FCCPC CEO seeks private support for public education
By Chukwuma Umeorah
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Minister of Education, Dr. Moruf Olatunji Alausa and former Ogun State governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, have commended the Vice Chairman/CEO of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Mr. Olatunji Bello, for his significant contributions to education and human development.
The accolades flowed during the formal handing over ceremony of the 550-capacity ultra-modern facility named Olatunji-Bello Auditorium donated by the former two-term environment commissioner to the Epe Campus of the Lagos State University (LASU) to enhance educational infrastructure and contribute meaningfully to society.
Governor Sanwo-Olu praised Bello’s vision and described the donation as a remarkable gesture towards academic excellence and public service. He equally commended his persistence despite the economic climate.
“Despite the challenges you encountered while carrying out this project, you remained resilient and you stayed the course.
“This modern facility is more than just a building. It is a beacon of knowledge, a place of cultural exchange and intellectual engagement that will enrich the learning environment of LASU and inspire students to greater excellence. We have space, we have land, and this university can take more. Let this be a point of contact for others with means to come forward with endowments and donations that will strengthen LASU and empower the next generation,” the governor said.
Minister of Education, Alausa, described the edifice as a living testament to the power of an individual commitment to public good and urged philanthropists, alumni and corporate organisations to follow suit. “Education is the bedrock of national transformation and our collective efforts, such as this, will shape a brighter tomorrow for our children.”
In his remarks, Aremo Osoba lauded Bello for his selfless investment in education and described the project as a gift that would benefit generations to come. He praised the FCCPC boss as a man of honour who remains committed to uplifting society.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, praised the donation, noting that it complemented her husband’s long-running annual prizes for LASU’s best graduating students in Engineering, Sciences, Mass Communication, Law and Medicine. She said the facility marked a major boost for the Epe campus which houses the faculties of Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Agriculture.
She also highlighted LASU’s wider infrastructural needs, including new faculty buildings and reliable electricity supply. She appealed to government and alumni to support the extension of a 33 KVA line to Epe to ease the institution’s heavy reliance on generators and self-generated solar supply.
For Mr. Bello, building the edifice was not a stroll in the park. He recalled how he had to turn down a lavish 60th birthday and a brand new Toyota Land-cruiser Jeep gift to raise funds for the project. He also recounted how inflation and naira depreciation almost derailed it. Apart from seeking additional funding from friends and well-meaning individuals when the costs tripled, he had to sell his property at the highbrow Magodo Estate to keep the workers on site in order that it may not become an abandoned project after three years of construction.
Mr. Bello, senior journalist, lawyer, administrator and former Secretary to the Government (SSG) said the project, conceived as part of his 60th birthday in 2021 was aimed at bridging infrastructure gaps in public universities. He stressed that the government alone cannot bear the burden of funding higher education and therefore pressed for stronger private backing for public universities.
“…this is my humble way of supporting the argument that public purpose is served better by helping public universities fill the infrastructural gap.
“Certainly, the government alone cannot do it. Private individuals who really have the means should invest in public tertiary education to create more opportunities as prevalent in several developed countries.”
The auditorium features a 550-seater hall with pocket writing platforms for teaching and seminars; an overhead gallery, a stage with support rooms, three mergeable 30-seater classrooms, and offices. He added that the auditorium was built to global standards and incorporates local contemporary design elements inspired by Adire textile patterns.
As he handed over the project, an elated Mr. Bello said: “Without wishing to sound sanctimonious or all-righteous, one point I like to seize this moment to make is the consequential choice between transient enjoyment and posterity. Thus, by choosing to invest the money through sowing the seed in the vineyard of knowledge, I believe we are invariably preserving my 60th birthday cake in a way that it will be shared and savoured by many generations to come.
“Besides, this is my humble way of supporting the argument that public purpose is served better by helping public universities fill the infrastructural gap.
“Certainly, the government alone cannot do it. Private individuals who really have the means should invest in public tertiary education to create more opportunities as prevalent in several developed countries.
“To the students soon to start benefiting from this auditorium in the production of ideas, let me say a few words of advice. I hope you would draw inspiration from the words of the great American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, we engraved on the marble at the entrance. That, ‘Investment in education pays the best interest.” No truer words have ever been said or spoken.”
An to the students, he said: “As you begin to take your seat and hear the voices of your lecturers echo through the Public Address System, I sincerely hope this auditorium will inspire you to double your zeal to excel in your academic pursuit and become the next Ayodele Awojobi, Wole Soyinka, Chike Obi, Isa Abubakar, Oluwasanmi, OlikoyeRansome-Kuti, Ojetunji Aboyade, among other academic giants in our history. As parents, our fervent prayer is that you will be greater than us. Technology has indeed made the world a global village. In our time, the idea of a library was a space filled with books, requiring you to walk a distance from the hostel.
“Today, the library is on your palm, at the click of your phone, providing you vast information on anything under the sun. So, you have no excuse or reason not to excel.”
