Seven years after an
unwanted pregnancy
forced her to drop out of
the University of Ilorin,
Aishat Farooq has
emerged the best
graduating student of the
Bells University of
Technology in Ota, Ogun
State.
When Aishat Farooq
gained admission into the
University of Ilorin at 15,
to study Zoology, little did
she know that her secret
romance with a boy will
abort her lofty dreams
through pregnancy...
Despite the fact that she
was a high flyer in her
first two years in
UNILORIN, the now 25-
year-old indigene of Ilorin,
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, 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. 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,”
Aishat 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 then feared her
husband would be too
angry.
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 Punch's
Temitayo Famutimi 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, “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 goalgetter. I push
myself hard. Even here 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 .”
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