Onosode foundation and quality education
In May 2016, the Gamaliel and Susan Onosode Foundation (GAMSU) – a not-for-profit and non-political organization, whose objective is to foster the success of the Nigerian Child through innovative and flexible learning opportunities while providing the enabling environment – made a N500 million commitment to the Lagos Business School (LBS) to support the school’s research activities. The donation will go towards the building of the International Management Research Centre (IMRC) which will house the School’s research centres. Promptly, the first instalment of N100 million was made.
Last month, the foundation followed through its commitment by releasing the last tranche of N400 million in fulfilment of its pledge to the school.
Commenting on behalf of the Onosode family, Ese Onosode said “The N500 Million donation for the Gamaliel Onosode Management Research Centre is to emphasise the love Gamaliel Onosode had for quality education especially as impacts the very heart of management. Our late father demonstrated his zeal for education by setting up Gamaliel & Susan Onosode Foundation with the principal aim of promoting quality education through flexible and innovative learning opportunities.” He was emphatic that the reason for bestowing the gift to LBS was the school’s commitment to improving the quality of management education in corporate Nigeria.
We commend the foundation for this noble effort in furthering the provision of qualitative management education in Nigeria. In many ways, it represents the ideals for which Gamaliel Onosode lived for and worked tirelessly to promote during his life time. As the Dean of the Lagos Business School described him, the late Mr Onosode was an exemplar in the practice of management and embodied the values the Lagos Business School tries to promote.
Most crucially, the donation opens a new vista for the school in furtherance of its task of developing responsible business leaders and managers and building a world class business school that will position Nigeria on the map of management education. Thanks to the generosity of past donors, the School has been able to make qualitative management education available. Now with this donation, the LBS should go beyond teaching alone and position itself as a world-class research institution that will impact corporations and society.
We recommend this example of the GAMSU foundation to other well-meaning individuals, foundations and organisations in Nigeria who wish for a better society. It is not enough to note and complain about the failures of government and the abysmal state of infrastructure, education and services in Nigeria. There are institutions devoted to provision of world-class education and services here in Nigeria and are in need of such supports. They deserve to be helped. The world class schools Nigerians scramble to go to abroad were not all built and supported by governments. Most of them benefited from donations and endowments by individuals, groups and foundations whose goal is to help towards the provision of quality education and research. Sadly, some Nigerians also join the endow chairs or make huge donations to schools abroad while neglecting the ones we have here that are making great efforts to provide quality education.
It is clear that the Nigerian government no longer has the capacity to support provision of quality education and research in the country. The private sector must come in and ensure that institutions that truly strive to provide these are supported to realise their visions.