Oladepo Caleb Olugbenga grew up in a village in Osun State without electricity for nine years. He is now the overall best graduating engineering student of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, with a CGPA of 4.89 out of 5.0.

According to him, his family had no television. They relied on lanterns and candles. Food, clothing and school fees were a daily struggle.

He attended public primary and secondary schools because private ones were unaffordable. Every morning, he walked miles to school while his parents worked multiple jobs to keep the household running.

On January 14, the university formally named him the overall best graduating engineering student of the 2024/2025 session in Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

On Thursday, he credited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund for making his education possible.

Tagging NELFUND on X, Oladepo wrote: “I’m honoured to let you know that I am the Best Graduating Student of LAUTECH. Your loans made it possible.”

The post drew widespread attention. Supporters praised both his result and his public acknowledgement of the student loan scheme.

Critics argued that he was politicising his achievement or directing gratitude toward a government programme unnecessarily.

Some called on NELFUND to waive his loan as a mark of recognition.

NELFUND replied to his post. “Congratulations, Caleb! Your achievement is truly inspiring, and we’re proud to have played a part in your journey. This is exactly the impact we strive for. Empowering students to excel,” the fund wrote.

Oladepo responded with a follow-up post on Friday explaining his position.

“Amid the flood of felicitations following my convocation as Overall Best Graduating Student of LAUTECH, I find it necessary to address the stir around my NELFUND appreciation post.

“I accept the praise, life-changing offers and the backlash, in good faith. Still, it is only fair to set the record straight,” he wrote.

“I hail from a village in Osun State, raised in a modest family of five. I attended public primary and secondary schools, not by choice, but because even the most inexpensive private schools were beyond our means,” he continued.

“Even then, survival itself; food and clothing was a daily struggle. I walked miles to school each morning, while my parents laboured as jacks-of-all-trades to make ends meet.

“For nine defining years before I entered university, we lived within sight of basic amenities yet beyond our reach, no electricity, no television; just lanterns and candles.”

He said he earned a scholarship and, with it, the first-class degree. Along the way, smaller forms of support also helped.

In his third year, a coursemate’s father, a man he had once tutored, gave him his first smartphone, which he said he still uses. He also said lecturers occasionally provided him with clothing.

“There are many other instances, too numerous to recount. Not all of us are born with a silver spoon. Some of us climbed the ladder by holding on to every rung of legitimate support we could find,” he wrote

He also addressed those who felt his gratitude toward NELFUND was unnecessary or misplaced.

“As an engineering student aspiring to make academic history, should I resort to blaming my family’s financial situation for my inability to afford fees and essentials like a reliable smartphone or laptop needed for skills and certifications?” he wrote.

“For me personally, NELFUND was not incidental; it was instrumental. To acknowledge what helped one’s journey is neither propaganda nor misplaced allegiance. It is simply an act of appreciation,” he added.

The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, framed the story as evidence of the administration’s policy intent.

“The NELFUND policy was intentional, to help students like Caleb, who would have been denied the dream of tertiary education because of parental financial challenges,” Onanuga wrote.

LAUTECH’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, had earlier confirmed that over N1.4bn in NELFUND loans was disbursed to students in 2025.

However, thousands of approved students, including a reported 15,000 at LAUTECH, were still awaiting full payment around the time of the convocation.

Oladepo said he accepted all the reactions to his post in good faith and closed his statement on a note of encouragement.

“Greatness awaits all of us,” he wrote.

NELFUND was established to administer the Nigeria Student Loan Scheme, enacted into law by President Tinubu in April 2024.

The initiative provides interest-free loans to students in public tertiary institutions to cover tuition and living expenses, with beneficiaries required to repay after completing their education and securing employment.

The scheme was launched on May 24, 2024, to remove financial barriers to higher education, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds.

As of March 2026, over 1.1 million students had benefited from more than ?206bn disbursed since the programme began.

The fund has also urged institutions to show flexibility on registration and fee payment deadlines for students whose loan applications are still being processed, saying no student should lose access to education because of financial constraints. (Saturday PUNCH)