In a story of resilience, 33-year-old Olaonipekun Ibukunoluwa has turned a perceived setback into a remarkable triumph, graduating with a First Class degree in Social Work from Babcock University in 2025.

The single mother, who detailed her journey in an interview with Open Conversations aired on YouTube on October 6, shared how she overcame the stigma of being “too old” and a single mother to achieve academic excellence.

Olaonipekun explained that she had initially finished her OND in Science Lab Technology from Kwara State Polytechnic in 2013 with an Upper Credit.

“I finished OND in 2013, Kwara State Polytechnic. And I did not finish with a very bad result. I’ve always been smart. I’m still smart. So I finished with upper credit. It was supposed to be a distinction, but I don’t know what happened. But then upper credit,” she recalled.

The central crisis that defined and motivated IBK’s return to school was her experience of becoming a single mother.

She detailed the moment of conception, revealing the extent of her desperation at the time to keep her then partner.

She even contemplated abortion. “The stupid me still wanted to abort,” she confessed, recalling that she followed the child’s father to a clinic but was put off by the environment and the doctor’s approach.

The betrayal deepened when the child’s father abandoned her. “It was hard because I had to stop working because he made promises that he was going to be there. Funny how when his parents found out, he ran away from home. I think for like a week. I couldn’t reach him.”

Olaonipekun further detailed the shame she faced in the community and church. She said she was “shy to come out because IBK cannot be pregnant because IBK is a church girl.”

She was subsequently stripped of her leadership positions in her church, including choir and youth ministry. However, her family and some friends stood by her.

When her son, Oluwadarasimi, finally arrived, although she felt relief, she noted that “my son does not have a certificate that other children have from church because they did not see the need to come to a naming ceremony.”

Driven by a need for sanity and a better environment for her son, she also left Lagos for Ibadan in 2016 shortly after giving birth, where she took on difficult jobs.

Years after she had her child, Olaonipekun noted that her mentors, Pastor and Dr Mrs. Olaore, motivated her to return to school. “There’s this family that was just placed in my life at the point that I felt that I was so alone.”

“So in 2020, I got the call from mommy and daddy Olare saying, ‘life has to change, you have to start school again.

“In my head, I’m like, can’t they just use my OND and do something? They said no, you have to start all over again. And at that time, I think I was entering into 29 or 28. And then I was so reluctant, but Daddy talked me into it.”

Olaonipekun recalled how she quickly soared despite the late start, noting that she was already “on the first class lane,” however, she lost the admission in the second semester of her first year, stating that the loss was partly due to “my own negligence” regarding necessary documents like the JAMB admission letter.

She almost considered the discouraging advice she received during that daunting period. “And I remember somebody telling me that, ‘what’s the point? You’re old, just go and get married.’ And in my head, I’m like, have you forgotten that I have a child out of wedlock? So it’s going to be very hard for me to get a man that won’t accept me without a proper education and then with my child.’”

The turning point came when the Olaore family advised her to gain Direct Entry admission into 200 level through the Joint Universities Preliminary Examinations Board.

“And I remember her saying to me, ‘Stand up, go to JUPEB office and find out if you can start JUPEB. It is hard, but you have to move on,'” she recalled.

“I passed JUPEB. You know, JUPEP now enables me to be in 200 level, not 100 level.”

She noted that the years in school were mentally taxing, especially having to be away from her son and also deal with cruel comments due to her age.

“I thought my troubles were over. At some point in school, I wanted to beat some people up, but because of the setting and the fact that the disciplinary committee is very strong in Babcock, I didn’t have the effrontery and audacity to beat people up,” she said.

“Someone said so many hateful things to me. She called me grandma. She called me so many very demeaning words, like names and tags. You know when somebody makes you feel frustrated, like, what did I do to you, girl, that you hate me so much?”

A threat to her First Class goal came in her third year. Feeling emotionally and physically drained, she admitted to losing momentum.

“I think the third year, I was already losing my lane of getting a first class. And I called my mom one day, and I told her that she should give the phone to my son.

“I told him, I said, ‘I don’t think IBK will be able to finish this first class.’ My younger sister finished with a first class, so I said, ‘I cannot do what Auntie Deborah did. I’m already tired.'”

The single mum noted that her son’s response was the ultimate push: “He said, ‘If I’m getting first in class, why would you not get first? You have to get first, so all of us will be first together.’

“I think that was one push to say, ah, I have to make my son proud. Like, I have to make him proud.”

Olaonipekun noted that her resolve to succeed was supported by her “support systems”, which included her mother, sister and friends.

“I left my son at home and I went to school.” She also tearfully revealed the support of her sister, who “has been paying my son’s school fees for like years now, so that I don’t have to worry about it.”

She affirmed that this support was critical, “People don’t understand how easy it was for me in school because I didn’t have so much responsibility. I love you guys so much, you made life so easy for me that I didn’t have to worry about a lot of things.”

Olaonipekun used the interview to challenge the stigma faced by women in similar circumstances. “The sad part is, single mothers, why are you hiding your child? Are you hiding a girl or a boy? See, they are gifts from God. In whatever circumstances it happened, it has happened. Why would you hide a child?

“For every time I did something, everybody knows that I’ll talk about it relating to my son. So everybody knew me,” she stated.

She also stressed that her success was built on the foundation of love and help, urging others to value their network: “If you have a support system that is pushing you to be better, please do not give up on yourself. Consider the fact that people are holding themselves together to say you can do it.

“So when you have a support system around you that is encouraging you, the only thing you have to do is just show effort. Like show up.”

She further challenged the notion of being “too old,” saying, “Who would want to go back to school at 29, and do JUPEB? It was hard, but I did it.”

“I’m proud to say that I’ve healed and I’m still healing. I’m going to say to someone that it’s not too late. You’re not too late to the party. I was late to my party, but I finished well and I finished fine.

“You think you’re late, but you’re not late, nobody is checking time, the only time checker is God.”

Olaonipekun’s success adds to a long line of Nigerian inspirational stories where individuals have defied circumstance and age to pursue education.

In May 2018, PUNCH reported how Abraham Oladebeye braved embarrassment and being called “Daddy ” to finish as the best graduating student with a 4.94 CGPA at Achievers University, Owo, Ondo State, at the age of 43.

In 2023, a 41-year-old man, Nwankwo Anyamaobi, who graduated with a first-class degree in Economics at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, also told PUNCH how he achieved excellence despite dropping out of school in 2001. (PUNCH)

(PUNCH)