It was double joy for Mrs Elizabeth Orefuwa, the overall best graduating student of the Lagos State University, Ojo, as she was delivered of a baby girl barely a day after graduating.
Orefuwa graduated with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 4.74 at the university’s 21st convocation held on March 22.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), 36,540 students were conferred with degrees, diploma and doctorate while 26 made first class.
An ecstatic Orefunwa, said she felt the contraction just before the convocation and was scared if the baby would deny her the opportunity of participating in the graduation.
“I was having contraction and was scared that the baby might come before the convocation. I told God to take control because I wanted to experience the convocation and God took control until I got home.
“It was when I got home that it started again and my husband took me to the hospital where I gave birth at about 1. 00 p.m. on Thursday,” Orefuwa told NAN.
Reliving her experience, 29-year-old Orefuwa said she had yet to come terms with the reality of becoming a mother.
Earlier, she told NAN during the institution’s convocation on Wednesday that the journey through the school did not come easy but with determination and motivation, she had a good story to tell.
“The journey through the institution was not easy; it took me seven years of writing the UTME before I finally gained admission in 2012.
“I also applied for direct entry three times at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. During this period of waiting, I started professional career at the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) in 2007 and qualified as an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) in 2010,” Orefuwa said.
She said that she wanted to study accounting but found herself studying education, adding that she enjoyed every bit of it and never dreamt of coming out with a first class and becoming the best student.
According to her, self-determination and motivation through her father’s insistence on academic excellence gave her an edge.
“My aim is to get my first degree certificate after several years of waiting and to satisfy my dad, who has been insisting on academic certificate before professional certificate.”
She said that her marriage in the final year and the pregnancy did not affect her academic performance.
“I had a CGPA of 4.72 before marriage and I graduated with 4.74 point; I got married in 2016 and my husband was very supportive.”
A chartered accountant, Orefuwa, said she would love to combine teaching with practising accounting profession.
