From Chijioke Agwu, Abakaliki
A business mogul from Ebonyi State, Dr Gideon Osi, has offered Fifty Million Naira worth of scholarships to indigent students across the country.
Osi, who is the Chairman of Gosima Group, announced the scholarship during the funeral of his late Mother, Madam Rebecca Osi, in Ishiagu Ivo local government area of Ebonyi State.
He disclosed that the fund was raised by his friends and associates to assist him in the burial activities of his late mother.
He noted that he had earlier sponsored the education of over 46 indigent students from Ebonyi State and beyond.
He explained that the 46 graduates cut across all disciplines, adding that he decided to train the students to promote literacy, describing education as the best gift one can give to his people.
He stated that he wouldn’t have been a graduate without a scholarship from former Secretary to the Government of the Federation,Chief Anyim Pius Anyim.
He said Senator Ayim, who is from the community, gave scholarship to 200 persons when he was Senate President.
Osi said having been trained through the scholarship scheme of Anyim, it was necessary for him to train others to promote literacy and help the poor as someone from the poorest of the poor.
‘Every community has poor people but among the poor people, there are poorest of the poor. We are among those that are called poorest of the poor such that even poor people called us poor. We were so poor that we couldn’t afford food but God, through various people, we were able to solve that mystery and today, the story is different.
“Today, I feel much more fulfilled watching my mother go home the way she wants it. She always told me that there will be joy when she dies and now, it is exactly the way it is.
“Mama, apart from being a single, entertainer, a dancer, she was a porter. In that art, she taught me how to be honest, how to be sincere and how to work hard because if you are not hardworking, you cannot do the business of pottery. And so, we got all of that from her and now she is going home, we are sure that we are going to transmit these same virtues which are not taught in school, we will transmit it to her grandchildren.
“Everyone in life has the junction of change where everything turns around. That happened when I was privileged to be granted scholarship by Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. The best gift anyone can give you is education. If a man buys you beer, within 24 hours, you are going to pass it out. If a man buys you cloth, within years, the cloth will become old, if a man buys a car, matter of five years, new ones will come out but if a man gives you education, you will transmit the same to others. I was among the 200 that were granted scholarship by Senator Anyim Pius Anyim. That helped me a great deal to study Medicine and become a Medical Doctor.
“That gift I got from our leader, I really appreciate it and I have decided to be giving it out the same way. Altogether in our programme since I graduated, I have trained 46 people in the university but today, something remarkable is going to happen,” he stated
“In the course of preparing Mama’s burial, my friends, different committees were formed and they started donating money just to support mama’s funeral. The information I have is that over N50 million have been put together for this event by my friends and associates, clubs and good spirited Nigerians, but I know that God has provided what will take Mama’s event to the level that she expected it. So, I discussed with my wife and we decided that all that contribution, we will use it to train the children of the poor.
“So, we are going to go beyond Ishiagu and beyond Ebonyi. We will commit the entire fund, over N50 million on scholarship in appreciation for Mama’s life,” he said.