YAQOUB POPOOLA
The venue of this year’s edition of the Wole Olanipekun Foundation (WOF) Scholarship Award and Empowerment scheme almost turned to prayer and appreciation session as beneficiaries, as well as dignitaries shower appreciation and offered prayers for the founder and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Wole Olanipekun for his undying spirit in lifting the underprivileged in the society.
The event was the 27th edition of the Scholarship Award and 4th Empowerment Programme held at Ikere-Ekiti, the country home of the legal icon.
The guests and participants celebrated the impactful life of mentorship and social interventions of the legal luminary and immediate past chairman, Body of Benchers.
High profile politicians, including the leader of Senate, Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji and his deputy, Mrs. Monisade Afuye acknowledged and commended his commitment and consistency.
The foundation, which is growing in leaps and bounds, lifted over 1050 beneficiaries in the 2023 edition. Of these numbers, 250 Students benefited from the scholarship schemes ranging from Secondary Schools to University/Law School Education levels.
100 youths were included in the Entrepreneurship Grant of N50,000 each in addition to this, 100 aged women and widows got grants of N30,000 each.
This year’s event came with another pleasant twist and flavour with the addition of 600 palliative beneficiaries which is beyond the normal annual beneficiaries.
The beneficiaries empowerment cut across the 11 wards, religious institutions and trade associations in Ikere annually with painstaking screening due diligence and without bias or any influence by the promoter.
The beneficiaries, according to the organisers, don’t need to know anybody to benefit. Knowing anybody doesn’t guarantee the criteria.
Interestingly, Olanipekun’s philanthropic gestures had gone beyond community development to donations of enduring edifices to schools, religious and professional bodies.
For instance the Ikere branch of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) wouldn’t forget in a hurry how Olanipekun assisted it with an imposing and well-furnished Bar Centre.
To go with the centre is a multimedia platform, generator and air-conditioners. He moved further by paying practicing fees for the lawyers in the branch for three years.
The health sector is not left out as the legal icon reached out to the Ikere State Specialist Hospital where he built and equipped a health care facility in memory of his late mother, Madam Lydia Abosede Olanipekun.
This singular intervention has accorded the general hospital the status of a Teaching Hospital, as it has been accredited by the Nigeria Medical Council for “Housemanship”.
Olanipekun gave the facility a life of its own by providing an ambulance, engaging five staff, including a cleaner, gardener and nurses with the promise that he would pay their salary for a year.
The legal icon built and donated a vicarage to the Anglican Church on Ado Ekiti road in Ikere Ekiti in memory of his late father.
Bearing in mind the place of information and communication technology in today’s school curriculum, Olanipekun, who was installed the Asiwaju (leader) of Ikere Ekiti, had few years ago moved to his alma mater, Amoye Grammar School, Ikere Ekiti where he donated an ICT centre for the students.
However, the most recent was the donation of 1,600 capacity church edifice and establishment of private radio code-named New Cruise FM, Ikere-Ekiti.
Acknowledging Olanipekun’s contribution in fighting poverty, Governor Oyebanji while congratulating Olanipekun also described him as one of greatest Ekiti men and lawyers in Nigeria today.
The governor affirmed that Chief Olanipekun, through his heart of gold has mentored many Nigerians who have reached the pinnacles of their chosen careers.
Oyebanji who also described himself as one of the mentees of Olanipekun said Ekiti, and indeed, Nigeria is blessed to have the caliber of the legal icon. The governor also promised to regularly attend the annual programme in and out of office.
Oyebanji said the best way the beneficiaries can show appreciation was to also impact on the lives of others by utilising the grants properly and judiciously.
In his speech, Chief Olanipekun disclosed that the economic crisis has assumed a global dimension calling on Nigerians to rise to occasion and give back to the society.
The foremost lawyer and immediate past chairman, body of benchers warned that the current hardship, particularly in Nigeria, could exacerbate the transfer of aggression among frustrated Nigerians which no one, including the rich, would not be spared from its dire consequences.
He said that the primary aim of the empowerment initiative is to help the youths realise their potential through self-awareness, giving hope to the aged and propagating good life through grants.
Speaking in parables, Olanipekun said “If you are sleeping and snoring in your house and you care less about your neighbor, the cries of your neighbours will wake you up one day and you may not be able to sleep again. We have a lot of people that are hungry, thirsty, and poverty stricken in the society. We have to lift up souls. The essence of today is, how do we add value to humanity?
“How essential it is to lift people up from their ugly and terrible situations. I came from this environment and I have been trying to lift people, help them to grow and be lifted. It takes grace to give, it takes grace to recognise people that are in need.
“The essence of humanity is to add value to lives,” He stressed that, there are lots of hungry people who have been affected by the economic downturn, as such, he called for more collaborations from well-meaning Nigerians.
“There is a transfer of aggression against people like you and I in society today, and that is what we need to address.
In a situation where we have almost 50 percent of people who are strikingly poor, and another 20 percent are losing their jobs, while only the remaining 30 percent are the ones saying they are okay. Then, we must do something to avert the unexpected situation.
The founder WOF expressed the doubt if there is any one in the country today, who can boldly say that he or she is okay.
Olanipekun explained that “the various empowerment initiatives aimed at bringing the best out of our youths to realise their given potential through the various annual grants and awards haven’t only galvanised the beneficiaries over the years to channel their energies productively by adding values to themselves and the society, but all they also have is extension been adding values to others, and living lives meaningfully.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria used the occasion to appreciate governor Oyebanji for his People centred developmental programmes.
“Our governor is a true “Omoluabi” by every description. I want to reiterate my call on all Ekiti people, since you assumed office that we have no alternative than to give and extend to you our unflinching support and assistance.
It’s not a question of party politics as a good number of us are not politicians, but simply allegiance to our home state. It has pleased God to make a level-headed person and personae of your species our chief executive officer at this point in time. May you attain more success than all your predecessors and take Ekiti to our envisaged Canaan.
“Once more, I specifically acknowledge the dignified presence of our highly supportive Governor, His Excellency, Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji.
I recall, Mr. Governor, when I put a telephone call across to you on Wednesday, 15th November, 2023, politely reminding you of today’s event, and you reacted, almost instantly, that ‘it was you who should be reminding me of the event!’ That is the kind of Governor Ekiti is blessed with: a respected, respectable, humble, humane, amiable, modest, courteous, polite, civil and charismatic. ” Olanipekun said
In his remarks, the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Bamidele commended the initiative, saying that he is glad to be part of the programme.
“Today’s event is the confirmation of a true and age-long philosophy that no ‘man owns himself to himself alone’. Every man owes himself probably to his immediate family, community or society and that is what Chief Wole Olanipekun has demonstrated today. I am glad to be a part of it as it is a call for all of us to give back to society,” he said.
The ceremony was graced by creme de la creme of the society and some top traditional rulers in Ekiti State led by the Ogoga of Ikere, Oba Adejimi Adu.
On his entourage were the Alara of Aramoko,Oba Olu Adeyrmi, the Oloye of Oye Kingdom, Oba Ademoloju Adegbole.
Others were; the Ajero of Ijero ,Oba Adebayo Adewole and Alaaye of Efon Kingdom, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare .
The Ogoga expressed the community’s appreciation to Chief Olanipekun for always willing and ready to give back.
Oba Adejimi disclosed Olanipekun’s academic brilliance as a student and encouraged him to seek admission at the University of Lagos in those days.
The monarch enjoined his subjects to always show love and prayed for Olanipekun so that he would live long in the service of
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