Baki Adams Makes History, Becomes First Political Science Student to Emerge FSS BGS in Recent Times

By Success Essien, Jacinta Emeka, Habeeb Abayomi, and Precious Esah

When Maxwell “Baki” Adams sat for his departmental orientation, a student asked a question that would define his next four years: “Is it true people don’t graduate with a first class here?” The room went quiet, but the answer Baki heard stayed with him. He was told it was not true, but that it was rare. Baki took that “rare” and made it historic, finishing not just as the best in Political Science, but as the best graduating student in the entire University of Lagos Faculty of Social Sciences.

“I think I took myself to new levels in the university,” Baki says. He did not just break the ceiling; he shattered it with a 4.85 CGPA and three consecutive 5.0 semesters. But Baki was not just a student; he was also a hustler. To sponsor his dream, he worked as a freelance tutor. “2021 was when I was most choked… I taught at four different tutorial centres when I was in my second year.”

Baki’s real drive started during the 2020 lockdown. Like everyone else, he spent the first few weeks watching movies and pressing his phone, but eventually, he turned to books just to find some “solace.” That was the spark. He had heard stories about top students winning scholarships and getting free accommodation, and he decided he wanted in on that life. To get there, he knew he had to become a reading machine.

“I’ve never read as hard as this in my whole life,” he admitted. That lockdown habit became the foundation that helped him win the TotalEnergies scholarship in his first year and the Federal Government scholarship later on. For Baki, excellence was not just a goal; it was a way to survive and thrive.

Baki lives his life by a code he calls PESLI: Productivity, Discipline, Focus, Love, and Intelligence. To survive the “subjective” nature of Political Science, he built a system that left nothing to chance. He had a timetable, an accountability partner, and something he calls a “Progress Box” to track exactly how many topics he had covered.

“If it’s the 10th week and I’m still on topic two, I know there are serious problems,” he explained. This system was the only reason he could serve as the President of the International Affairs Association, play for his class football team, and still keep his 5.0 streak alive. “Sometimes you don’t feel motivated, so you have to rely on your discipline to push through.”

Political Science at UNILAG is famous for being a place where “you don’t get a result.” Other departments even shy away from taking their courses because of how tough the grading can be. Baki knew the reputation, but he chose to ignore the noise. He even helped start a reading group called “Programming” for his entire set, where they taught each other from 200 level until graduation.

“It’s highly subjective,” he says about his department. “But I think you have to first believe the impossible for you to be able to achieve it.” He was not just looking for a degree; he was looking to follow the footsteps of the political analysts he grew up watching on TV, like Christine Amanpour and Seun Okinbaloye.

Now working as a Programme Associate with the Afara Initiative, Baki is already looking at his Master’s in International Relations. He wants to move into public leadership and global governance, taking the same discipline that got him through UNILAG onto the world stage.

His final message to those coming after him is to build a system and find a partner. “Know your strengths. Fix your weaknesses,” he advised. He is not worried about someone breaking his record either—in fact, he is hoping for it. “After me, somebody would basically break that record… I’m hoping somebody actually does with a 4.9 or maybe a straight 5.0.”