Wife of Olu of Warri, Olori Atuwatse III yesterday urged school children both in primary and secondary school levels to emulate the life of her late father, Captain Hosa Okunbo who she said was not born with a silver spoon but made it through hard work and determination.
Olori Atuwatse III, who is also the first child of the late business mogul and philanthropist, stated this in Benin City, capital of Edo State when she led other members of the late Okunbo family for the award of scholarship to 100 pupils and students selected from public schools, including those in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to mark their father’s 64th posthumous birthday. Flanked by her slings, other family members and heads of affected schools, she said “Captain Hosa was many things to many people. My father went to school in this city, my mother went to St Maria Goretti so I want encourage you.
My father was one of the children in the family of eleven, his parents were teachers so he was not born with a silver spoon but through hard work dedication and determination he rose to become a man of great impact and great value so I want you take that as an encouragement. Look at him and know that this is the same Benin City that he grew up in and you are growing up in, you have all it takes to make it and impact on the society. “Education is so important to us and we decided to put this together to mark his posthumous 64th birth. We know we can do feeding but the food will get finished; we can build a road but the road will get bad some day; and it came to me, why don’t we invest in lives, why don’t we transform lives, why don’t we ensure that pupils can go to school so that the multiplier effects will felt. “We have touched one hundred lives today but I dare say we have touched a hundred thousand lives.” Earlier, the Olori’s younger brother and first son of Okunbo, Osahon Okunbo said Nigeria invested in his late father through earned scholarships and he always referenced that to let people know that and wanted to always give back to Nigeria because of what Nigeria did for him and this is one way we can continue that and to honour him, you should begin to ensure that you are the best.
“Always give more than you take, try to be selfless and for every decision you take, always ask yourself how that decision will benefit your community. If all of us can do that, we will have a better state, we will have a better community and you will have embodied the values my father stood for.”