A brilliant Nigerian man named Yusuf Abednego has made history at the Department of Political Science, University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Nigeria, by becoming the first student in over a decade to graduate with a First-Class degree.
His achievement is even more remarkable because he was the only student to earn First-Class honors out of 192 students in his graduating class.
Reflecting on his academic journey, Yusuf shared that his goal of achieving a First-Class degree was not just about studying and passing exams—it was filled with numerous obstacles.
His challenges began in his first year when his academic results were released. Instead of 4.80 grade point average, he saw 4.51 GPA recorded. Initially, he believed it was a minor error that could be easily corrected. However, as he progressed to his second year, the inconsistencies continued.
Determined to excel, Yusuf set a goal of achieving a perfect 5.0 GPA in his 200-level studies. Despite scoring a 4.77 GPA in his first semester and a 4.90 GPA in the second, his academic status still showed a lower CGPA of 4.52 instead of the expected 4.82.
With multiple attempts to rectify the issue, his efforts proved unsuccessful and the error persisted. Yusuf began hearing discouraging rumors about his department just as he advanced in his studies.
Some that; no student had been awarded First-Class in Political Science for the past 10 years, and the department would not allow anyone to break that record, others said his non-indigene status and religion might be factors affecting his results.
Also, some certain lecturers deliberately gave low grades, making it nearly impossible to achieve First-Class honors.Rather than being discouraged, Yusuf remained focused on his studies and ignored the naysayers.
When Yusuf reached his third year, things took a drastic turn. For the first time, he received C and D grades, which were not reflective of his performance.
He identified the two major reasons being that he encountered lecturers who were notorious for not awarding A grades, and even B grades were rare which significantly affected his GPA and heavy involvement with other activities aside academics.
Yusuf served as a Student leader in multiple organizations, including being thePRO of the Union of Campus Journalists, Member of the SUG Ministry of Programs & Competitions, and representative of UNIMAID in various national programs and competitions.
All of these activities made his schedule demanding At times, he even missed lectures due to his responsibilities making some people question if he had sacrificed his First-Class ambition for student activism.
Despite all these challenges, Yusuf remained the top student in his department with a CGPA of 4.64, even winning the Best Graduating Student award in his third year.
However, he was uncertain if he would graduate with First-Class honors, given the difficulties he faced.
After completing his final exam, Yusuf thought his academic struggles were over. However, when he inquired about the release of final results, his level coordinator informed him that he was missing First-Class by less than one point, with a final CGPA of 4.49 instead of 4.50.
Instantly, he remembered an error in his first-year results, where a course he had scored 86 (A) was mistakenly recorded as 55 (C). Fortunately, he had kept copies of all his academic records and quickly traced the course details.
He submitted the necessary information, and the Head of Department (HOD) confirmed the error. With the correction made, Yusuf officially secured a First-Class degree, earning him the historical feat at the University of Maiduguri.
Yusuf said even though the academic journey was tough and challenging, he is glad he persevered and won.
