The Commissioner for Housing, Ogun State, Jamiu Akande Omoniyi, has awarded a total sum of Six Hundred Thousand Naira (₦600,000.00) to three outstanding graduating students in the Built and Environment-related Departments of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta in a tribute to his late father, Alhaji Mudashiru Akanbi Omoniyi, who was an accomplished bricklayer in his lifetime.
The cash award, presented during the 15th Combined Convocation Ceremony of the Institution, was part of an endowment initiative aimed at celebrating academic excellence while preserving the legacy of the late Alhaji Omoniyi.
In a release by the Office of the Commissioner, “the three top-performing graduates including Olushola Tobiloba Olamilekan (Architectural Technology), Lucky Theodora Emilomo (Estate Management and Valuation), and Adedapo Temiloluwa Aishat (Building Technology) each received Two Hundred Thousand Naira (₦200,000.00) for emerging as the best graduating students for the 2023/2024 academic session in their respective departments. The awards were presented under the newly established Alhaji Mudashiru Omoniyi Cash Prize, dedicated to promoting excellence in academic disciplines related to the built environment”.
“The award represents both a celebration of brilliance and a personal legacy project to immortalize my late precious father who lived a life defined by hard work, dignity and discipline.
“This initiative is not only to reward academic excellence but to honour the legacy of my father, a humble bricklayer who built not only houses but a reputation grounded in integrity, diligence, and resilience. His principles are the very same values that shaped my career and drive my passion for sustainable development and youth empowerment”, the statement reads.
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The Commissioner emphasized that the prizes were strategically targeted at academic fields related to the built sector such as Architecture, Estate Management, Building Technology, Quantity Surveying, Urban & Regional Planning, and Geo-Informatics, areas in which his late father laboured with devotion and pride. “What better way to honour his legacy than by empowering the next generation of professionals in the very industry he toiled in? Through this award, we hope to spark ambition, discipline, and vision in our students,” Omoniyi added.
He further disclosed that plans have been concluded to extend the award initiative to other Tertiary Institutions across the State, while strengthening a culture of merit and inclusiveness across the academic community of the State, giving brilliant students a reason to aim higher. “This is just the beginning. The initiative will go beyond Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, because the future belongs to those we prepare today,” he affirmed.
