Meet Yusuf Ololade Faidat a UNILORIN Student who bags 19 awards

Yusuf Ololade Faidat a graduate of the University of Ilorin has won 19 prizes for her academic performance.

Daily Trust reports that the lady who is in her early 20s was the star graduate at the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and was recognised at the ceremony held on Saturday, October 22.

She received the N20,000 prize from the senate for being the best student in her faculty and N10,000 for being the best graduate in her department.

She also got the prizes for best student in the departments of Behavioural Sciences, Pathology, Community medicine, Paediatrics and child health, Medicine, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and gynaecology and Surgery.

Of the 12 endowed prizes and scholarships, Faidat got 10. They are: the Henry Adewoye prize for best graduating student in Chemical pathology, Late Dr. Hamza Olayinka Brimoh prize for best graduating student in Medicine, Prof. Mathew Akinyemi Araoye prize for best graduating student in Medicine, Abdullahi Mohammed/Ilorin community prize for best graduating student in Child health, late Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki prize for best graduating student in Medicine, Prof Stephen K. Odaibo’s prize for best graduating students in Surgery, Justice Mohammed Mustapha Akanbi’s prize for best graduating female student in College of medicine, 1992-1995 prize for best overall pre-clinical medical graduand at 1st professional MBBS and best overall clinical medical graduand in Part III final MBBS as well as Albert Anjorin prize donated by the Ilorin Medical Student Association (ILUMSA) Alumni for best graduating student in Pathology.

Faidat expressed joy at the awards and credited her brilliant performance to perseverance and God.

She said: “As a woman you can become whatever you want to be once you are persistent, irrespective of number of men around you. I read for about four hours every day.”

Prof. Chinedu Mafiana who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the ceremony urged the school to retain her.

He also urged the institution to make good use of whatever fund made available to them.

He said: “The government is aware of the hardship the citizens are going through at the moment but I want to assure all Nigerians that we shall overcome the present economic doldrums. Our country is blessed with great potentialities and resources that have yet to be harnessed. The task to restore our country to economic prosperity does not depend on government alone. All of us, men and women of our great country must be involved in the struggle to build a viable and virile country for the general well-being.”