The Honorable Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo
Shittu, has urged corporate organizations and wealthy Nigerians to support
humanitarian causes as this could help reduce the rate of poverty in the
country, reports ITRealms.
Speaking at the premiere of Airtel Touching Lives season
4 in Lagos, the Minister applauded Airtel’s commitment and consistency
in reaching the downtrodden and empowering them.
He urged other corporate organizations to follow in the
footsteps of the telco in extending a helping hand to those in need.
“I think that the companies doing business in Nigeria who have
been benefiting from the enabling environment in Nigeria and the individuals
and businessmen who have been benefiting must certainly come to the rescue and
multiply what Airtel has been doing,” he said.
He stated that government needs the support of the private
sector, NGOs, philanthropists and other well-meaning organizations to eradicate
hunger and poverty.
The Minister also called on the National Assembly to inspire and
encourage businesses in Nigeria to embark on Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) initiatives.
“On the part of government, I think particularly, the National
Assembly, which is saddled with making laws for us, should also feel challenged
by what we have seen tonight by trying to initiate laws which would inspire or
encourage Corporate Social Responsibility to be a major issue in the running of
businesses of Nigeria”, he said.
“I am sure that Airtel might have spent fortunes to do what they
have done, it is my prayer that Almighty God will continue to prosper the
management of Airtel Nigeria and to help prosper Airtel itself. I want to
challenge all of us tonight to make resolutions to touch lives in the same vein
that Airtel has been doing” he added.
According to
the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Segun
Ogunsanya, the telco will not relent in its effort to restore hope and helping
the less privileged in the society in line with its vision of creating
empowerment opportunities and making life better for Nigerians.
“I want to thank everyone in this room and to encourage you
again; there is no limit to how kind any of us can be. My parting message is
don’t spend your time asking why there are poor people in the world; it’s a
waste of time.
“The right question is what can we do to change it? We are
always going to have poor and unfortunate people amongst us. What next is what
you can do to affect their circumstances and I am encouraging you to do
something,” he said.
Since Airtel
launched the Touching Lives initiative three years ago, it has achieved
remarkable successes having restored hope of despaired individuals and
families, saved many from the throes of death and empowered many
underprivileged Nigerians.
The event was attended by several dignitaries including Senator
Ajayi Borrofice, Chairman, Senate Committee on Science and Technology; Hon.
Ujam Chukwuemeka, Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Communications;
Representative of the First Lady of Lagos State, Mrs. Adeniji Kazeem; Senator
Olabiyi Durojaiye, Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission; Bimbo Ashiru,
Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry; Leo Stan Ekeh, founder,
Zinox and Oby Ezekwesili, Former Minister of Education & Renowned Public
Intellectual, among several others.
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