Airtel Nigeria has joined the league of pace setters in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) space in the country, having successfully initiated some moves targeted at lifting Nigerians out of poverty line.
The telecoms giant insists that it is not only interested in tapping into the huge Nigerian market but is also interested in changing the fortunes of the Nigerians at the low rung of the ladder,
“We believe in making money, but beyond this, we believe in supporting the poor,” said Segun Ogunsanya, Airtel Nigeria’s managing director and chief executive officer, while donating gift items to Arrow of God Orphanage, at Ajah, Lagos.
“At Airtel, we have the philosophy of sharing and giving back. We have educational programmes we have done in Lagos, Kwara and Cross River. We also support teachers,” Ogunsanya said.
According to him, the telecoms giant also has a programme known as ‘Touching Lives’ targeted at lifting the majority of Nigerians out of poverty.
“What we do is to nominate people that need support. Once we identify them, we support them. We do not do this for glory sake but to support,” the Airtel Nigeria CEO said.
The Airtel’s latest visit, which took place before Christmas, presented an opportunity for the company to outline its passion for the weakest poor and less privileged.
“We individually donated our money for this visit,” said the Airtel CEO.
“We will continue to support Nigerians in any way we can,” he added.
David Ogo-Tsegah, director, Arrow of God Orphanage, called for support from corporate organisation to come to assistance to ensure that children in the orphanage attend school, adding that it costs between N50, 000 and N80, 000 per term at the lowest end to achieve this per term.
“We hope that this partnership with Airtel continues,” he said.
Also, customers have commended Airtel Nigeria for rewarding Nigerians through the on-going Red Hot Promo Season 3.
The Red Hot promo, which kicked off recently has given opportunities for some customers to win an all-expense paid trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) while others have N1 million naira cash and fantastic prizes.
Habeeb Adepoju, a student in Ijebu, Ogun State, who won N1million, said: “I appreciate the company for making me a proud customer on the network. I commend Airtel for rewarding their customers with the promo.”
Eze Sonlove, a driver with a hospital in Lagos; Nwankwo Ferdinand, a trader at Iyana-Iba market; Fashola Peter, a civil servant in Lagos, who all won cash prize of N1million each through the promo, expressed appreciation to the company.
Eight winners have just returned to Nigeria from Dubai after enjoying the all-expense paid trip with their families and friends. According to the winners, the trip took them to exciting places in Dubai such as Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in Dubai, Dubai Mall, Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi and the Safari Desert.
A Lagos-based business woman, Victoria Obi, who emerged winner in the promo, selected her three kids, Mariam, Michael and Raphael to travel with her on the Dubai trip.
“The Airtel Red Hot Promo 3 came at the right time. My children are so excited to go on the wonderful trip to Dubai. It was not an easy decision for me to pick just three family members for the trip, but my husband willingly suggested that our three children should go. We really appreciate the Dubai trip courtesy of Airtel. We thank the network for rewarding their customers with this programme,” Obi said.
A web developer/entrepreneur, Nnamdi Oji, chose his friends Henry White, Joy Njoku and Cynthia Edokwe. Oji said: “I am really excited with this amazing trip to Dubai. I experienced the sight and sound of the much talked about city. I went with my friends and workmates. I say a big thank you to Airtel Nigeria for offering me this wonderful opportunity.”
The company said apart from the Dubai trip, which is for a total of 240 people, other prizes await Airtel customers. It noted that as the promo runs from 4th of December to 1st of February, one smart phone is given out every 24 hour. One million naira is also given on a daily basis to a lucky winner and a different denomination of airtime is given to thousands of winners each day.
ODINAKA ANUDU
