NONGOVMEDIA

This series was born out of necessity as much as passion. In 2018, I had just graduated from the University of Ilorin with a degree in Anatomy and was serving my NYSC year in Ibadan. Moving to a new city was disorienting — no clients knew me, and work was scarce. Photography, which had sustained me during school, suddenly felt out of reach.

When I heard that my juniors were having their convocation in Ilorin, I seized the chance. I traveled back to campus, camera in hand, to photograph their portraits. These were not just graduation pictures; they were survival, a reminder that I could still earn through my craft.

Looking back, the images carry more weight than celebration alone. They document a community I had just left, the closing of one chapter and the uncertainty of another. For me, they mark a moment of transition — when photography became not just an artistic pursuit, but a lifeline.