Parents of beneficiaries of Akinosun scholarship scheme laud initiative

FORTY-four children and wards of members of Atunbi Group, a socio-political movement in Oyo State, have benefited from the Fola Akinosun Scholarship Scheme.

This disclosure was made by the president of the group, Comrade Ibrahim Bolomope, during the group members’ visit to their benefactor, Dr Fola Akinosun, at the School of Health Technology, Foreign Links Campus, Moro, Ile-Ife.

According to Bolomope, the 54-member group, comprising associations from the formal and non-formal sectors considered the visit necessary not only to show appreciation for the good deed, but also to encourage Dr Akinosun to do more because “he who gives knowledge gives life.”

He said it was a thing of surprise that someone who did not occupy elective position could be so magnanimous and public-spirited when those who were voted into elective positions had decided to neglect those who put them in office.

He admitted that at the initial stage, he felt that the scholarship was a fluke, but soon discovered that it was real.

“But shortly afterwards, I started getting positive feedbacks. Our children, 44 in number, were offered scholarship by the scheme to study different courses at the School of Health Technology in Ile-Ife and other tertiary institutions,” he said.

He urged him not to be distracted by detractors who are not disposed to doing good, but would want to stand in the way of those who feel other people’s pain and want to do something about it.

In his remarks, Dr Akinosun, the president/proprietor of School of Health Technology, Ile-Ife, College of Education, Ile- Ife, Deltas University College, Ghana and Oyo South Senatorial candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the last general elections, said the scholarship scheme which started in 2005 was aimed at giving Nigerian youths the opportunity of being educated because education opens doors for great opportunities.

He noted that his passion to help others became manifest long before he considered joining politics, adding that he decided to join politics because he considered it as an avenue to touch people’s lives on a larger scale.

“At the beginning, I went into an agreement with a bank to procure motorcycles to empower the people, especially youths. My plan was to get 3, 000 motorcycles, but I later got 30 which I intended to use as a test case. But most of the beneficiaries ran away and didn’t fulfill the terms of agreement. Thereafter, I started giving people soft loans to start businesses, but I could not go ahead with this because the people reneged in paying back. The men disappeared with the money and the women used the money for other purposes like buying aso ebi.

“It was at this point that I began to consider giving scholarship. With education, youths will not roam the streets idle and be recruited into terrorist groups, cults, armed robbery, kidnapping among others. They will be gainfully employed and apply their minds to productive vectors.

“The implication is that more of our youths will be self-reliant and the society will be safer. Moreover, once you educate someone, you cannot retrieve it from him/her. It belongs to him/her for life. So every year, we offer 1,000 scholarships to students who have just left secondary school to further their studies at the School of Health Technology, from where they are later trained at Ghana and Cameroon and other tertiary institutions ,whether they have good results or not,” he said.

The educationist cum politician further said that he wishes to do more especially by making Nigeria to become food sufficient.

“My plan is to establish a 50- acre farm, and food bank to complement government’s efforts in food production in order to combat hunger. Aside food production, youths would also be gainfully employed and taught how to become good farmers,” he said.

Present at the ceremony were representatives of the various bodies that make up Atunbi Group and stakeholders in the education sector.