Mum raised four kids alone after we l0st dad at 12,’ UI twin brothers who emerged faculty’s best graduates recall mother’s sacrifice
Mum raised four kids alone after we lost dad at 12,’ UI twin brothers who emerged faculty’s best graduates recall mother’s sacrifice
Matthew Busoye, one of the twin brothers who graduated as the best graduating students from the Faculty of Technology at the University of Ibadan has honoured the memory of his late father while celebrating their mother—who raised four children alone after tragedy struck their family.
SEEES celebrates Twin brothers, Matthias and Matthew Busoye
SEEES celebrates Twin brothers, Matthias and Matthew Busoye Credit: X| busoyeom
Delivering his speech as the faculty’s top graduate before fellow graduates and academic staff at the induction ceremony, Matthew took the audience back to the day his father, Morufu Ganiu, died when he was just 12 years old.
In a copy of the speech he shared on X.com on Thursday, Matthew recounted the day he and his twin brother learned of their father’s death as an ordinary day that ended in grief.
“I was 12 years old, in JSS3. I remember my mom receiving a call and then quickly leaving. My brother and I were left to start closing the shop. I didn’t know exactly what was happening, but I could feel something was wrong.
“On our way home, I was so unsettled that I accidentally broke someone’s side mirror; that’s how unsettled I was. Then we got home and found out: that our father had passed away. It was a moment I won’t forget, even if I didn’t fully understand it then,” he wrote.
Matthew Busoye
Matthew Busoye
Credit: X| thew0205
Matthew added that their mother had to raise four children despite being a single parent with no financial cushion.
“My mother was now a single parent with four children-two were already in university, and two were just entering senior secondary school. There was no financial cushion. No backup plan. Just uncertainty,” he wrote.
He recalled how his mother declined the offer of a relative to take her children because she wanted them to stay together saying, “An uncle stepped in and offered to take us in. It would’ve made sense. But my mother said no. She said something I’ll never forget: ‘If all we have is garri, we’ll drink it together.’ But we stay together.’”
That decision, Matthias said, shaped the course of their lives.
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He said, “And you know what? We didn’t drink garri because there was nothing else. We drank it because we wanted to.
“My mum did more ‘TDBs’ calculating debts than I did in all my years at UI. She hustled, she sacrificed, she took loans, and she made sure we never had to beg. That’s why, till today, I struggle to ask anyone for money—I saw what self-reliance and grit looked like.
“Now think about it: what if she had said yes to that offer? What if she chose a different ‘what’s next?’ We might not be standing here today.”
Matthew noted that one of the lessons from the story was that his mum’s “refusal to let us go wasn’t just brave, it changed our lives. One moment of courage can shift generations.
“We’ve come a long way, a very long way. The journey wasn’t always easy, but we stayed the course. And today, we celebrate not just certificates or new titles, but courage, growth, and possibility. Today is not the end, it is the beginning of all we are yet to become.”
In his speech, Matthias similarly said, “I dedicate this moment to my late father, Mr Moroof Ganiyu. Thank you for all you did-I am forever grateful”
PUNCH Online reports that Matthew and Matthias graduated with first-class honours and an identical CGPA of 3.94 out of 4.00 from the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
They were also named the best-graduating students of their department and the Faculty of Technology for the 2023/2024 academic session.
