The Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai on Wednesday betrayed emotion as aid was announced for a five-year-old boy, Sadiq Abubakar, whose eyes were gorged out by suspected ritual killers in Zaria last year.
Abubakar, who was then a four-year-old, attended Ango Abdullahi International School, Zaria, at the time of the incident.
However, a Nigeria telecommunications firm, Airtel Nigeria, rekindled Abubakar’s hope under its ‘Employee Volunteer Scheme’ through which he was presented with a cheque of N400,000 for his school fees, a braille machine, typewriter, laptop and an abacus.
It was while the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, was announcing the package that the governor wept.
Ogunsanya made the announcement during the inauguration of the Yahaya Hamza LGEA Primary School in Ungwan Liman, Zaria. He noted that with the donation, Abubakar would be empowered to learn to read and write and “enjoy all opportunities a good education provides.”
He said, “It is tragic and heartbreaking to see an innocent child suffer. We were deeply moved by Sadiq’s (Abubakar) situation and decided to support him.
“Our support will not end here; Sadiq is now our adopted son and he will continue to be our priority and in our prayers.”
While noting that the government alone could not bring about the much needed transformation in the education sector, Ogunsanya announced that the telecoms firm would partner the state in the education sector.
“We believe in good education. It is a ticket to prosperity. It gives opprortunity for everyone to succeed. In recognition of the role that education plays in the development of a community, Airtel Nigeria has decided, as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility, to adopt Yahaya Hamza Primary School in Zaria,” the Airtel boss said.
He added that the primary school in Zaria would join the five other Airtel Nigeria -adopted primary schools spread across the country.
El-Rufai called on other corporate organisations to emulate Airtel Nigeria in order to boost education standard in the state.
