Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, today, March 8, flew to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, with his wife, Dolapo, where he celebrated his 66th birthday.
Professor Osinbajo settled with the Children’s Trust and Learning Centre in Maiduguri, an educational charity he initiated. It is a private sector-led charity and social engineering initiative incorporated in 2017 with a mission to create innovative, transformational sustainable learning ecosystems that will nurture, renew and empower vulnerable children between ages 5 and 18 years who have become orphans as a result of the insurgency in North-East Nigeria.
It has provided comprehensive support to 686 orphans and vulnerable children through accommodation, feeding, quality education and rehabilitative psychosocial support.
The Vice President reassured the staff and children of the institution of his commitment to keep providing world class facilities that would make them the best among their peers, regardless of the prevailing socioeconomic conditions.
“All of you children who are here, one thing that is very certain is that, God giving me good health and preserving my life, I will ensure that you get the very best. However it is, we will do everything possible to make sure that you get the very best, because that is the promise and pledge that we made when we started.”
Professor Osinbajo said: “My wife and I consider the children of this school our own children; we want to give them the kind of education that our own children have had, which is why everything that is being done here is done to the best standards available anywhere in the world.
“If you look at the quality of staff here, quality of equipment and facilities, they are among the best in the world and we keep trying to ensure that our teachers have the best exposure that is possible anywhere in the world. And as we go along, you will see that it can only get better.
“So, for me, this school is a very personal thing indeed. I pray and I hope that we will be able to do more and more for these children and for many others as they pass through this school.
“What we intend to do in this school as the years go by is to ensure that this school is a model for the world. I was so excited to hear that a number of our children have gone to secondary school and a couple into the university, and I believe one or two will be graduates this year or next. We are going to make sure that our kids get the best education that you can find anywhere in the world. I am looking forward to when children from here will compete and beat children from Harvard and other places around the world.”
Earlier today, in the morning, family members and personal staff had joined Professor Osinbajo and his wife at Aguda House to give thanks to God, singing and reading bible passages. There was also a special ministration from popular gospel artist, Dunsin Oyekan.
