CSR: BUA Group Donates N280m Publishing Facility to Babcock University 

James Sowole in Abeokuta

The Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), the brainchild of Abdul Samad Rabiu, Founder and Executive Chairman of BUA Group, on yesterday, performed the groundbreaking for construction of N280 million publishing house at Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.

The project tagged, ‘Abdul Samad Rabiu Integrated Publishing House, Babcock University’, is part of the philanthropic gesture of the BUA Group founder under the Tertiary Education Grant Scheme.

The facility, according to the donor, would serve as a laboratory and studio for training students of communications, media studies, and allied disciplines as well as other disciplines.

Speaking at the ceremony held at the project site within the university, the Managing Director of ASR Africa, Dr. Ubon Udoh, expressed his delight at the university’s choice of establishing an Integrated Publishing House. 

Udoh, who was represented by Multilateral Coordination Specialist, ASR, Africa, Nakama Keri, said the project would enhance the capacity of the university from basic press status to a modern, integrated publishing house to encompass publishing, print production, and other related diversified services.

The managing director disclosed that the Chairman of ASR Africa prioritises support for educational development in Africa and has committed about N35bn to different programmes and projects across the continent.

He said, “Alhaji Abdul Samad is someone who is passionate about impacting people’s lives and he decided to institutionalise, what he has been doing all his life by setting up ASR Africa, and committing to a hundred million dollars per annum in interventions in social development, in health and in education; 50 million of which he is committing to programmes within Nigeria and 50 million to programmes all over Africa. 

“Education is of particular importance and priority to Alhaji Abdul Samad. So far, we have  invested about 35 billion in education. We have built libraries in Ghana in rural areas, we are building hostels for female students in Niger Republic;  we have committed a billion naira each to about six universities in 2021. And we’re also doing the Tertiary Education Grant scheme, of which Babcock University is beneficiary,” Udoh said.

He reiterated the importance of cooperation and collaboration between the university and the contractor for the timely delivery of the publishing house.

The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ademola Tayo, expressed satisfaction at the nomination by ASR Africa, under its Tertiary Education Grant Scheme. 

He added that the choice of the project was a response to the vision to take the Mass Communications Department of the University to a whole new level.

According to him, the university’s vision is to produce young men and women capable of critical thinking, and problem-solvers capable of proffering innovative solutions to problems of everyday life, be it social, political, and cultural.

He added the project would also impact on the host community in line with the guidelines of the donor.