Nigeria’s leading telecommunications and ICT Company, MTN, yesterday presented a cheque of N50 million to Omotola Akinsola, the star prize winner of ‘Who Deserves To Be Surprised’ , a special edition of the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (WWTBAM) TV game show held last December, as part of the MTN Season of Surprises campaign. Omotola had won a house worth N50million, but opted for the cash equivalent. The runner-up during the WWTBAM special edition, Mrs Iyabode Olasunmbo Sodiya Dawodu was also presented with a brand new Year 2014 KIA Cerato.
At a brief presentation ceremony held at Ultima Studios, Lekki, Lagos, the star prize winner, Omotola Akinsola who was accompanied by her Dad, Professor Wole Akinsola, was visibly overjoyed as she was presented with her winning by the General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN Nigeria, Mr Richard Iweanoge.
Omotola, who is currently a Youth Corp member, runs JumpStart Academy, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) through which she recruits mentors from various Universities across the country, to help tutor secondary school students in public schools, most especially those who cannot afford the fee, in preparation for their examinations. Her academy currently sponsors more than two hundred and fifty public secondary school students in the area of counseling, tutorials and obtaining examination forms for children of the needy. According to the organisers, it was this noble feat of hers, that earned her a well deserved nomination for the ‘Who Deserves To Be Surprised’ competition, where she eventually found her way to Frank Edoho’s hot seat, and emerged the star prize winner.
Omotola who could not hide her excitement during the presentation ceremony, said that a large chunk of her winning will be channeled into the activities of JumpStart Academy, so as to touch more lives and enable the children of the needy to also become achievers in life. “MTN, through this largesse has given more Nigerian youths access to good education and economic empowerment. I thank MTN for being an enabler”, Omotola said.
For the runner-up, Mrs Iyabode Olasunbo Dawodu, who just retired as a nurse last week, her joy knew no bounds as she thanked MTN for giving her what she termed her ‘retirement benefit’.