Graduate of University of Ibadan Grabs Attention as She Finishes With First Class in Yoruba
- A young lady who is a graduate of the University of Ibadan has gone viral on social media after sharing her academic feat
- The young lady shared a screenshot showing that she graduated from the university and her brilliant grade
- She also mentioned another feat she achieved in her department as she graduated top of her class
A graduate of the University of Ibadan bags a first class in Yoruba and mentions another rare achievement in a unit under her department.
The young lady took to her media page to explain what she achieved in a post that has generated reactions online.
Source: Twitter
UI graduate bags first class
The individual, @OtPersimmon, took to her page to announce that she has obtained a First Class from the University of Ibadan, revealing her course as Yoruba and showing off her project work.
She wrote:
"B.A Yoruba, Department of Linguistics and African Languages. University of Ibadan."
As she said this, she attached a screenshot confirming that she graduated with First Class in Yoruba language in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Ibadan.
Attaching the screenshot, she wrote:
"You guyssss. I made it. I’m a First Class graduate of the prestigious University of Ibadan!"
Source: Twitter
As she shared this, a user asked her if she was the only First Class in her department, and she responded that she is the only First Class in her unit, the Yoruba unit under the Department of Linguistics. The statement shows she made a new record in the department being the only individual who finished with a first class in her unit..
She explained:
"Not in my entire department because Linguistics has a few units. I’m the only First Class in my unit (Yoruba) and thank you."
Legit.ng reached out to the UI graduate in the viral story, who introduced herself as Oyindamola Adebesin.
The first-class graduate had gone viral after sharing photos on her social media page, announcing herself as the only first-class graduate in her unit.
According to her, the Linguistics Department of the University of Ibadan (UI) has several units under it, one of which is Yoruba. In this unit, she emerged as the only first-class graduate in her set.
Properly introducing herself, the brilliant student, in an exclusive chat with Legit.ng, said:
"My name is Oyindamola Adebesin, and I am a First Class graduate of Yoruba from the University of Ibadan. I am passionate about language, culture, and the preservation of indigenous knowledge. Throughout my academic journey, I have been deeply committed to excellence and to promoting the relevance of African languages in contemporary society."
While Legit.ng has, over the years, made several publications on academic feats achieved by students in different universities, we picked interest in the story of Ms Oyindamola and asked why she chose Yoruba out of hundreds of other courses.
She had this to say:
"Initially, Yoruba was not my first choice. I had applied for Communication and Language Arts but was offered Yoruba instead. At the time, I did not fully understand the depth and academic scope of the course. Like many people, I underestimated what studying an indigenous language at the university level truly meant."
"However, once I began my studies, my perspective changed completely. I discovered that I was not just 'studying Yoruba' in the casual sense; I was studying language in its full scientific and cultural depth, grammar, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, literature, and culture. The intellectual scope was wide and rigorous. It was overwhelming at first, and I even considered leaving because it was far more demanding than I expected."
"But by the end of my first year, I had fallen in love with the discipline. The challenge pushed me to grow. I became fascinated by how language works, how culture is encoded in literature, and how deeply structured and sophisticated Yoruba is as a language."
"Although I explored the possibility of transferring, I eventually realised that my passion had shifted. What began as an unexpected placement became a calling. I decided to commit fully, and that decision shaped my academic journey and led to my emergence as the best graduating student in Linguistics Yoruba."
We moved forward with our questions in the hope of better understanding her and getting tips that could benefit our readers.
When asked if she knew from the beginning that she was going to set this kind of record by graduating with a first-class degree, she explained:
"I have always believed that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. So regardless of the circumstances that brought me into the department, I made a personal decision to give my best. I do not approach my academics halfway—once I commit to something, I put in the work."
"In my first year, I actually struggled with certain aspects, particularly writing Yoruba with proper tone marks and academic structure. Although I could speak the language fluently, writing it professionally was a different challenge. But I was intentional about growth. I completed assignments early, paid attention to corrections from my lecturers, expanded my vocabulary, and steadily improved."
"At the end of my first year, I had a GPA of 3.49, just slightly below a First Class. That result pushed me even harder. I became more disciplined and more strategic in my studies. From that point on, I was determined not just to do well, but to excel."
"So while I may not have set out specifically to 'set a record,' I knew I was giving my absolute best. Graduating as the best student was a beautiful outcome of consistent effort, resilience, and belief in myself."
Oyindamola also shared her plans after her graduation from the university.
She concluded:
"At the moment, I am focused on completing my clearance process and formally graduating, but I have already begun working within my field. Since sharing my academic achievement publicly, I have received opportunities to tutor individuals interested in learning Yoruba, which has been both fulfilling and encouraging. It has shown me that indigenous languages remain highly relevant and in demand."
"Moving forward, I intend to further my studies, possibly in an interdisciplinary area that connects language with communication, media, or cultural studies. I am also open to international opportunities that will allow me to expand my exposure and contribute to the global visibility of African languages."
"For now, I am embracing opportunities in teaching, translation, and language-related roles, while remaining intentional about growth and long-term impact."
Reactions as lady bags first class
@WeAreAbinci stressed:
"Congratulations 👏Studying Yoruba and African languages is something to be proud of. Kudos to you!"
@ShinningLight15 shared:
"I salute you. I believe I can learn any language in the world. Spanish, french, German etc but that Yoruba I swear I no fit even as a Yoruba person. Na soso 40 I dey get in high school. Found it extremely difficult to learn. You've done so well with this accomplishment. Well done."
@GloryDay24 added:
"Welcome fellow Yorùbá graduate. You're in for a very lovely and sweet life. Graduated about 15 years ago from the prestigious OAU
MA. Ongoing at AAUA Cheers sis."
@UnlimitedEniola noted:
"Congratulations on this. Please, keep making the language beautiful. Drop your details make I send you N5k for data."
@omoduduwa said:
"@EaYorubaMasoyinbo, you have the opportunity to do the coolest thing right now baba wa! The perfect guest!"
@Aje_Olatunde shared:
"You deserve good treatment for this! Yoruba people are proud of you. Congratulations. Eku Orire."
@sweetboylomo wrote:
"Apply to the office of different southwestern governors as a Yoruba speech writer…. Best of luck. Start creating Yoruba contents, like Yoruba news, spoken words, or translate interesting videos to Yoruba."
@UnathiAfrika added:
"Love this. Saw someone posting B.A Russian and I wanted to ask, how about Yoruba? Igbo? Hausa? And just decided to keep kwayethi."
Read the post below:
In a similar story, Legit.ng reported that a Nigerian man became famous online after talking about his school journey. He said he was always first in his class, wrote JAMB three times and scored over 290 each time.
UNILAG graduate wins multiple scholarships
Meanwhile, Legit.ng recently reported that a UNILAG graduate became famous online after sharing his CGPA.
He got 5 As in WAEC, scored 319 in JAMB, graduated with a First Class degree in Accounting and won five scholarships.
Source: Legit.ng
