The mother who went viral for gifting her son a goat at his graduation has revealed why she chose the unusual gift and paid ₦120,000 for it.
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Chinyere gifted her son a goat at his Federal Polytechnic Nekede sign-out ceremony after he completed his studies.
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She said the ₦120,000 goat was a promised reward for staying away from cultism and finishing school.
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Promise Okoro said he was initially confused by the surprise but became emotional and proud,
The Nigerian mother whose viral video showed her presenting a goat to her son at his university sign-out ceremony has explained the story behind the gesture, revealing both her motivation and how much it actually cost her.
Speaking to BBC News Pidgin on Monday, Chinyere, mother of Promise Okoro, a final-year student at the Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, in Imo State, said the goat wasn’t a random gift, it was a reward for a promise fulfilled.
She said she had told her son, before he left for school, that staying away from cultism and making her proud would earn him a surprise once he graduated. According to her, he kept his word.
“I don’t have money for a 4matic jeep, and I love that guy, my son. I said, let me buy this goat as a gift,” she said, adding that she had specifically warned him against cult affiliation and dropping out, promising a surprise if he avoided both.
She disclosed that the goat cost her ₦120,000, and that she had been prepared to spend even more if it came to it. “I bought the goat for ₦120,000. I said even if it is ₦200,000, I will try my best to see that I come with that goat,” she said.
Chinyere said the reaction from students as she walked toward her son with the animal added to the emotion of the moment. “As I was walking, they were screaming. I was happy, and I knew my son too was,” she said.
For Promise, the moment initially caused confusion rather than excitement. He said he assumed the commotion and chants of “say yes” from his coursemates meant someone nearby was receiving a marriage proposal, not that his own mother had arrived with a goat.
“I was surprised for her to even call me to come and see my mum because she brought a goat. I was asking if she knew my mum because I wasn’t convinced,” he said.
Once he realised what was happening, he said any embarrassment he might have felt disappeared instantly. “I came, happy and deeply emotional. I wasn’t ashamed. I am not even ashamed in school; why then would I be ashamed of my mum or her action?” he said.
The video has continued to circulate online since, with many Nigerians praising Chinyere for finding a personal, culturally rooted way to celebrate her son’s milestone rather than following more conventional graduation gift trends.
