Ololade Adeyanju/
Ogun State government has honoured the best graduating medical student from Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, Osun State, Miss Joy Adesina.
Joy is a niece of the President of Africa Development Bank and a former Nigerian agriculture minister, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina.
Governor Dapo Abiodun, who hosted her in his office in Abeokuta today, announced the donation of a bungalow, N5 million and scholarship for residency studies at Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital to her by the state government.
The governor noted that being the best medical graduate to have come out of the OAU is “an accomplishment, a rare feat that most of her peers can only dream of”.
Miss Adesina scored 10 distinctions and won nine top awards in her final exams.
Abiodun said “her accomplishment is coming on the back of the spectacular performances of some of our young indigenes, who recently excelled in their various academic pursuits and were duly rewarded by our administration under a programme called the Ogun Academic Laureates”.
The governor observed that with the Ogun Academic Laureates Awards, his administration has introduced hope to rekindle passion for excellence in academics excellence and innovation, especially for the successor generation.
This, according to him, “is to groom and harvest more Wole Soyinkas; Theophilus Ogunlesis; Adeoye Lambos; Olikoye Ransome-Kutis; Akin Mabogunjes; Oyinade Olurins; and, more Obafemi Awolowos”.
He reiterated that his administration would continue to recognise and honour exceptional indigenes or residents of Ogun State, who through a dint of hard work attained academic excellence and are found worthy both in character and innovations.
Abiodun disclosed that Ogun Academic Laureates had been fully rewarded with the promised scholarships, cash prizes and houses, stressing that “we did this, not just because it is the right and honourable thing to do having made the promise, but also because we are a promise-keeping administration. We do not make promises that we do not intend to or cannot fulfill”.
“We are all gathered here to celebrate the rare academic feat attained by Dr. Joy Oyinlola Adesina, an indigene of our dear Ogun State who went to the Medical School at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She saw, she learnt and she conquered, returning home after hard study and rigorous examinations with a record breaking of 10 distinctions and nine top awards.
“Dr Adesina won virtually every academic laurel available in medicine at OAU, Ife. We are proud of not only you, but people like you, especially the young ones who continue to fly the flag of excellence and Omoluabi, for which we are renowned.
“But more importantly, we celebrate Miss. Adesina because she is a daughter of the soil. She is from our own Ogun State and she has made us proud. In the State we are the leader in education in Nigeria. We are the education capital of Nigeria.
“We have the highest number of secondary schools and tertiary institutions in this country. We are the birthplace of free education in Nigeria. We can go on and on to reel out our string of FIRSTs in education as well as other fields in the country”, the governor stated.
Abiodun, who tasked the awardee to put her intellectual prowess into research and scholarship, expressed optimism that Adesina might be Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Medicine.
Responding, the honouree, appreciate the gestures extended to her by the state government, saying that she felt “very fulfilled”.
She appreciated her uncle, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, for “his inspiration” and parents for their love and support to achieve the feat at the medical school.
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