About Wale Tinubu’s Great Impact on Child Education

Most billionaires around the globe, including Nigeria, have some vanities they choose to spend their money on. Some pump their money into bizarre projects, while others care about leaving lasting legacies. Both serve symbolic purposes for these wealthy individuals.

Aside from a few flashes of trappings of wealth though, Nigerian oil and gas magnate, Jubril Adewale Tinubu, seems to be one billionaire not too keen on luxury. As much as he loves a good life, he also gives much attention to social interventions and areas that he thinks would make the greatest impact on the people.

The trained lawyer has a firm belief in the quote of the late American-born Benjamin Franklin that says, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest, it yields immeasurable economic and social rewards for individuals and nations.”

Since the man, with out-of-the-ordinary milk of kindness established the Oando Foundation in 2011 as an independent charity to support the federal government in actualising its Universal Basic Education (UBE) goals, the Foundation has taken a multifaceted approach to education that delivers a superior learning environment for both pupils and teachers alike. 

As gathered, several billions of naira have since been expended for this purpose

Today, the Foundation’s flagship programme in its Adopt-a-School Initiative (AASI), strives to address the needs of students, teachers, school leaders and the education community through infrastructure development, establishment of ICT/Creative centres, early childhood care and development centres, teacher capacity building and scholarship programs. 

Some of the Foundation’s notable achievements include the adoption of over 100 public primary schools across the country, enrollment of over 60,000 out-of-school children, building and renovating 300 classrooms, distributing over 30,000 teaching and learning aids and the award of scholarships to brilliant, under-served children from adopted schools to transit and complete secondary school.

During the foundation’s 10-year milestone in 2011, the unassuming philanthropist said his reason for establishing the foundation is to make poverty of the mind a thing of the past in Nigeria, where opportunities would exist for every Nigerian child and to give access to quality basic education and the ability to lift themselves out of poverty.

But he’s never been one to make noise about all this, because he believes in the popular saying, ‘If you must help the poor keep the camera at home’