Oyeleye Lateefah Abiola, a native of Ibadan state, Nigeria and a scholarship student has emerged as the best graduating medical student overall in her class of 2017 topping her 564 peers with a percentage score of 95.6% in Ukraine. She is one of the 87 students sponsored by the Osun state government to study Medicine at the National University of Kharkiv, Ukraine.
The brilliant 25 year old doctor says “When I found out I had the best result in the Krok 2 medical exam, It felt unreal at first, then I felt really happy and proud of my achievement, then the pressure came, knowing the amount of work I still have ahead of me. But generally I’m happy that I finally proved to myself that hard work pays.”
When asked what motivates her she said “first I have to say that I am my own greatest motivation. I talk to myself alot, I know what I want and where I want to be so that keeps me going. Also I derive motivation from things and people around me. When I hear people’s success stories I get really motivated to do more.
Dr. Oyeleye Lateefah Abiola
When asked by Sundayadelajablog how she managed to accomplish such a great feat, her answer was extremely revealing as to how the brilliant mind of this future cardiologist works. she said “first I had to study myself to know what works for me, so I don’t end up trying to be like every other person. After I figured that out then I had to put in a lot of hard work and be persistent with it. Even on days I don’t feel like doing anything, I remind myself of the reasons I am doing it in the first place. Prayer is also important, we all need a dose of that in our lives.”
I also have to mention that I study with the most competitive set of people in the university group 29 and 30, shout out! My group members really motivate me a lot , You can’t study in such an environment and go home to do nothing, I learnt a lot from my group members and I am so happy we all made it.
Miss. Oyeleye Lateefah Abiola and her Medical school group mates who she refers to as ‘family’ on her Facebook page.
Her outstanding accomplishments have not gone unnoticed in Nigeria and by top government officials in the state of Osun where she got her scholarship. Her story and that of the other 98 students who benefited from the scholarship scheme has helped to boost the profile of the governor and his educational mandate.
A statement from the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor of Osun State, signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, explained that the Deputy Governor of the state, Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori, is expected to lead a delegation from the state to attend the graduation ceremony at the end of the month.
Mr. Okanlawon further explained that Miss Abiola was among other 87 students who secured admission to study Medicine at the state-owned Osun State University, had their study dreams terminated after the National Universities Commission (NUC) scrapped their course owing to the non-availability of a teaching hospital.
“This was a source of concern to the Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. This unfortunate development compelled the governor to seek for options to rescue the students from abrupt truncation of their dreams to become medical doctors,” he said.
Oyeleye Lateefah Abiola and the rest of the Osun State Scholarship Students in Kharkov came together to celebrate the fulfillment of Governor Aregbesola’s promise to them.
“In the course of looking for solutions, the National University of Kharkiv, Ukraine came into focus. By 2012, arrangements were concluded to send the students to Ukraine where they resumed their studies,” Mr. Okanlawon stated. The statement recalled that 98 students who were stranded were originally planned for but 87 of them eventually made it to Ukraine because parents of the other remaining students had secured other options for their children. The statement quoted Governor Aregbesola as expressing joy and excitement that “one of our students Miss Oyeleye Lateefah Abiola emerged overall best in Ukraine University final examinations.”
One of Abiola’s Course mates who is also one of the graduating doctors by the name of Olayemi Success Fakolade, has known her for 8 years and describes her as a very dedicated and committed student who never missed a class and was never late either. He also described her as an extremely brilliant young lady who has a unique ability to simplify the most complex of problems and make them understandable to a layman.
Miss Abiola, who intends to specialize in Cardiology, lecture in Universities and release her own medical textbooks in the future, is set to graduate on June 30, 2017 in a graduating class that has a total of 564 students.
We celebrate this exceptional young doctor and we wish her the very best in her already bright looking future. We believe that she will go on to become one of the leading medical minds in the world some day. Congratulations Abiola!
