•Late Timilehin and her father, Femi Opesusi
Femi Opesusi, the father of the late Timilehin Opesusi, the 19-year-old who died after ingesting rodent poison following a low score of 146 in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), tells our correspondent how his daughter’s death has left the family heartbroken.
He recounts the chain of events leading to her death on May 12, 2025, from the moment Timilehin received her UTME score, to her final hours. He also speaks about his pain, his regrets, and his unanswered questions about the Nigerian education system, reports Channels TV.
Excerpts:
•Late Timilehin
Can you explain what exactly happened on that day?
That morning, I called my daughter. I told her I hadn’t seen her result yet. She said her elder sister, Opeyemi, would send it. When it came, she forwarded it to me, and she said, “Daddy, this is not my result! This is not my result! Go and do something!” She was panicking.
I told her, “Calm down. Take it easy.” But she said, “I scored 190 last year, and now, they gave me 146? This is not my result!”
What did you do next?
I tried to calm her down. I said, “Don’t worry. I know what to do.” I Googled Lagos State University of Science and Technology (LASUSTECH) and told her and her sister that they would pay the acceptance and school fees in two days. I told them not to worry — I’d pay for everything.
When did you find out something was wrong?
Less than an hour later, my daughter called me again. She said, “My sister (Timilehin) is in the hospital.”
I asked, “Who? Timilehin? Timilehin that I just spoke with 30 minutes ago?” She said Timilehin had taken rat poison, the one they call ‘Push Out’. I asked, “Why? “Because of JAMB?”
What was your reaction?
Immediately, I started video-calling them, but they were dodging my calls. I kept trying. When I finally saw her on the phone’s screen, I knew. She was on the hospital bed, struggling with death; I knew then that she would not survive.
Do you think she regretted her action?
She regretted it. I could see it. She was fighting for her life. It was very painful. I watched her on the bed, in pain, and I knew my daughter was gone.
Did Timilehin show any signs before taking her life?
She and her elder sister were talking with me. Asking, “What is the way forward? What next for you?” Opeyemi even told her to go home and eat. She didn’t know that Timilehin had gone to buy rat poison.
When Opeyemi called her to come to her office, Timilehin asked for palm oil. Her sister thought she had a stomach ache. That was when Timilehin told Opeyemi that she took ‘Push Out’.
Did Opeyemi know what it was?
Opeyemi thought it was a medicine. She was scolding her and asking why she would take medicine without telling me. She later realised it was rat poison and was looking for palm oil when Timilehin collapsed.
Did you ever imagine something like this could happen, especially after all your efforts?
Never! I reassured her and told her to take it easy. I said, “I’m working because of you people; I have the money. Your school fees are there, intact!” Now, I’ve used the school fees to bury her.
How many children do you have?
Now I have seven children.
Was Timilehin your youngest child?
Timilehin was the fourth.
What course was Timilehin planning to study?
Biochemistry.
How would you describe her attitude to education?
She was very brilliant, hardworking, and gentle. She was learning hairdressing along with her education. In fact, she styled the hair of many professors at LASUSTECH while waiting to be offered university admission.
It was said that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board offered her admission 30 minutes after she passed away. Are you aware of that?
Who? I can’t open her results on her phone until now. How will they offer her admission? Nobody gave her admission. It’s just rumours.
Was she offered admission last year?
Last year, she got an admission offer from Federal University, Offa. But I told her not to go because it was too far. At that time, fuel was almost ₦1,000 per litre. At that time, I told her, ‘How will I take my car to Offa because of only you? Stay where your people are. Anything you want to do, you have to do it at that university (LASUSTECH). You’ll use the same books till all of you finish your studies; you’ll just transfer them to one another till you graduate. You can’t go as far as Offa’. That was last year.
Do you regret not allowing her to go to Offa?
I regret it. I regret not letting her go to Offa.
Has JAMB reached out to you since this happened?
Never! They have never called me. They have not granted me an interview. No government official has ever reached me.
Are you open to meeting them?
I don’t want to see them.
What exactly do you want from JAMB?
What I want from JAMB is that they should give me the actual result of my daughter, not the one they have tampered with after they heard the death of my daughter. The actual result of my daughter. If not, God will judge. That (result) cannot bring my daughter back but that is what my daughter last requested of me.
What did she say?
“Daddy, go and fight for my result.”
Do you hold JAMB responsible for what happened to your family?
I hold JAMB responsible for all of this. My daughter suffered while preparing for the UTME. Anytime I called to ask what she was doing, she said, “Daddy I’m reading”. Even in the first result in 2024, I didn’t think she would get 190, not to talk of this one that she was so prepared for.
She was so brilliant — go to her primary school, people are crying. Go to her secondary school, the same thing. She was the one that carried my name up, right from her childhood.
Do you think the hospital could have saved her?
They tried. They tried, they did their best. There were many doctors. They did everything they could, but the poison was too much. She took a sachet of that ‘Push Out’. It was too much for her. They did their best.
I was watching her on the screen (of my phone). I watched it. What I want from Nigeria is the actual result of my daughter.
