From School Fees Shame to LASU’s Best Graduating Student: How Adeyanjo Rose Above Hardship
From School Fees Shame to LASU’s Best Graduating Student: How Samuel Adeyanjo Rose Above Hardship to Earn N20m Gift
LAGOS — What began with the painful experience of being sent home from school over unpaid fees has ended in one of the most inspiring academic success stories at Lagos State University (LASU).
Samuel Oluolamide Adeyanjo, the university’s Overall Best Graduating Student for the 2025/2026 academic session, has opened up on the difficult journey that preceded his remarkable academic achievement and the N20 million gift presented to him by Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Adeyanjo graduated with an outstanding 4.97 CGPA out of 5.00, emerging as the overall best graduating student of the university.
But behind the impressive academic record lies a story of poverty, sacrifice, kindness and determination.
According to Adeyanjo, his journey to the top did not begin at LASU but at Top’s Bright International School in Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
He recalled that while in JSS3 at his former school in Lagos, he was sent home because his family could not afford to pay his school fees.
The situation became so difficult that his family eventually relocated to Ota in search of relief from the financial hardship.
“Things were financially tough growing up. There were days I was sent home for school fees, but I stayed consistent at the top of my class,” he said.
Despite the hardship, Adeyanjo refused to allow poverty to determine his academic future.
His determination caught the attention of the proprietor of Top’s Bright International School, who intervened in a life-changing way.
The proprietor cleared Adeyanjo’s outstanding school fees, placed him on a full scholarship until SS3, paid his West African Examinations Council (WAEC) fees and supported his Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) expenses.
Adeyanjo also remembered teachers who went beyond their professional responsibilities to support him.
He said some teachers gave him money to buy food during lunch breaks, while Master Timothy Chinedu and Mr Tayo Ajileye provided additional academic support, including free extra lessons.
“I will never forget the teachers who believed in me, teachers who gave me money to buy food to eat during school lunch break,” he said.
He added that everyone around him contributed what they could to keep his dreams alive.
“Everyone supported me with the little they had. That kindness proved to me early on that hard work and diligence pay off.”
When he eventually gained admission to LASU, Adeyanjo said his motivation remained clear — to repay the confidence placed in him by his family, teachers, school proprietor and everyone who had contributed to his education.
“Entering LASU, my drive was simple: to make my family, my teachers, my proprietor, and everyone who invested in me proud,” he said.
That determination ultimately produced a remarkable result: a 4.97/5.00 CGPA, the highest academic performance among LASU’s graduating students for the 2025/2026 session.
His achievement was subsequently recognised by Governor Sanwo-Olu, who presented him with a N20 million gift.
For Adeyanjo, however, the recognition represents more than money or academic glory. It is a powerful reminder of how intervention, kindness and determination can transform a difficult childhood into an extraordinary success story.
From being sent home because his family could not afford school fees to standing as LASU’s best graduating student, Adeyanjo’s journey is a testament to the power of education — and to the people who refused to let financial hardship extinguish a promising young man’s dream.
