Eleven indigent students of the University of Ibadan (UI) have received scholarships worth a total of N1.1 million from the university’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other benefactors.
The awards, presented on Thursday at the union’s congress, comprised N400,000 from ASUU’s national body to two students, N500,000 from the UI chapter to five beneficiaries and N200,000 donated by Professor Tajudeen Akanji to four students.
Speaking while presenting the cheques, the Vice-Chairman of UI ASUU, Dr Tayo Ajibade, who represented the branch chairman, Dr Adefemi Afolabi, said 56 indigent students had applied for the scholarship, but only 11 were found qualified.
Ajibade said the initiative followed a directive from the union’s national leadership urging its chapters to provide financial support, however modest, to students from indigent backgrounds.
He said ASUU had consistently advocated improved funding for public universities to ensure that quality education remained accessible to children from less privileged homes.
According to him, poverty should not prevent Nigerian children from accessing education.
“Our union has recognised that the best gift that you can give to anyone is education. We are aware of the challenges in our society because we realise that a lot of our students are struggling to survive in school, and we want to find a way to support them in our little way,” he said.
Ajibade added that the union would continue to advocate increased funding and quality education while supporting brilliant students through its national body, university chapters and individual lecturers.
The beneficiaries included Olawale Esther Inioluwa, a 300-level student of Archaeology and Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts, and Orji Cynthia Adaeze, a 300-level Political Science student in the Faculty of Social Sciences, who received N200,000 each from ASUU’s national body.
Five students received N100,000 each from the UI chapter. They were Dosunmu Mazeedah Omobonike of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Oyeniyi Oluwaseyi, a 400-level Pharmacy student, Aanuoluwa Adeshewa Mary, a 400-level Physiotherapy student, Ameenat Eniola of the Department of Economics, and Olowode Afusat Temitayo.
Four other students received N50,000 each from Akanji. They were Ogundare Marvellous, Williams Happiness Patient of the Department of Psychology, Oladepo Peter Olamide of the Department of Microbiology, and Gbadegesin Daniel, a 400-level Banking and Finance student.
Akanji said he would continue to support indigent students for as long as he lived, citing his background as the son of a carpenter and his understanding of education’s transformative power.
He said his personal experience had reinforced his belief in helping students who faced financial challenges in pursuing their education.
Speaking with journalists after receiving her award, Olawale expressed surprise and gratitude, urging fellow students to take their studies seriously and prioritise academic excellence.
“I was not even expecting it. What I will say to UI students is that they should make sure they take their academics very seriously because the number one thing we came to the university for is academics,” she said.
She thanked ASUU for the recognition and prayed for those behind the initiative.
Another beneficiary, Oladepo, also commended the national leadership and the university chapter of ASUU for introducing the scholarship scheme, describing it as an encouragement for students to work harder.
He urged his colleagues to remain committed to their studies so they could benefit from similar opportunities in the future.
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