From Ice Cream Seller to Harvard: Timi Olagunju’s Journey Through Broken Systems and Boundless Hope

 

A Harvard postgraduate certificate might represent prestige and global accomplishment, but for Timi Olagunju, it is a symbol of resilience built through heartbreak, policy failure, and institutional betrayal back home in Nigeria.

The journey of this human rights and tech policy expert began in the bustling neighborhood of Akoka, Lagos, where as a child he sold ice cream to support his family. His mother, who never had a degree, ran a small shop and taught him the value of perseverance. That foundation led him through the University of Ibadan in 2009, despite multiple strikes and challenges related to his involvement in student unionism.

But just as his future in law school appeared secured, the rug was pulled from beneath him—by a single policy decision.

The restructuring of Yaba Market under the administration of then-Governor Babatunde Fashola wiped out the savings of many small traders overnight. Among them was Olagunju’s mother, who had painstakingly saved for three years in a microfinance bank. That bank, overexposed to traders whose shops were suddenly demolished, collapsed within weeks. The Law School dream was paused. “One government policy. One demolition. One incompetent finance institution. And just like that, my law school plans were paused,” he wrote in a powerful reflection.

Despite the setback, he pressed on. From practicing human rights law to specializing in digital rights and eventually tech policy and AI governance, Olagunju’s path reflects both personal tenacity and professional evolution. In 2015, he was selected for the Mandela Washington Fellowship and studied at the prestigious Presidential Precinct in the United States. Yet, unlike many peers, he returned home, believing in the potential of Nigeria and its youth.

But the country’s broken educational systems were not done with him.

Choosing to deepen his understanding of governance, he enrolled in a Master’s program in Research and Public Policy at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) rather than seeking immediate postgraduate opportunities abroad. It was a decision fueled by national pride and a desire to build within. Unfortunately, it would become one of the most frustrating chapters of his academic life.

Years after completing the program—defending theses, attending classes, and fulfilling every academic requirement—he and his classmates have still not received full transcripts or degrees. Despite petitions, official follow-ups, and repeated inquiries, the university failed to offer answers. “Even after 7+ years... our transcripts are still nowhere to be found,” Olagunju lamented. Many students lost scholarships, job offers, and PhD placements due to this bureaucratic void.

Faced with international applications that required a transcript he couldn’t obtain, he did what many wouldn't dare: he left the UNILAG degree off his applications entirely. Instead, he relied solely on his undergraduate degree—earned over 15 years ago.

That gamble paid off. He was admitted to Harvard, where he completed advanced studies in law, economics, and AI governance. As he celebrates this hard-won milestone, Olagunju is not boasting. Instead, he’s calling out a system that routinely silences, delays, and damages the ambitions of Nigerian youth.

His story is a celebration of resilience, but also a searing indictment of how government policies and institutional neglect can derail lives.

“Why must we massage 'ego' before we get what we already earned?” he asks. “Why is it normal for youth to suffer twice—first from poverty, then from a poor system?”

Olagunju’s advocacy goes beyond personal triumph. He co-founded Youths in Motion (YIM Nigeria), a platform for youth development and policy engagement. He continues to speak out against the dangerous normalcy of government impunity—from the silence following police brutality to educational systems that trap students in endless loops of failure and lost potential.

His voice is not solitary. It echoes the frustration of a generation whose dreams are too often deferred by structural decay.

“We must pledge not to waste more destinies,” he pleads.

As Olagunju joins the ranks of Harvard alumni, his message stands clear: the true measure of a nation’s progress is not in the certificates hanging on walls, but in the dreams it protects, the systems it builds, and the youth it uplifts—or fails. 

For many Nigerian youths, the system is broken. But as Olagunju's story shows, resilience, advocacy, and belief in something greater can still light the way through darkness.

 

*written by DGT! 

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