Etisalat Rewards 72 Students for Academic Excellence

L-R:  Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, 

Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko; Director-General, Nationa

l Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), 

Dr. Umar Bindir; Deputy, Dean of Students, Ahmadu Bello 

University, Zaria, Dr. Yusuf Ahmed; and Director, Brands and 

Communications, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Enitan Denloye at

 the 2013 Etisalat Merit Awards in Abuja

Nigeria’s most innovative telecommunications company, Etisalat celebrated academic excellence in the northern part of the country by rewarding 72 university undergraduates through its education empowerment scheme, the Etisalat Merit Awards at a presentation ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja last week. The award scheme currently in its 5^th year is a reaffirmation of the company’s commitment to impacting and improving the quality of education in Nigeria.

At the 2013 Annual Merit Awards, deserving undergraduates and their institutions received cash rewards for academic excellence and for procurement of educational materials respectively. The awardees were students of Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Science and Management courses in their second and third year of study of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, University of Abuja, Bayero University, Kano; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Benue State University, Makurdi; Usmanu Dan Fodio University, Sokoto; and Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Kebbi.

Speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steven Evans emphasized the importance of education to a nation, and pointed out that statistics has revealed that out of the 41 percent of Nigerian citizens that are youths, only a fraction are students. He stressed that education remains a powerful tool for change that could facilitate the economic advancement of any nation. “Dynamic economies that have emerged in the last fifty years have done so on the back of heavy investment in education. It is with this in mind that we at Etisalat have committed to supporting the government in improving the educational system in Nigeria,” he said.

 “The essence of the Merit Awards is to offer the best university students in partner institutions a grant towards the successful completion of their courses of study; taking care of their financial burden and enabling them to concentrate on their programs, thereby achieving excellence,” said Evans who was represented at the event by the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko.

According to him, over 800 scholarships have been awarded under the Merit Awards Scheme, as the company continues to build on its core CSR platform of empowering Nigerian youths to obtain qualitative education. “It is not only about establishing ourselves as a business, we also believe in giving back to the society we operate in and we believe that we are able to do this through the Merit Awards”, he added.

One of the awardees, a 200 level Management Sciences student of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Miss Abdullahi Binta Fulani, visibly elated at her grant said she is more motivated to work harder and urged other students to study hard so they can benefit from the Award. She thanked Etisalat and commended the company on its interest in the Nigerian youth, particularly in the area of education.

Also at the event the Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dr. Umar Bindir commended Etisalat for sustaining their efforts at improving quality education in Nigeria. He said that the company was not just being responsible but investing in the lives of the students through the grants. 

The event also featured a life-changing seminar by motivational speaker, Niyi Adesanya, a debate competition among students from the universities present and a musical performance by the second-runner up of the Etisalat-sponsored Nigerian Idol Season 3, Safeeyah. Other notable personalities present at the occasion include, a representative of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Consumer Affairs, Mrs. Emilia Nwokoro; Deputy Director, NOTAP, Mr. Sam Eneanya; and Deputy Vice