The atmosphere looked like an event in Europe or America but it was actually right in the heart of the Garden City right here in Nigeria where another of 106 scholarships were awarded to Ogoni scholars in various institutions of higher learning in Nigeria to those with Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of not below 3.0.
At the end of the grueling exercise, some of the benefiting students both right there in the hall in Aldgate Congress Hotel on Abacha Road or those on virtual participation spoke one after the other; saying transparency and strictness have been the hallmark of the excise which is in its fourth phase since 2018.
The board of the Kiisi Trust Foundation, led by Uche Onyeagucha, wanted the beneficiaries (students) to be the assessors, just like it is done in most Western societies. And it was like a floodgate of emotions.
One of the early ones to open up was Tuamene King Bekom from the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education (IAUE) in PH who said he is an orphan. Bekom, a student of English/Communication Art profusely thanked the board of Kiisi Trust Foundation for making him a beneficiary. “I was elated to see this because I never thought I would be one of the beneficiaries. This has helped me in so many ways; school fees, books, etc. Some of us are paying our fees by ourselves. For instance, I am an orphan doing all things for myself, but this scholarship has helped me very much to meet up with academic demands. Thank you very much for this. I want to urge you people to keep this up. As you have given us this opportunity, we will surely give back to society.”
Zorkpo Longlife Barididum from Bodo in Gokana LGA, also from IAUE (Natural/Applied Sciences, Computer Science Department) said; “I really appreciate the fact that this has been made available to us. It will not be taken for granted. Thank you very much.”
The Rivers State University (RSU) was in the news few weeks back where students were weeping around the city over a policy that stopped those that had not cleared their fees from writing exams. Gibson Success (Education in Business Education) was to be caught up in the web but the late Ken Saro Wiwa and the other Ogoni martyrs seemed to spring from their graves to save him and some other Ogoni scholars.
On this account, Success said: “I want to thank Kiisi Trust Fund for this opportunity and for making me to be one of the beneficiaries. Thank you for making my dream come true. This policy hit many students hard, but this Kiisi scholarship saved me. I paid the fees and wrote my exams, all due to Kiisi. May God bless Kiisi Trust Fund.”
A hidden culture that Kiisi seems to have built in the comity of Ogoni scholars around Nigeria is hard work at school to win the scholarship and maintain it because falling below the CPGA that brought a beneficiary into the scheme would mean instant exit.
A female beneficiary, Favour Zor-Ol, who hails from Gokana LGA and who studies English/Communication Art at the IAUE said: “To maintain it, I now work very hard. This is a new training for me, to work harder always.
“When I saw that I was selected, I was shocked and very surprised. Now, I am very happy. I want to assure you that this opportunity will not be taken for granted.”
Joy Memegbo Doka from Gokaha LGA (English/Literary Studies, RSU) agreed with Zor-Ol. “I must say thank you. I am happy. When I saw it, I was surprised because it is my first experience to benefit in this kind of thing. It has made me to study harder to meet up the required CGPA.”
Lemon Dumdi, also of IAUE (Accounting in Management Faculty) said: “I want to appreciate the Kiisi Trust Fund for making me a partaker of this. I say a big thank you to everyone making this possible. May God bless you all and continue to replenish the Foundation.”
Thankgod Bariyirasi Paago also thanked the Kiisi Trust Fund and confessed to his own surprises at getting a scholarship award just be merely applying online without knowing anybody. “When I received the new, I was very happy. I want to return thanks to the chairman of this great orgaisation. All my academic successes are now imbedded in this foundation. Looking at my background, I am here to return all thanks to everyone here.”
Queen Elijah Burabari of the RSU from Tai LGA studying Medical Laboratory Science said: “I want to say a very big thank you to Kiisi Foundation. The first day I got the news of being selected for this great opportunity, I called my dad and said I cannot believe this oh. This offer has encouraged me to work harder than before because of the need to maintain the CGPA. Thank you for this good work. We will definitely give back to the society.”
Some of the online participants including Princess Godson from the IAUE and Lesira Dimkpa described the scholarship scheme as a big break for Ogoni youths. They said it was a way of launching Ogoni youths to the world. They particularly pointed at the strict processes and total transparency saying what they knew all their lives was that such favours went to those with deep connections. “Most scholarships are based on man-know-man, but Kiisi has made this possible to get to the real people based only on their academic abilities. I say big thank you to everyone for this”, said Godson.
The executive director, Kiisi Trust Foundation, Lebatam Ndegwe, a medical doctor, who moderated the award event, said the testimonies had moved him almost to tears.
He encouraged Ogoni students in institutions of higher learning to feel encouraged to apply if they met the cut-off CPGA of each year because the awards were meant for true scholars. “Your backgrounds have nothing to do with it. The things you achieve today and the scholarship you win today will make you relevant tomorrow.”
He said most Ogoni persons today came from a history of parents that struggled against many odds.
How Kiisi came to the rescue?
Kiisi Trust Foundation was established from the fund that accrued from a case settled out of court in the US involving killing of Ken Saro Wiwa and the other Ogoni martyrs in the famous Ogoni-9 (hanging of the activists in 1994 by the Sani Abacha regime). The families donated $5m out of the $15.5m they won in the case to reach the soul of Ogoni areas through a well applied method devoid of waste, fraud or acrimony, according to Kiisi officials.
In an overview delivered by one of the board members, Barineme Beke Fakae, and educationist, professor of veterinary medicine and former two-time vice chancellor of the renamed University of Science and Technology (UST), the transformation administrator said one of the thematic areas of the Trust is Education. “The desire of the KTF to see students successfully earn their degrees with the process not so burdensome financially birthed the Ogoni Scholarship Scheme.”
Giving the history, he said the scheme had a slow start probably because of most Nigerians no longer believed that any public trust had any trust. He said it started in 2018 as Ogoni Scholarship Scheme (OSS)with only 33 applications but with 18 selected with a minimum CGPA of 3.5.
He said the processes were, like anything done by Kiisi, treated with strict criteria but was awarded only to final years students in that pilot stage. ”The CGPA was reviewed by the Board of to a minimum of 2.5 during the second phase in the 2019/2020 academic session. The total number of applications received increased to 672 from which a total of 346 students were selected as beneficiaries.
“In the third phase, the same CGPA of 2.5 was maintained and the Trust received 2008 applications out of which a total of 295 scholarships were awarded to Ogoni students in higher institutions of learning across Nigeria.
“With an increase in the number of applications received and the limited funds available, the Board decided to review the required CGPA to be eligible to apply to 3.0 in this fourth phase of the scholarship this year. We received a total of 359 applications. After a thorough screening of applicants by Optimum Resources Management (ORM) the scholarship facilitators, the Trust awarded scholarships to 106 students of various categories.
“The Kiisi Trust Foundation currently has a total of 436 beneficiaries. We hope that you all will be good ambassadors of the Scholarship Scheme and use the opportunity judiciously.”
The chairman of the board (Onyeagucha), who was represented by BB Fakae, said the Trust’s belief that education is critical to the development of Ogoni birthed the Ogoni Scholarship Scheme (OSS) which he said has ensured that students successfully earn their degrees with relieved financial burdens.
Since inception, he said, the OSS has received a total of 3,073 applications and awarded a total of 765 scholarships. Right now, only 436 scholars are still currently in schools.
“The guiding principle has been “Scholarship for Scholars”. Because of this, the buzz word has been “transparency” and this is why the results of the scholarship are published yearly with the scholars’ CGPAs. This has made the scholarship very competitive and we congratulate those who have been recipients of the Kiisi Trust Foundation scholarship. The Trust looks forward to the contribution of the Kiisi Trust Scholars to the development of Ogoni in the years ahead.
“The Trust is already developing a database of its alumni for the sake of assisting those who seek further postgraduate studies in partnering institutions overseas, who have bought into the vision of Kiisi Trust Foundation.”
A professor in the RSU, Friday Sigalo, was on hand to support the processes while some other board members, observers and technical experts who were also present at the event were Baribi Karikpo, Dazia karikpo, and the consultant, Anthony Chovwen (PhD).
