncle, he worked tirelessly to ensure a permanent solution to the defect. We visited several hospitals before we were referred to University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

“After several months of therapy, another surgery was carried out which later became successful. The challenge later was how to cover the lost time. After three years of leaving secondary school, the issue stopped, but there was need to cover lost ground.”

Back to school

He said following the treatment, he went back to secondary school to rewrite his WAEC and JAMB, after three years of staying at home.

“I was able to make four As and three Bs and scored 215 in JAMB to gain admission to LASU,” Ogunsanya recalled.

According to him, he had applied for Accounting at LASU, but opted for Business Administration as Accounting was not accredited at the time.

He noted that his academic journey was rigorous and herculean, even as he lost his father in 2015.

“But my doggedness and tenacity yielded a good result,” he added.

He urged employers to trust Nigerian graduates as “they have been fortified with the capacity to significantly change the corporate world.”

“We have internalised the new LASU mantra and will represent the institution in the outside world positively by being good ambassadors and providing solutions to societal problems,” said Ogunsaya.

He hailed Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, the Vice Chancellor, for re-branding the institution and making it enviable among Nigerian universities.

Ogunsaya also lauded Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for his investment and commitment to LASU.

…gets Ambode scholarship

Responding to his request for scholarship to go for masters’ study outside the country, Ambode said he would personally finance the student’s education in any university of his choice anywhere in the world, to serve as encouragement to others that might have been confronted with such challenges.

According to the governor, “in response to the best graduating student’s request, Lagos State Government does not generally give scholarship anymore, but only bursary. So, I adopt him.

“His story is too compelling and it reflects on my own story. So, any university he wants to go, I will do it personally; I will be responsible.

“In addition to that, because he is the best graduating student, I will give him N5 million.”