Nigerian man who almost dropped out of UI because of financial challenges overcomes, emerges best student with 3.80/4.00CGPA in Linguistics.

A determined Nigerian man named Olayinka Babatunde has defied significant financial challenges to emerge as the best-graduating student in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ibadan (UI), Nigeria.

He earned a first-class degree in Linguistics with a stellar cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.80 out of 4.00. In an interview with Punch NG, Olayinka expressed his excitement about achieving this feat.

“Graduating with a first-class from the University of Ibadan is no small task. Now that I’ve achieved this, I’m committed to maintaining the high standards I’ve set for myself in all my endeavors,” he said.

Initially, Olayinka aspired to study German due to his interest in the language. However, upon advice from his brother, he opted for Linguistics, believing it would allow him to learn multiple languages.

Once in the program, he discovered that Linguistics focused more on the structure and use of language rather than learning new languages. Despite the adjustment, Olayinka embraced his studies and excelled academically.

Olayinka faced severe financial difficulties during his time at UI. Both of his parents were farmers, and in his third year, his father fell ill, making it impossible for his family to support him.

During this period, Olayinka turned to various online ventures to make ends meet, exploring business marketing, copywriting, graphic design, e-commerce, and information marketing. He also worked as a speech and dataset annotator for his lecturers.

One of his lecturers even recommended him to colleagues in the United States for additional freelance work. Despite these challenges, Olayinka remained determined.

”So, I said to myself let’s just let everything go. But I realised that because I didn’t have anybody, I shouldn’t give up. Giving up was not an option because I knew that if I graduated from school, I would be on my own. Again, I saw getting good grades as the only option I had to make my life better,”’ he said,

Olayinka attributed his success to perseverance and strategic thinking. Reflecting on a challenging General Studies course (GES 105), he explained how he overcame poor test results by intensively preparing for the exams and focusing on other courses to balance his grades.

”I didn’t follow the crowd to do what they did; I sat down to know what was best for me. In terms of choosing courses to borrow or reading formulas to adopt, I did what was best for me. I didn’t do what others chose,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of learning from others. “Instead of being envious of people who are better than you, get closer to them and learn. Their insights, tactics, and strategies can improve your life.”

Olayinka said his academic journey taught him resilience, adaptability, and the value of unity. “I learned to accommodate people from diverse backgrounds and orientations. I also learned that it’s not over until it’s over—there’s always something that can be done to change a difficult situation.”