Cambridge overall best scholar bags first-class Law Degree, secures fresh UK scholarship from Yahaya Bello

Three years after emerging as the overall best candidate in the Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge AS Level examinations, Oluwabukolami Adeyemi has graduated with a First-Class degree in Law from a university in Newcastle, United Kingdom, completing her studies under a scholarship awarded by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

The development was disclosed in a statement on Thursday, which said the academic prodigy has also been awarded another scholarship by Bello to pursue a Master’s degree in the United Kingdom in recognition of her outstanding academic performance.

Adeyemi first came into the national spotlight in 2023 after emerging as the overall best candidate in the Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge AS Level examinations, recording the highest scores among participants from 146 countries.

Her exceptional performance attracted widespread commendation from President Bola Tinubu, former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and other notable Nigerians, who praised her for bringing honour to the country through academic excellence.

Following the feat, the Yagba West Local Government Area indigene was received by Bello at the Kogi State Government House in August 2023, where the former governor announced a fully funded private scholarship to enable her study Law in the United Kingdom.

The scholarship covered her tuition, accommodation, living expenses and other educational costs throughout her undergraduate programme.

Having successfully completed the programme with a First-Class degree, Adeyemi has now earned another scholarship from Bello to undertake postgraduate studies in the UK.

In a video expressing appreciation after her graduation, the law graduate described Bello as “God-sent to humanity,” thanking the former governor for giving her the opportunity to realise her dream of studying abroad.

Her father, Olumide Adeyemi, also expressed profound gratitude, saying Bello’s intervention ensured that his daughter’s exceptional academic potential was not limited by financial constraints.

According to him, funding an overseas education would have been beyond the family’s means despite his daughter’s remarkable academic ability.

He added that Bello’s scholarship initiative has transformed the lives of many young Nigerians, offering similar educational opportunities to several beneficiaries over the years, and prayed for God’s continued blessings, good health and long life for the former governor.

Bello formally fulfilled his scholarship pledge in September 2023 after Adeyemi received the prestigious Cambridge Outstanding Learner Award for emerging the highest-scoring candidate in the 2022 Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge AS Level examinations among students from 146 countries.This version adopts a conventional newspaper structure with a stronger news lead, attribution in the second paragraph, tighter transitions, and balanced language while preserving the key facts from the original.