Sepeteri’s Brightest Rewarded as TOMEB Foundation Marks 15th Scholarship Awards

Funke Olaode

There is a kind of leadership that begins long before anyone asks for it. It begins at a desk in a public secondary school in Sepeteri where a child with the marks but without the means decides to keep going. On Friday, October 16, 2026, that kind of leadership took the centre stage at Sepeteri Town Hall in Saki East Local Government Area of Oyo State as TOMEB Foundation held the 15th edition of its Scholarship Award and Lecture.

As part of the event, themed “Education for Impact: Building Tomorrow’s Leaders,” saw eight scholars honoured as the theme was reflected at the occasion, rather than as a slogan hung above the stage. The impact of education as a poignant tool for tomorrow’s leaders was felt all around as the scholars were called forward to receive their awards. It is a labour of love that TOMEB Foundation has sustained in the community, with the scheme dating all the way back to 2012.

The occasion was chaired by Dr ‘Bade Adeshina, Chairman of Health Assur Ltd as two Guest Speakers delivered lectures: Professor Y. K. Yusuf of the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Alhaji Bashir Tayo Lawal, FCTI, CNA, a Deputy Director/Tax Controller at the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).

Established to promote issues, activities and programmes that will energise individuals and communities to be economically self-sustaining and environmentally friendly, TOMEB Foundation strives to assist the youth to realise and utilise their potential, be exemplary in their conduct and become change agents in the society. To achieve this, the foundation employs education and enterprise development to help young people overcome barriers and achieve meaningful social and personal economic goals.

TOMEB Foundation began with a conviction shaped by the experiences of its founders, Dr Ahmed ‘Tunde Popoola and his wife, Mrs Mariam Mojisola Popoola. Familiar with how much promise is lost when a bright child attends a public school short of qualified teachers and starved of textbooks and laboratories, they set out with a scholarship scheme for brilliant students from indigent homes. Beginning from the 2012/2013 academic session, it was targeted at the most delicate point of their schooling: the three years of senior secondary school.

The scholarship meets the cost of uniforms, core textbooks and official fees for all three years provided the school principal reports satisfactory performance and conduct through the duration. According to the founders, the terms were strict: a scholar must be among the best students in JSS 3, must be indigent and must be of sound character and selection is by written test and oral interview before a committee.

This means the final choice is made anchored on no factor other than merit. Despite the founders insisting on the addition of at least two girls every year as part of inclusion, they have nto had to enforce the rule because girls kept qualifying on their own merit.

At this year’s awards ceremony, the co-founder of the foundation, an accomplished Nigerian Banker, Accountant, Economist, Entreprenuer, Business Executive who sits at the helms of CRC Credit Bureau as its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Dr Ahmed Babatunde Popoola popularly known as ‘Dr. Tunde Popoola in his opening remarks extolled the virtues of the indigent’s scholar’s resilience. “It is our pleasure to welcome you all to the 15th Scholarship Award and Lecture of TOMEB Foundation. To our chairman for today, Dr Bade Adeshina; our guest lecturers, Professor Y. K. Yusuf and Alhaji Bashir Tayo Lawal; our scholars and their parents; our partners, friends and well-wishers of the Foundation; and everyone gathered here at the Town Hall, Sepeteri, thank you for taking the time to join us today.

To Dr. Popoola who himself have acquired education from the best global institutions, impacting lives is the best one can give to humanity particularly the less privileged because education is the only liberator from the shackles of poverty. Again, that is how the chain of poverty is broken through education and a dignifying job.

Speaking…“Fifteen years ago, my wife and I began with a simple belief that where a child is born should never limit how far they can dream. And so, in life we had witnessed, both in our own journeys and in the communities around us, how much talent goes unnoticed simply because a gifted child happened to arrive in the wrong place at the wrong time, without access to books, without a mentor, without anyone to give them the quiet assurance that they mattered. TOMEB Foundation grew out of that conviction. What started as a small effort to support five students across three schools here in Sepeteri has, over fifteen years, become a growing family of more than 106 scholars, many of whom have since gone on to become graduates, working professionals, and mentors themselves to the next generation coming up behind them.

Dr. Popoola further expressed joy at seeing the evolution that has become the lot of scholars through the years. “When we look back across these fifteen years, the numbers alone tell a story worth pausing on. We have walked with scholars through every academic session since 2012, seen classes as small as five grow into cohorts of twelve, and watched young boys and girls move from the classrooms of Community High School, Muslim Grammar School, and Obalufon Grammar School into universities, polytechnics, and colleges of health technology and colleges of education across this country. We are proud to say that over 80 percent of our scholars have gone on to gain admission into higher institutions, a figure that sits at the very heart of what this scheme set out to achieve. We have seen them return, sometimes in their graduation gowns, sometimes simply with a phone call to say thank you, and those moments have been the truest measure of what this Foundation set out to do. But beyond the certificates and the admission letters lies something harder to put a figure on, the confidence we have watched take root in a child who once doubted whether such a future was even available to someone like them.”

“No one builds a leader alone. This scheme has lasted fifteen years because teachers, parents, panelists and well-wishers kept believing in these children. We are grateful to every one of them. TOMEB Foundation will keep opening doors but it is what you do once you walk through them that will define you.” Dr Popoola, added.

By the 2021/2022 session the Foundation had supported 60 scholars across Community High School, Muslim Grammar School and Obalufon Grammar School in Sepeteri, 32 of which were girls. To measure the success of the scheme, many of the beneficiaries have gone on higher institutions, with 17 higher institutions across Nigeria, including the Federal University of Technology, Minna; University of Abuja; Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho.

Today, the objective of the scheme is being achieved and impact felt across different touchpoints. Apart from over 80 percent of TOMEB scholars having gained admission into higher institutions, the mentoring and coaching through capacity-building workshops and one-on-one business clinics with experienced practitioners are bearing fruits in multiple proportions. Between 2012 and 2015, the foundation has represented Nigeria in the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and produced the country’s reports for 2013 to 2015. In 2015, TOMEB Foundation joined ExxonMobil and Shell to host an empowerment day for final-year students of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos.

Nobody builds leaders alone. Behind every cohort stands a company of volunteers: panelists who have included a retired permanent secretary and retired principals; coordinators who have organised the written tests and interviews and run the programme on the ground in Sepeteri; sponsors who have taken on candidates and resource persons who have given their time to the scholars. The Foundation’s own record of thanks in its 10th edition booklet ran to eighteen names.

Although the awards are given in a single day, the impact runs through years and decades as leaders are built across years by teachers who nominate their best pupils, interviewers who judge them fairly and parents who protect their children’s study time also play their part.

The platform for the day was chosen with the theme in mind. Dr Adeshina brought more than three decades of experience in Nigerian finance spanning commercial and investment banking and pension management while Professor Yusuf has long been a mentor to the Foundation’s founders while Alhaji Lawal represents the public service that keeps a nation’s institutions funded and functioning. This represents finance, scholarship and public service: three core areas of nation building.

Eight students from Community High School, Muslim Grammar School and Obalufon Grammar School, Sepeteri, received scholarships for the 2026/2027 academic session, made up of five girls and three boys. They are Oyesola Deborah and Oyesola Dorcas, both from Community High School and Adeleke Aishat, Muftau Aishat, Olayinka Sodiq, Usman Aishat, Sefiu Abdurahman and Muideen Jamiu, all from Muslim Grammar School.

In celebration of 15th edition of TOMEB Foundation’s scholarship awards, some of the past scholars have shared how the scholarship has shaped their educational journey, personal growth, and future aspirations. In his testimony, Abdulazeez Aminu, the first undergraduate scholarship awardee, of Federal University of Technology, Minna, said being the first undergraduate scholarship recipient of TOMEB Foundation is one of the biggest milestones in his life so far.

“At a time when the Foundation was known mainly for supporting students at the secondary-school level, having the opportunity to continue my education at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, with TOMEB’s support was both a great privilege and a responsibility. The scholarship meant much more to me than financial support. It relieved a significant part of the financial pressure that came with my university education and allowed me to focus more fully on my studies. More than that, it gave me confidence and motivated me to become more responsible about my education and my future. Knowing that someone believed in me enough to invest in my education made me want to work harder and make the opportunity count,” he said while expressing gratitude to Dr. Popoola and Mrs. Popoola.

Also, Daniel Temiloluwa Oyesola, the 2020/2021 Beneficiary, said: “Being a beneficiary of the TOMEB Foundation scholarship has been a meaningful part of my academic journey. The support I received went beyond financial assistance, it gave me the opportunity to focus more on my education and pursue my academic goals with confidence.

The scholarship also changed my mentality. It taught me to value opportunities, remain committed to my goals, and understand that my background or challenges should not determine how far I can go. It motivated me to work harder, believe more in myself, and strive for excellence.

Today, as a 400-level student of Nutrition and Dietetics at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), I can look back and appreciate how much the support has contributed to my journey. I am deeply grateful to TOMEB Foundation for believing in young people like me and investing in our future. I hope that one day, I will also be in a position to give back and positively impact someone else’s life, just as TOMEB Foundation has impacted mine.”

For Edwin Goodluck Emmanuel, the 2025/2026 Beneficiary, the testimony is even more effusive. “I am deeply grateful to the TOMEB Foundation for the positive impact they have had on my life. Being one of the beneficiaries has been a great privilege and has given me support and opportunities that I truly appreciate.

Your kindness, generosity, and commitment to empowering young people have made a meaningful difference in my journey. I sincerely appreciate all the efforts and sacrifices you put into changing lives and giving people like me hope for a better future. Thank you, TOMEB Foundation, for believing in me and investing in my future. May God continue to bless the foundation and everyone behind it,” he stated.

The Foundation has long hoped to carry the scheme beyond the three Sepeteri schools to other schools in Oyo State and in time to other states as much as resources allow. In fifteen years of TOMEB Foundation, the biggest lesson indicates that leadership is not conferred at the end of an education; it is built into it year after year, one scholar at a time.