AFRICA | A brilliant Nigerian man named Emmanuel Ozeigbe emerged as the best graduating student of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. His excellent academic performance earned him a full scholarship to study for his master’s degree in France.
Emmanuel obtained a Bachelor of Agriculture degree with first-class grade of 3.93 out of 4.00 cumulative grade point at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, the highest grade point in the 2023 graduating class.
He took to his LinkedIn to celebrate his achievement, sharing that he could not receive his award as he had already traveled out of Nigeria to start his master’s program through the Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program in Plant Breeding.
Erasmus Mundus Master’s Scholarships are prestigious international opportunities, designed and funded by the European Union, and delivered by a group of higher education institutions.
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The Scholarships are funded to cover the costs of candidates’ tuition, accommodation, and travel costs to and from his/her country. Additionally, a stipend of €1500 is provided for every selected applicant as a provision for the coverage of living allowance. Read more about the European Scholarship HERE.
Becoming the valedictorian was a dream come true for Emmanuel, and he thought about missing his exams to attend the convocation ceremony back in Nigeria, but after he explained his situation to the school, he was allowed to give a prerecorded speech.
”I was announced, publicly, as the Valedictorian for the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, to give a speech on behalf of the 6,000+ graduands. And there I was on that massive HD screen before the crowd, pouring out my heart to my colleagues,” he said.
Emmanuel mentioned that the school registrar told him that he is the first in the University of Ibadan’s 75-year history to give a recorded speech. He thanked his department officials for convincing the school authorities to make his dream come true.
Emmanuel initially won the Erasmus Mundus Plant Health Scholarship in 2022 when he was in his penultimate year, but he had to forfeit the scholarship due to the challenges of timing and a university strike.
Despite all his efforts to defer the scholarship, it did not work out. Emmanuel stated that he was worried that he might not get another opportunity, as he applied for two of the scholarships for fun before he was awarded one of them.
”You can very much guess I had sleepless nights upon nights as I wondered, “Will I ever win another scholarship? What if this was just pure luck,” he said.
Not giving up, Emmanuel applied in 2023 for the Erasmus Scholarship in Plant breeding, which was his dream scholarship, with much hope, even though he was uncertain. Fortunately, he was awarded the scholarship and was the only Nigerian in his cohort.
Emmanuel was awarded the Erasmus Mundus Master Program in Plant Breeding (emPLANT+) to study for an Engineering Master’s Degree in Agronomy and Agro-Industry at UniLaSalle( University of Stavanger) in Beauvais, France.
He expressed his gratitude to everyone who made the journey possible: his mentor, colleagues, family, and those who prepared him for his interview. Emmanuel hopes his story inspires someone out there to keep pushing for the best and to never underestimate themselves because dreams do come true.
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