Scholarships for Ogun West Indigenes And Tolu Odebiyi's "Touch of Difference" (TOD)

[img]Tolu-odebiyi.jpg[/img]

Babajide Tella

“Service is about taking responsibility for what is wrong in the community, and more so, the world, and doing something about it.”
―Amanda Troillet


Tolu Odebiyi, the Senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District in the 9th Assembly, most likely had the saying of Amanda Troiliet in mind when he was elected to represent his people. From inception, Odebiyi, who is fondly called TOD by friends and associates, left no one in doubt of his unflinching and unflagging determination to solve the problems of his constituents. The lack of educational opportunities was one of his priorities.

Since the creation of the state in 1976, the economic realities of the people of Ogun West have overshadowed their educational pursuit resulting in a deficit of formally educated students especially at the tertiary level. Additionally, unfavourable administrative structures and the sensitive political architecture of the state is skewed to the disadvantage of the Yewa/Awori people who make up the Senatorial District of TOD. Yet therein exist a large number of youths who are exceptionally brilliant but unable to fund their education. From this stemmed the unbridled desire to provide a long-standing solution through the Tolu Odebiyi Scholarship Scheme.

The Tolu Odebiyi Foundation hosts an annual scholarship award programme which has become increasingly anticipated and sought after by the inhabitants of Ogun West. The Foundation has awarded scholarships to over 100 students in various Tertiary Institutions within the country. This year's event, the third edition, is slated for November 28th 2021 and will once again seek to empower another set of students to cultivate and hone in to their academic excellence by easing their financial burdens associated with educational costs. The event will hold at the Conference Centre, Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro by 12 noon.

The TOD Scholarship Scheme emphasises the importance of developing technological skill which is why the deserving students are awarded brand new laptops in addition to the financial award given. "The current realities across the world, including Nigeria, presuppose that many jobs might be taken over by technology in the next few years. Robotics, Artificial intelligence (AI), Machine Learning and Virtual Reality (VR) amongst others are the new world order of technology that the youth must be ready to embrace", Odebiyi noted.

TOD believes the future is driven by technology and is therefore determined to provide adequate opportunities for the youth of Ogun West to remain competitive in the job market by keeping abreast of technological advancements.

The Senator, whose late father Jonathan Odebiyi, was also a Senator, former Minister of Finance, former Minister of Education, as well as the deputy leader of Action Group under Obafemi Awolowo; is quite aptly following the footsteps of his father. The late Odebiyi was, alongside Awolowo, instrumental to many educational advancement efforts that formed the foundation of education of the old Western Region.

We hope TOD's efforts in education, alongside his other interventions in infrastructure, farming, rural development and job creation for the youth - all which have been widely commended by his people in Ogun West and beyond - will continue even after his tenure as Senator.

Education, like Malcom X said, is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.



Babajide Tella wrote from Egbo Road, Ilaro in Ogun State

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The Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has called on Professor Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resign forthwith for betraying the Anambra electorate and Nigerians in general by conducting a sham election, in the Professor Attahiru Jeganame of Anambra State Governorship Election.

CNPP in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu and made available to NigerianEcho, the group berated Jega for doing a shady job saying the inadequacy exhibited by INEC has become an embarrassing situation for the Nation.

“We are making this call on the fact that the eminent Professor Jega from available records bungled the single Anambra State gubernatorial election; and this being the case, what are the guarantee that he will not bungle the 2015 general elections?

“We were perplexed that up till this Monday morning when the gross irregularity were clearly made public by the Returning Officer, Professor James Okuoke resulting in the declaration of the result as inconclusive and cancellation of 113,113 votes; Professor Jega behaving like a hired hand on a television interview Sunday afternoon had sort to defend INEC and its failed exercise.

“Jega to our consternation was nervously harping on only 65 Polling Units in Obosi Electoral Ward, even when by his own admission the INEC Electoral Officer whom he claimed had been arrested had messed up the electoral process in the entire Idemili North LGA with 306 Polling Units and total registered voters of about 174,000; claiming that he cannot cancel the total election because of one Electoral Officer’s malfeasance.
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“The first valid question to our eminent professor is, is the 113,113 cancelled votes from only Idemili North, where no election took place and where a rescheduled election was supposedly conducted at Obosi and later extended to Abatete and Nkpor Ward 2, without official notification?

“CNPP contends that over 506,000 votes should be cancelled, as it is an oversight on the part of Prof. Jega and his cohorts in INEC to cancel only 113,113 votes and close their eyes to the 174,000 votes in Idemili North, where voting did not place and over 200,000 manipulated votes spread across Anambra West and East, Awka North and South, Ihiala and other uncountable Polling Units, as evidenced by reports of local and international observers”, the statement stated.

On the by election which took place on Sunday, November 17th, CNPP expressed dissatisfaction with such an arrangement noting that Anambra State is predominantly a Christian state as many people who were supposed to be available for the election would have gone to Church.

“Secondly, is it with good conscience that an election was fixed on a Sunday in a predominantly Christian community?

“The third valid question to the eminent professor is can we trust the fate of Nigerians in an incapable, inept and compromise hand to conduct the more sensitive and delicate 2015 general elections?

“In fact the Anambra State Governorship has in no uncertain terms exposed Professor Jega’s palpable ineptitude, gross incapacity, utter negligence and near compromise in managing elections; therefore Professor Jega should resign forthwith.

In sum, we call for the total cancellation of the Anambra State Governorship Election”, the statement concluded. ‎‎

Culled from NigerianEcho http://nigerianecho.com/?p=7021

The Minister of Education, Professor Ruqquayat Rufai, has said that the Federal Government has approved a bill to extend retirement age of universities lecturers.
She made this disclosure while facing members of Senate Committee on Education over the ongoing indefinite strike of Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU).
Rufai revealed that the Federal Government has begun to heed to their demands as the government has also fulfilled nine demands out of the nineteen agreement signed with the union.
“I would like to tell this committee that the Federal Government has taken a giant stride to forestall this ongoing strike but universities‘ lecturers are not cooperative to some extent“.

She however told the committee that universities are expected to pay over 106 billion naira allowances owing them through their internally generated revenues not the Federal Government.
The minister also agreed that the government has not established the Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company which was part of the agreement reached by the two bodies.
She therefore told the committee to be expecting a bill on the retirement age of the lecturers which will extend retirement age of academic staff to 70 and non-academic to 60
see more news, http://nigerianecho.com/?p=586