A member of Osun State House of Assembly, representing Ife North constituency, Mr. Tunde Olatunji, has promised to fund the university education of one of the best candidate in this year’s JAMB UTME.
The 17-year-old Kamardeen Ridwan, who is a student of Ataoja High School, Osogbo, scored 319 to emerge one of the best out of over 1million that sat for the examination in the whole nation.
He applied to study Medicine at the University of Ibadan and scored 319 in the Joint Admission Matriculation Examination.
It was gathered that Ridwan is an indigent boy and the first child in a family of five with the father a bricklayer and the mother a ‘fufu’ (cassava flour seller).
The student was said to look poor in his tattered uniform and severally repaired sandal when he was presented to the legislator by the school principal, Doctor Titi Adeagbo.
The principal, who broke down in tears at what she described as a miracle, narrated how she fasted to supplicate God to send a sponsor the way of the brilliant indigent boy.
She disclosed that Ridwan passed West Africa Examination Council, WAEC, with 8 distinction at first attempt in SS2.
Ridwan was not the only student who benefited from the legislator’s visit to the school, as a female indigent girl in SS2, Miss Adeyemi Ifeoluwa, also received scholarship to higher institution level.
The legislator’s visit to the school was to celebrate Leah Sharibu’s birthday and draw attention of young schools girls to the plight of Sharibu who has been in terrorist captivity of almost two years now.
In his address, Olatunji expressed concern about brilliant but indigent young people who are spread across the length and breadth of Nigeria, particularly, the rural areas.
The legislator observed that ” the solution to curing a deadly disease like cancer could lurk in Ridwan, but if not adopted for sponsorship, if such destiny is not rescued, then the rescue mission of a generation might just be wasted, and the whole society may continue to wallow in the pain of such disease.”
He stated that resources deployed by affluent Nigerians on ceremonies could be converted to charity to better the lots of many people, rescue destinies and rescue Nigeria by extension.
