By Abayomi peke
A former chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, has called on well to do people to come to the aid of indigent, but brilliant, students in the country
speaking at the 25th Edition of his Scholarship Scheme, Christensened “Chief Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme”, at his country home , Ikere Ekiti ,the formost lawyer stressed the need for wealthy Nigerians to come to aid of the downtrodden.
He said “It is incumbent upon me to, once again, reiterate the fact that we are nothing without others. This truism of life is summed up in Luke 6:31 thus: we rise by lifting others up”.
Chief Olanipekun expressed joy that the scholarship scheme he started in 1996 with six secondary schools as pioneering beneficiaries had metamorphosed into a big oak.
He said “through God’s benevolence, what started as a small scale and indigenous focused scheme, has grown in leaps and bounds, and has transcends the original idea of its primogenitor”.
According to him, over 1000 students from his home town, Ikere, have been assisted by the scheme within the silver jubilee period, while students from other local government areas in Ekiti State also benefitted from the scheme.
Chief Olanipekun pointed out that the scholarship scheme cut across students of secondary and tertiary institutions, including students in the Law School.
Highlighting this year’s edition of the scheme, the chairman Board of Trustees of Chief Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme, Mr S. S. Omoyeni, said each of the undergraduate students was given a cheque of one hundred thousand naira in addition to beneficiaries from Law School and people living with disability.
Mr Omoyeni added that the scheme had helped many people to achieve their educational plans.
He said “the exercise has gone successfully through 25 consecutive years, I think this deserves appreciation to the donor”.
