"I Kept Writing UTME Until it Was 5": Man Finally Becomes Graduate at 29, the First in His Family
Against all odds, a young Nigerian man, Toheeb Bisiriyu, finally achieved his dream of becoming a university graduate at 29.
Toheeb shares with Legit.ng how he sat for UTME 5 times and spent over a decade in his quest to be admitted into a university.
Source: Original
Toheeb Bisiriyu came from a polygamous home
In an exclusive chat with Legit.ng, the Ogun indigene, who was born and raised in Ifo, revealed he came from a polygamous home.
Toheeb said he is the first child of a family of 11 and had always wanted to be a university graduate.
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In his words:
''I am the first child of a polygamous family of 11. I recently completed my final exams towards a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Administration from the prestigious Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta at 29 years."
How Toheeb sat for UTME 5 times
According to the fresh graduate, it was a bitter-sweet journey filled with crossroads and plateaus as he would take the JAMB Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) five times.
"My first ever UTME was in 2012 when I applied to study Science Laboratory Technology at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Ojere Abeokuta. I gained admission in 2013 and completed my ND program in 2015.
"I had always wanted a university degree so year on year, I kept writing UTME until it was 5."
He recalled how his friends teased him over his repeated UTME taking.
"I remember my friends jokingly teased me that my statue should be erected at JAMB's office because of my frequent patronage of the body."
His quest for a university education cost him 10 years, including three years at home. Continuing, he narrated:
"After my ND from the polytechnic, I mentioned at home that I would like to go to the university as I wanted a university degree but the idea didn't sit well with my parents because we simply couldn't afford it.
"I stayed at home for an additional 3 years working to gather enough money to enroll in the university. My preferred university was UNILAG and my preferred course was Medical Laboratory Science (MLS). This was the reason I wrote the UTME 5 times, even though I aced it all, getting an admission into UNILAG was like the passage of a camel through the eye of a needle.
"In 2015, I got admitted to study my dream course (medical laboratory science) at Kwara State University, it was after the admission I found out that a non-indigene like myself would have to pay 190k naira for the school fee, excluding the fee at that time.
"I needed no soothsayer to tell me it was going to be a dead-on-arrival idea if I decided to push it further, so I kept on trying with the hope that I'd get admission into a federal university with less financial implication."
FUNAAB finally came through for him
After a decade of battling to enter a university, the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State (FUNAAB) was his saving grace. According to Toheeb, he decided to consider agriculture-related courses and looked to FUNAAB for admission.
"After several back and forth, I decided to apply for Agricultural-related courses in FUNAAB. This is chiefly because other than medicine, what I also loved was Agriculture. Today, I am proud to have completed my final exams towards getting the highly-desired Bachelor's degree even though it took longer time than I had imagined.
"I made a calculation of the entire period I spent at home as a result of the ASUU strike during my degree program and it totaled about 21 months. Another blow of studying in a federal university in Nigeria."
What kept Toheeb going despite the challenges?
When asked what kept him going despite the challenges he faced on the road to acquiring a university degree, he said:
"What kept me going despite the financial challenges and all other challenges was my strong desire to have a Bachelor's degree and most importantly, the realization that being the first child of the family and the only one to have attended a tertiary institution yet, I needed to do it for myself and for my siblings in order to be a source of inspiration."
Toheeb desires to do a master's in the foreseeable future.
People rejoice as man passes UTME on 5th attempt
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that people had celebrated with a young man as he finally passed UTME after taking it five times.
In a video, people came together to rejoice with the man when he finally checked his result and discovered that he had passed the examination.
In the video, people came together to rejoice with the man when he finally checked his result and discovered that he had passed the examination. The fact that the young man refused to give up on the exam after four failed attempts melted hearts.
Source: Legit.ng
