A scholarship beneficiary of former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, Nengi Donald Jaja, has emerged as the overall Best Graduating Student of the College of Law at Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, after completing his undergraduate programme with an exceptional academic record and winning 12 awards.
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Jaja, who received the scholarship from the Rivers State Government in 2017 after performing at an event in Port Harcourt, described his graduation achievement as the fulfilment of a childhood dream made possible by an opportunity that dramatically changed the course of his life.
Reflecting on the journey in a post on X on Saturday, Jaja said the scholarship enabled him to pursue an education he might otherwise have struggled to obtain.
“Thanks to the scholarship awarded to me by the Rivers State Government in 2017, I dared to dream, and today, that dream has become a reality,” he said.
The scholarship was awarded during Wike’s tenure as governor of Rivers State after the young Jaja performed a song at a thanksgiving service in Port Harcourt in December 2017.
A contemporaneous report at the time put the value of the scholarship at ₦40 million and said it was intended to cover his education from secondary school through university.
Jaja said he was initially too young to fully appreciate the magnitude of the opportunity, but the scholarship subsequently became a major motivation for him to pursue academic excellence while also nurturing his ambition of becoming an R&B and soul artiste.
According to him, he first challenged himself to graduate as the best Arts student in secondary school, a target he eventually achieved alongside other awards recognising his character and conduct.
He carried the same determination into Afe Babalola University, where he studied Law and combined his academic responsibilities with several leadership positions.
Jaja disclosed that across his 10 semesters as an undergraduate, he recorded a perfect 5.00 Grade Point Average in eight semesters.
“Across my ten semesters as an undergraduate, I had eight semesters with a 5.00 GPA, with a 4.96 and 4.87 in the remaining two. Altogether, I graduated with 69 As and 2 Bs,” he said.
The academic performance culminated in his emergence as the overall Best Graduating Student and salutatorian of the College of Law.
He said he also became the first male student to attain the distinction.
In addition to the overall recognition, Jaja received 12 awards during the graduation ceremony, marking the culmination of an academic journey that began with the scholarship awarded nearly nine years earlier.
He credited God, his family, friends and lecturers for supporting him throughout his studies.
Jaja also acknowledged the music of Nigerian singer Tems, which he said helped him remain emotionally grounded while navigating the demands of university life.
Looking back at the circumstances that led to the scholarship, he said a simple musical performance unexpectedly opened the door to an educational opportunity that transformed his future.
“What began with a young boy simply singing a song became an opportunity that changed the trajectory of my life,” Jaja said.
He expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Government for the scholarship and the opportunity to pursue his education from secondary school through university.
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