Femi Otedola’s Largesse

Last week, Augustine University, Ilara-Epe, Lagos State, installed Mr. Femi Otedola, as the new chancellor of the university. During his speech, he announced the donation of N1m to each of the 750 students of the university. That came to N750m. The implication is that he has substantially paid the fees and other bills of all the students for 2023 second semester. Some people might dismiss the gesture as pouring water into holes that are already full.

Some people assume that only the rich send their children to private universities. It is true that you need to achieve some level of financial capacity before you send your child/ward to a private university. It costs about N2.5m and above per annum to keep your child/ward in a private university.

But there are various categories of people who have children in private universities. We have those who can comfortably send their children abroad, but for reasons other than finance choose to send them to school in Nigeria. There are those who wanted to send their children abroad, but got scared off by the volatile exchange rate.

There are those who earn enough to comfortably train their children in a private university. There are those who send their children to private universities, not because it is financially convenient, but they are just pissed off with the frequent disruptions in the academic calendars of government-owned universities.

Finally, there are those who have to really run around after every semester to source money for the next semester. No matter the category you fall into, there is no parent who will not welcome the N1m gift for his child. It is a big relief. I can imagine an avalanche of prayers for Mr. Otedola for this kind gesture. Even for rich parents, it is a relief.

One big mistake people in the lower financial rung make is that they do not understand that even the richest of people appreciate gifts. A man might have cartons of champagne, whiskey and brandy that now sell for N200,000 per bottle at home, but if you visit him and give him a bottle in appreciation or respect, he will appreciate it and add it to his collection.

Gestures do not necessarily have to be financial. Human beings just appreciate people who are there for them and treat them well. It is a tragedy for anyone to feel that he cannot be useful to or be there for others. That is the mentality of people who are inherently selfish and self-centred.

Otedola is well known for his philanthropic gestures. I know he has been supporting this university since it was established. Before him, his father, Sir Michael Otedola, played a role citing the University in Epe and acquiring the land. While alive, Sir Otedola supported the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, the owner of the university. When I came to Lagos in the 80s, the Otedola people knew was Sir Michael Otedola. He was a successful businessman and a public relations guru.

He was also well known for his philanthropic activities. He became the governor of Lagos State in 1991 and he was governor until the Abacha Coup truncated his tenure in 1993. Many of these students to whom Femi Otedola gave N1m to probably know him more as DJ Cuppy’s (Florence Otedola) rich dad. It is only now that he is their chancellor that they will see him in new light as their Chancellor. It is a role reversal of some sort for Femi Otedola. In the later years of Sir Otedola, he was referred to as Femi Otedola’s father in spite of his intimidating achievements. May be some day, the younger generation will only know Femi Otedola as DJ Cuppy’s dad.

This Otedola’s gesture should remind all of us of the need to spread joy. Otedola put smiles on the faces of 750 students and over 1,000 parents, their financial status notwithstanding. Putting smiles on people’s faces is not the prerogative of billionaires or rich people.

We all can. We have witnessed, seen, watched or read about lunatics, children, homeless people and all kinds of people putting smiles on other people’s faces. A kind word can do it. An act of kindness can do it. A telephone call can do it. Consoling a bereaved person can do it. A melodious voice can do it. God has given us all innate gifts that we can use to put smiles on people’s faces. One thousand naira gift can also do it.

In a country where the minimum wage is N30,000, majority of Nigerian parents cannot afford to send their children to private universities. That is why it is very important for government-owned universities, especially federal universities, to run smoothly without incessant strikes. It is very important to have a stable educational system. A friend’s son is spending his seventh year in the University for a five-year course due to strikes.

In the 60s when my father went to the University of Lagos down to the 80s when I went to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, it was not fashionable for parents to send their children abroad. In some circles, it was even felt that the only children who went abroad to study were those who could not compete to get admission in Nigeria. In fact, the family of one of my roommates in the University, Kelechi, was based in London, but his father sent him to Nigeria to do his secondary school and university education.

There were also rich Nigerians who chose to send their children abroad, not because the foreign universities were better. They did that because some of them also schooled abroad and some wanted to give their children international exposure.

Private universities are recent developments. The government-owned universities could not just cope with the number of Nigerians seeking admission. The first set of private universities started in 1999. Augustine started in 2015. There are currently about 80 private universities in Nigeria and more are in the pipeline. It is important that any Nigerian who desires to go the university should have the opportunity.

But even more important is what is next after graduation. That is where much work needs to be done. The graduates universities produce should be tailored towards our current realities. Nigeria has myriad of problems and they should be solution providers. The current situation where we have 1000s of unemployed and unemployable graduates is not good. That is what my roommate in the university would refer to as “no work done.” Our universities need to produce solution providers before “work is done.

These days when I read news of new universities and polytechnics being approved or accredited, the first question that comes to my mind is where their products will get jobs. We need to look at the curricula of these schools. Beyond producing solution providers, which I mentioned above, we must also produce self-starters who can graduate and go on to set up businesses. The universities should study and adopt the Igbo traders’ apprenticeship method. It has been hugely successful and it is home grown. Just producing graduates without plans to keep them fully engaged can only compound our security situation.

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