Representatives of the Funmi Babington-Ashaye Foundation were at the University of Lagos on Thursday, November 30, 2023 to give cash prizes to five high-flying students of the Department of Actuarial Science & Insurance, University of Lagos.
Mr. Sunday Oyeniyi spoke on behalf of the donor, Dr. (Mrs) Funmi Babington-Ashaye. He congratulated the recipients and charged them to consider the prize award as recognition of their hard work and an encouragement to do more.
“The donor, Dr. Funmi Babington-Ashaye, personifies the truth that, wherever you start from in life, you can achieve your dreams, so long as you are willing to do the work and be resilient. The prizes you receive today are a recognition of your hard work. They are also an encouragement for you to aim higher, to strengthen your resolve to become someone who, in the future, will look back and give to your Alma Mater too”.
A delighted Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services), Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, was full of praise for Dr. Babington-Ashaye, the proprietor of the foundation.
“Today is one of such rare days that you look back and see that, indeed, the labours of our heroes past have not been in vain. I am delighted to see, for the second time today, a well-meaning member of society giving back. In particular, this Babington- Ashaye Prize has been on since 2017; and the donor has proven to be committed and consistent. We have never had cause to remind them of their commitment. More importantly, when we approached them to consider an increase in the prize money, in the light of economic realities, the Funmi Babington-Ashaye Foundation obliged us without hesitation. They increased the prize money from N50,000 to N100,000. We are most grateful for that”.
She charged the students to make judicious use of the prize money and to take a cue from the good gesture of the donor, who is an alumnus of the University of Lagos.
“Just like many of our alumni out there in their respective industries, Dr. Funmi Babington-Ashaye has carved a niche for herself in the Insurance industry in Nigeria and she is doing excellently well. As recipients of her good gesture today, take it as a cue that you also can do great things, even more than those who have gone ahead of you. When you do, as we definitely expect you to, remember to also give back”.
Ms. Adebayo Damilola Zainab, one of the five recipients spoke on their behalf. She expressed appreciation to the donor, their department, and the university as a whole.
“We never saw this coming! And we promise to do our best to live up to expectation. By the grace of God, we also will grow great and give back to our Alma Mater”.
Also present at the event were the Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Management Science, Dr. Ogege Samson ,and the Head of Department, Actuarial Science & Insurance, Prof. Prof. Hamadu Dallah.
The donor, Dr. (Mrs) Babington-Ashaye is the Managing Director/CEO of Risk Analyst Insurance Brokers Limited and Founder of the Funmi Babington-Ashaye Foundation.
