OONI UNVEILS EDUCATIONAL TRUST FUNDS FOR FIVE MILLION STUDENTS ACROSS NIGERIAN INSTITUTIONS

The Ooni of Ife, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, on Wednesday unveiled an education Trust Fund named; Ooni of Ife Tertiary Tuition Fund, targeted at paying tuition fees of five million students across Nigerian Universities. The philanthropist gesture was a well needed involvement  in the ailing economy of households and the country in general

While unveiling the project. The Ooni announced that the current economic reality of the country, as the motivation behind his intention to assist the students return to school, expressing displeasure over poor conditions of some of the students in tertiary institution.  The African foremost monarch said an average of N50, 000 tuition was targeted for about five million students for a period of four years explaining that the decision behind the payment of tuition for five million students would gulp N500billion yearly and about 2trillion for the period of four years which the first tier of the programme will run.

The Ooni of Ife noted that youth emancipation and empowerment had been his entire focus, he insisted that Nigeria is been sitting on a keg of gun powder if urgent step was not taken to address students’ problem and a needed steps to ease the burden of the economic hardship that has befallen the entire economy of all Nigerians and the whole world entirely.

In His word, he said "I am putting together Educational Trust Fund to support what the government is doing to ease the economic downturn. “We are not all safe. We have to cut our social activities and focus more on youth empowerment. It is better to stay and fix this country than to be running out of the country. "We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder and its best we all look at how best to assist our youths, so we can avert the looming explosion bound to follow a gun powder scenario.

I have said it before and I will keep saying it. We all have a feel of the youth anger during the #EndSARS protests and its time we begin to engage them productively. "The Covid-19 has made many youths and their parents jobless, while the current recession in the country’s economy is another blow which has made the youths to be the most vulnerable group in the country.

Nigeria has between seven to ten million youth in Federal Tertiary Institutions who needs to pay close to N500 billion in tuition fees when the schools resumes in January, 2021. But how would this demand be met when the bulk of the parents of these students are petty traders, peasant farmers and other average Nigerian parents who might not be able to get the needed funds to return to school. This is another reason behind this educational project. 

The Ooni recounts one of his numerous financial empowerment; "Earlier before now, I have personally assisted many in paying tuition fees, vocational trainings and other empowerment initiatives but I have come up with this to bring more beneficiaries on board."  He explains further on how funds will be generated for the project, Ooni, the Spiritual Head of Oduduwa Race worldwide revealed that individuals and organizations home and abroad will be contacted for donations to ensure the success of the lofty idea.

He further appeal to all Nigerians to come together to achieve this for our youths. He further promised of accountability insisting every kobo will be accounted for and details of all beneficiaries would be verifiable for accountability. On the year long Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, he assured that it would soon be called off and it shall be for the best of Nigerians, saying Nigerian traditional rulers are fully aware of the talks ongoing between ASUU and the Federal Government to end industrial strike action.

You will recall that all traditional rulers from across the 36 states recently held a meeting in Abuja on the state of the nation the communique of which I submitted to President Buhari in my capacity as Co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria was to seek a lasting solutions to all problems facing the country presently. Ooni Ogunwusi added.