Willie Eya 
Albert Schweitzer said: “Seek always to do some good, somewhere. Everyman has to seek in his own way to realise his true worth. You must give some time to your fellow man. Even if it’s a little thing, do something for those who need help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For remember, you don’t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.”
This tells the story of Folorunso Alakija, the Nigerian billionaire businesswoman and one of the richest black women in the world. Those familiar with her activities would attest that she is simply a gift to humanity. One would say she is more of a caregiver than the conventional businessperson who is out primarily to make profit from any venture.
Alakija has a foundation called the Rose of Sharon Foundation that helps widows and orphans by empowering them through scholarships and business grants. Her company is also a major sponsor of the Agbami medical and engineering scholarship scheme, one of the most reliable scholarship schemes in Nigeria, with over a thousand people yearly as beneficiaries. She is a fervent supporter of education in Nigeria.
Her remarkable humanitarian service makes her a fitting winner of The Sun Humanitarian Service Award.
Alakija is involved in oil, fashion and printing industries. She is vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a prolific offshore asset. The Nigerian government awarded Alakija’s company an oil-prospecting license in 1993, which was later converted to an oil mining lease.