Zainab Olatunmbi, a first-class graduate of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development from the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has revealed that she sat for the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination five times before gaining university admission. In a LinkedIn post shared on September 9, 2026, she detailed a journey marked by repeated setbacks, a sharp change in direction, and an outcome she never imagined for herself.
From Pharmacy Dreams to First-Class Reality
Pharmacy was always the goal. Each time Zainab sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), she had one course in mind. After five attempts, however, admission to study Pharmacy never came. She eventually entered university to study Agricultural Extension and Rural Development instead, a course far removed from what she had originally set her heart on.
Rather than treating it as a consolation, she leaned into the experience. University, she wrote, gave her the space to discover interests she never knew she had, connected her with people who shaped her perspective, and pushed her to reframe the questions she was asking herself. "Somewhere along the way, I stopped asking 'Why didn't I get Pharmacy?' and started asking 'What can I do with where I am?'" she wrote.
Viral LinkedIn Post Draws Admiration
That shift in thinking carried her through to graduation with first-class honours, a result she described with unmistakable pride. Reflecting on what the journey had taught her, she offered a message rooted in her own experience: a plan changing does not mean a life going wrong. Sometimes, she said, it simply means being introduced to a version of life one had not yet imagined.
"Five JAMB attempts later, I still didn't get the degree I originally wanted but I got one I am proud of," she wrote on LinkedIn. Her post drew warm responses from LinkedIn users who connected deeply with her story. Omobolanle Blessing Kalenikanse said: "A proof that delay is not denial and waiting is not wasting! Congratulations, Zainab Olatunmbi." Yinka Adeniji said: "Congratulations!!! You should be super proud of yourself." Nkemakolam Juliet said: "Like the saying goes, delay is not denial."
Related Stories of Perseverance
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that a UNILORIN graduate who spent five semesters in Benin Republic had graduated with a first-class degree in Pharmacy. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a UNILORIN graduate who wrote JAMB twice had earned a first-class in Biomedical Engineering. Posting on X on September 7, 2026, the lady with the handle @baniaz68 recalled how her first UTME result felt like a crushing blow, one she now credits as the turning point that forced her to reassess everything. After scoring 141 in her first attempt, Banni overhauled her approach entirely. She cleared her O'level papers, rebuilt her study habits, and returned to write the UTME a second time, this time scoring 242.
