14th May, 2022
By Funmilola Gboteku/Oku Offiong
The wife of Ogun governor, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, has commended Airtel Nigeria for assisting the underprivileged and physically challenged members of the society through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
Abiodun commended the telecommunications company on Friday in Lagos, during the premiere of the Season 6 ‘Airtel Touching Lives’, a philanthropic programme sponsored by Airtel Nigeria.
She said that in the area of bridging gap and providing access to quality education, training physically challenged children and helping the less privileged people in the society, Airtel had covered a lot of ground.
“I urge other organisations to step up and take the challenge in supporting children with special needs and the less privileged in the society because it is the right thing to do.
“It is necessary for us to demonstrate kindness and express our humanity to those who are in need,” she said.
Abiodun said, “In Ogun State, we relate to a lot of people in the grassroots through our office and the Ajose Foundation.”
She noted that when assistance was provided to those in need, no matter how little, they would be able to do something remarkable with it.
Abiodun said that in the face of extreme poverty every little support was a ray of hope, urging other organisations to join forces to assist underprivileged Nigerians.
She said what Airtel was doing by transforming lives of men and women was commendable, and encouraged the telco to share their inspiring stories with the world so that others could emulate them.
“I am proud to be associated with a CSR Initiative like this and I look forward to partnering with Airtel,” Abiodun said.
Also, Mrs Ibukun Awosika, a businesswoman and motivational speaker, who lauded Airtel CSR Initiative, said it broke her heart to see how many millions of ordinary Nigerians were going through hardship.
She said, “No matter how many people Airtel decides to help, it will never be enough because there are so many ordinary hardworking, brilliant and innovative Nigerians trying to find their way.
“Regardless, I want to thank Airtel for taking a bit of the burden away through its CSR Initiative.”
She said it was crucial for the affluent ones to join forces to help the needy in the country, noting that a rich man in the midst of so many less privileged people was a poor man.
“We need to have a genuine consensus and make commitment on what to do for the long term value of this country,” Awosika said.
The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr Surendran Chemmenkotil, said that ‘Airtel Touching Lives’ was premised on the philosophy that the privileged people need to continue supporting the needy.
He said that the telco through the platform was taking a step to institute and sustain a programme that would help uplift the underprivileged, the sick, the poor and the needy.
“At Airtel Nigeria, we are inspired to promote corporate philanthropy and sustainability and our CSR platform affords us an opportunity to showcase our efforts and also encourage other corporate entities.
“Airtel believes that if we are committed to giving and we also collaborate to solve some of the society’s problems, we can make a huge difference.
“My message this evening is that it is important that all of us continue to support the needy and vulnerable for our society to thrive,” Chemmenkotil said.
He said that it was also important for everyone to come together and collaborate more closely to solve some of the issues plaguing the country.
Chemmenkotil said, “The Airtel Touching Lives initiative provides support and also encourages others to imbibe the culture of giving.”