After about 33 years, Mr. Sijibomi Ogundele, Managing Director of Sujimoto Construction, returns to his old Primary School in Agege and gives 50 pupils a lifetime scholarship.
At the occasion, Mr. Ogundele brought tears of joy to the faces of the students and teachers of New Oko-oba Primary School, Agege as the Sujimoto CSR train made a stopover bearing bags of gifts and goodies.
Speaking at the occasion, the MD/CEO of Sujimoto said, “As human, we must never forget that, we have two hands – one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. If your Neighbour is hungry, your chicken is not safe; our tithe at Sujimoto goes directly to people who need it the most. For us, giving back goes beyond CSR, it’s an obligation.”
The feeling of nostalgia and excitement began to wane when during an inspection of the school facilities, Ogundele realised that in a school of about 700 students and over 26 classrooms, only three classes had desks and chairs. The others are plain empty and the students have to sit on the bare floor. Also, out of four toilets, only one is functional.
Moved by the deplorable state of facilities in the school, Ogundele pledge to provide the school with sufficient desks and chairs, and renovate the deplorable toilets.
According to him, “Every year, we shall take a part of our profits and give back to different public schools, like Ijebu Ode Grammar School, Model College Meiran, Zaria to Jos and many other schools, because for us at Sujimoto, giving back is an obligation.”
He challenged the students to dream big, embrace Integrity and be an ambassador for generosity. With over 1,000 gift packs distributed among the overly excited students and the passionate teachers, Sujimoto brought renewed hope and confidence on the faces of the students and teachers.
On a final note, Ogundele encouraged Nigerians to invest in helping to develop the capacity of our youthful population whichever way they can.
In his words, “We know the government is doing a lot already but it is not enough. We call on every citizen to join hands and help invest in our nation’s greatest asset – human capital.”
