By Abdulrasheed Akere
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| Adewale with the King of Iwo Land |
The Oluwo of Iwo-land, Dr Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi celebrates a graduate of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), Adewale Sefiu Damilare for bagging a First-Class honor.
Adewale Sefiu Damilare, an indigene of Iwo-land, a prominent city located in Osun state, attained a First-Class and emerged as the Best Graduating Student of the Department of Pure and Environmental Chemistry with 4.78 of 5.00 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
Damilare did not have it in mind to meet the Oluwo of Iwo-land, HRM Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi over his academic feat until a neighboring brother advised him to do so because he learnt that the king used to commend such excellence.
When Damilare arrived at the Oluwo’s palace on Monday, March 04, 2024, he was honorably welcomed by the king. The king congratulated Damilare for making the whole Iwo-land proud and encouraged him to keep doing great. In the king's words, “You make us proud and you should continue to do more.”
The king assured Damilare to help him secure a chance to undergo his compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corps, or NYSC at the company of his choice in order to honor his first-class honor. After all, the king asked his social media officer to take photographs of them.
“I was very amazed and happy being with the king and took pictures with him individually, not in a group. It's a privilege that I don't take for granted. It gladdens me that the king acknowledges my academic feat,” Damilare expressed blissfully. He is not a relative of the king, it is just a coincidence that both of them have Adewale in their names.
Untold Story of Scholar Damilare
Nothing in this life comes easy including bagging first-class honors from the university. Damilare himself echoed that the journey was not easy. His academic challenges started from the time he was seeking a university admission, a journey which took him seven years.
Damilare completed secondary school in 2011 but could not gain admission to study his course of choice (Pharmacy) in any university in the Southwest. He wrote several Jambs applying to University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), but all efforts proved abortive.
He gave northern university a trial in 2018 and was offered admission to study Chemistry at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. During his academic journey, he lost his father and sister. He didn't let the pain of losing dear ones affected him and stayed focused.
Damilare had 4.82 Grade Points (GP) in the 100-level but dropped to 4.75 CGPA in the 200-level. “I can say that 300-level was the toughest level for me, regardless, I had a perfect 5.0 GP in it which cumulatively fell to 4.82 CGPA. Lastly, in my final-year, I had 4.78 CGPA.”
While on campus, he enjoyed being a member of University Scholars' Forum (USF) where he served as organizing secretary during the last administration.
He appreciated Allāh for given him the opportunity to achieve his aim and objective to graduate as the best student in his Department. Damilare encouraged students, especially those from humble backgrounds like him to strive for academic excellence as it's the only way to lead a meaningful and prosperous life after graduation either by being gainfully employed with reputable organizations or securing scholarships overseas to further their studies.