By Emmanuel Daniji

Olawale, Oluolamide speak on their journey, First Class achievement and what the money means to them

For Ayilara Lawal Olawale and Adebanjo Samuel Oluolamide, the 29th and 30th combined convocation ceremony of Lagos State University (LASU) was supposed to be the final celebration of years of lectures, examinations, sleepless nights and personal sacrifices.

Neither student, however, expected to leave the university with ₦20 million in cash from the Lagos State Governor and Visitor to LASU, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Olawale, who emerged as the Best Graduating Student of the 2024/2025 academic session, finished with an exceptional CGPA of 4.96 in Project Management Technology. Oluolamide, the best graduating student of the 2025/2026 session, recorded an even higher CGPA of 4.97, graduating with First Class honours in Aerospace Engineering.

Their achievements had already placed them among the university’s most outstanding students. But when Governor Sanwo-Olu announced that each of them would receive ₦20 million, their academic success suddenly took on a completely different dimension.

For students who had spent years navigating the realities of university education in Nigeria, the announcement represented more than a financial reward. It was recognition that their sacrifices, discipline and determination had been noticed.

The Governor made the announcement during the convocation ceremony at the Buba Marwa Auditorium, Ojo, where 20,604 students graduated from the university. The reward immediately became one of the biggest talking points of the ceremony.

A reward they did not see coming

The ₦20 million announcement came as a surprise even within an event already filled with major moments.

The two students had come to receive their certificates and celebrate their academic achievements with their families, friends and colleagues. Instead, they found themselves standing at the centre of national attention after the Governor announced the cash reward.

For Olawale, the recognition represented the culmination of years of academic discipline. His 4.96 CGPA placed him at the top of his graduating class, but the journey to that point was not simply about getting good grades.

University life requires students to balance academic demands with financial pressures, family responsibilities, social expectations and the uncertainty that often comes with life after graduation. Finishing at the very top therefore requires more than intelligence. It requires consistency.

That is what made the reward particularly significant. The money did not replace the achievement; it amplified the recognition attached to it.

For Oluolamide, the moment was equally remarkable. Graduating with a 4.97 CGPA in Aerospace Engineering, one of the most technically demanding fields, already represented an extraordinary academic accomplishment. The additional recognition from the Lagos State Government turned his convocation into a moment he and his family are unlikely to forget.

From classroom excellence to a life-changing opportunity

Beyond the excitement surrounding the money, the reward also raises an important question: What does ₦20 million mean to a young Nigerian just leaving university?

For graduates entering adulthood at a time when securing employment can be difficult and starting a business requires significant capital, such an amount can provide a rare head start.

It can help fund further education, professional certifications, business ideas, research, investments or other plans that might otherwise have remained out of reach.

For Olawale and Oluolamide, therefore, the reward potentially represents more than financial comfort. It gives them room to make decisions from a position of greater stability as they begin the next chapter of their lives.

That opportunity is particularly important because academic excellence does not automatically guarantee economic success. A First Class degree can open doors, but graduates still need resources, networks, experience and opportunities to translate knowledge into impact.

Their success also carries a bigger message

The two graduates did not stand alone at the ceremony.

Behind every First Class graduate is usually a support system — parents who made sacrifices, lecturers who provided guidance, friends who offered encouragement and families who endured the pressures that came with keeping a student in school.

That reality was reflected in Governor Sanwo-Olu’s address to the graduating class.

He reminded the students that many of them had overcome circumstances that could easily have ended their academic journeys. Some studied despite power failures, financial difficulties and personal tragedies. Others balanced work and education or continued their studies while dealing with family challenges.

His message appeared to resonate beyond the two award recipients.

Sanwo-Olu urged the graduates not to view their certificates as the final destination but as a responsibility to use their education to solve problems and contribute to society.

For Olawale and Oluolamide, that responsibility is now accompanied by an extraordinary financial opportunity.

The reward comes with expectations

The ₦20 million gifts may have generated excitement, but they also place the spotlight firmly on the two young graduates.

Academic excellence has given them recognition. The financial reward gives them resources. What they eventually do with both could become the more important part of their story.

There is also the larger expectation that they will become examples for students still studying at LASU and elsewhere.

Their achievement sends a simple message to students who may sometimes wonder whether the long nights of studying are worth it: excellence can create opportunities.

But the story is not only about money.

The university’s graduating class also received an important employment-related announcement when the Dangote Group revealed that First Class engineering graduates of LASU would be offered employment opportunities after completing their NYSC programme.

That announcement gives the graduating students another reason to look beyond the convocation ceremony and towards the possibilities ahead.

For the thousands leaving LASU this year, the challenge now is to transform their degrees into careers, businesses, innovations and contributions that justify the years spent preparing for the future.

More than a cheque

For Olawale and Oluolamide, the ₦20 million reward will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the defining moments of their university experience.

But perhaps the greater reward is the recognition that came with it.

They have demonstrated that it is possible to stand out academically even within a university producing thousands of graduates. They have also shown what happens when ability is matched with discipline and consistency.

As they leave LASU, their certificates will tell the story of their academic performance. The ₦20 million will tell another story — that their excellence was recognised and rewarded.

And for the students still sitting in LASU classrooms, their story may serve as motivation: the next name called could be yours.