The Rex Mafiana Foundation, which seeks to empower talented youths to achieve their dreams while providing financial support to enable the underprivileged to get access to quality education was launched on June 3, 2023, at Civic Center in Lagos.
Rex Mafiana, founder of the foundation, thanked those who honoured the invitation, noting that the passion for quality and affordable education is felt by many Nigerians.
According to him, the statistics for education in Nigeria are bad. To make matters worse, he said, what we even think we know is the tip of the iceberg as it does not tally.
“I did not come from a gold background myself. I know what education did for me. I was quite a brilliant boy in Enugu in primary school. I know that my best friend ended up a truck pusher, and this was because his parents couldn’t pay his way even to secondary school.
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“We don’t have enough data and even the data we have is bad. If we extrapolate, it will give you a clear picture of how bad the situation is. And that is why some of us have been trying to do this,” he said.
He further added that the idea behind the foundation is to catch young Nigerians early and provide an equal playing ground for them in the future.
Also speaking, Khadijat Abdukadir, CEO, Xerde Technologies, noted that the cause is really dear to her because it is touching something that she thinks is very important to us as a people.
“The Rex Mafiana Foundation endears itself to children and talented young people from underprivileged backgrounds. With the Rex Mafiana Foundation, we are focusing on an issue that affects our future because when young people are not catered for, when their future is not taken care of, there is no future,” she said.
The ceremony also featured a panel discussion on the topic, ‘Access to Quality Education; Bridging the Barrier’.
The panelists included; Amaka Awogu, executive director, Child Dignity Foundation; Foyinsola Akinjayeju, managing director, Bridge International Academies Foundation; Valentine Ozigbo, an accomplished business executive and immediate past CEO of Transcorp PLC, and Amabelle Nwakanma, director of programmes, LEAP Africa and moderator of the session.
At the end of the panel discussion, it was agreed that to make education qualitative, accessible and affordable, all hands have to be on deck.
Among the guests who graced the launch were; Sir Ndukwe Osogho-Ajala, CEO of Soulmate Industries Ltd, Kayode Falowo, chairman, Greenwich Group, Jalo-Waziri Haruna, MD/CEO, CSCS Plc and a host of others.
