Nigerian Chevening Scholar, ‘Mayowa Tijani, Finishes with Distinction at UK University

A Nigerian Chevening Scholar, ‘Mayowa Tijani, has finished his master’s programme at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, with distinction grade.

A graduate of Food Technology from the University of Ibadan, ‘Mayowa who studied for a master’s programme in ‘Media Practice for Development and Social Change’, works as the editor of business and development at TheCable, an online media outlet.

In 2017 ‘Mayowa won the Chevening scholarship to embark on a one-year master’s programme in the UK.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony which took place in Brighton Centre, UK, ‘Mayowa expressed his heart-felt gratitude to his sponsor, family members, mentors, friends, the team he works with at TheCable; emphasising the importance of their invaluable support and love throughout the programme.

“I really appreciate the CEO himself, Simon Kolawole, and the entire team at TheCable — this team is definitely the best team one could ask for; I’m really grateful to have you,” Tijani said.

“Being a part of my dissertation process, and a major influencer of my academic decisions at Sussex, really aided me in clinching this feat. It made me feel the essence of knitting town and gown — literally.

“Let me seize this opportunity to say Sussex is not just a university, it is the home of light, love and life; any Sussex alumnus will easily say this to you.

“I learnt that love has no tongue or tribe, it is the balm of a healing world, the heartbeat of a transient generation, and the mother tongue of the people I met on this journey; I was in a class of 44 students from 31 countries of the world — and we all spoke love.”

‘Mayowa who danced with the University of Sussex Chancellor, Sanjeev Bhaskar, as the Vice Chancellor, Adam Tickell, and the audience looked on; added that “Chevening opened the floodgates;” affording him opportunities to come in contact with leading media firms across the globe, including AFP, Aljazeera and Bloomberg.

“I am also grateful for the gift of family: Sussex Nigeria Society, the Chevening family, and of course, my most immediate family; special gratitude to my parents and siblings, Olaitan and Oluwadamilola Tijani,” he added.

‘Mayowa was the brains behind the #LazyNigerianYouth hashtag; being the journalist who grasped it from Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, during the Commonwealth Head of Government Forum (CHOGM 2018) in the UK.

‘Mayowa has been notable for many sterling feats. He was the only African journalist and one of the 50 young leaders from over 144 countries around the world selected to discuss and proffer solutions to education and human rights issues at the Cumberland Lodge, Windsor Great Park, UK; a finalist for The Future Awards Africa prize for excellence in journalism in Nigeria; named among the 12 finalists in the Thomson Foundation Young Journalist in 2017; and a recipient of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) most outstanding student in campus journalism at the University of Ibadan in 2013.