By Gabriel Dike
As part of its contributions to the educational development of Ibadan, Oyo State, the Oluyole Club, Lagos, recently gave out bursary awards to no fewer than 10 university students.
The bursary awards, which were presented to the 10 lucky students from different universities at the 2021 Annual Party/Lecture and Bursary Awards, took place at LCCI Conference and Exhibition Centre, Lagos.
The club presented cheques of N75,000 each to the students, including Azeez Moyosore Oluwa, 200 level Mass Communication student, University of Lagos; Owolabi Adebunmi, 200 level Medicine and Surgery student, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology; Fasasi Omotola, Medicine and Surgery LAUTECH; and Olayiwola Hafiz, Medicine and Surgery, University of Ibadan.
Others are Suara Grace, 200 level Accounting student of UNILAG; Babalola Olaronke, Dentistry, UNILAG; Oguntola Ogo-Oluwa, 200 level Nutrition and Dietetics, LAUTECH; Olalekan Victor, Medicine and Surgery, UI; Olubode Samuel, Electrical Electronics, LAUTECH, and Abioye Olanrewaju, 200 level Economics student of UI.
The club’s president, Alhaji Rasak Oladejo, said, previously, it awarded full postgraduate scholarship to Ibadan indigenes and one of the beneficiary is now a professor and others are captains of industry and professionals.
According to him, the programme was changed to an annual bursary scheme to accommodate more beneficiaries. He said the club gives out N75,000 to selected indigent students of Ibadan origin in Nigerian universities.
Oladejo also disclosed that the annual bursary received a boost from the chairman of the governing council of Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Jide Owoeye, who offered six scholarships to indigent candidates from Ibadan to study in the institution annually.
“The club, with the assistance of the university, started taking advantage of the scholarship from the 2019-2020 session till date,” he said.
He described the club as made up of distinguished and accomplished indigenes of Ibadan that are based in Lagos and contribute to the socio-economic development of Ibadan.
Oladejo added: “One major area of innovation introduced by the club is the commencement of intellectual discourse on strategies for advancing the socio-economic development of Ibadan and Nigeria in general.”
Chairman of the bursary award committee, Oluniyi Fatokun, said the bursary award is for less privilege Ibadan indigenes and that family members of the club cannot benefit.
Fatokun disclosed that about 62 students from different institutions applied for the bursary award while ten were selected on merit and they have completed 100 level with good Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA).
He added: “We wrote to many universities to bring the award to the attention of their students from Ibadan.”
Elated Azeez, 200 level Mass Communication UNILAG, told The Education Report that she would use the money to buy educational materials for her studies.
Azeez, who obtained 5.00 CGPA in 100 level, said she wrote application and was interviewed. She lauded the club for the award and promised not to disappoint them.
Olayiwola, 200 level UI Medicine and Surgery student with 3.87 out of 4.00 CGPA, said he would use the bursary to settle school fee, which has been troubling him and that the award would serve as a relief. He told The Education Report that his parents are happy with the award from the club.
The club annual lecture was delivered by retired Prof. Bashir Akande, formerly with College of Medicine, UNILAG and also the former president of Oluyole Club, Lagos. He spoke on “The scourge of Large Bowel and Rectal Cancer: Need for Greater Awareness among the Populace”.
Prof. Akande advised the health ministry to provide facilities for screening of Nigerians from about the age of 50.