By Adesina Wahab

The leadership of the Students Union Government (SUG) of Yaba College of Technology, YABATECH, has supported about 2,000 students with food items through its flagship programme “Feed YABATECH Students Initiative”.

The programme held at the school’s multipurpose hall witnessed goodwill messages delivered by invited guests and the distribution of the food items to the students.

The food items  included noodles and vouchers to purchase food items at subsidized rate.

Speaking at the programme, the 44th President, Yaba College of Technology Students Union Government, Morakinyo Sola, described it as novel, saying it was designed out of passion to support other fellow students.

“This is the first time in the history of the school, we put together the Feed Yabatech Student Initiative. This is an initiative that is borne out of passion to support our fellow students. It is aimed at giving food packages to 2,000 students including students living with disabilities.”

He urged the federal and state governments to support undergraduates with food items in an effort to cushion their plight in the face of high increase in the cost of food items.

“We know that the federal government has NELFUND to support the students but of course there is hunger in the land and I can tell you if it is quarterly or annually, let the students have this mindset that they can go to a place in their schools to get food packages.

“There are many palliatives that are given to communities and politicians. They can also look at the tertiary institutions to support the students. They put aside palliatives to support the students, so that we will also enjoy the dividends of democracy,” he said.

Sola described the initiative as a means to support the students and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal, (SDG) 2 in reducing hunger to zero.

“As a student union government, it is important that we contribute our little quota to our immediate space and it is important to look at areas where our students can benefit and how we can make a lasting impact and legacy on the student community,” he said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Lagos on Student Union Matters, Kappo Olawale, commended the organisers for putting this initiative to support students, harping on the need for the government to focus on improving students’ welfare. 

“It is a laudable initiative if you look at the economic situation of the country, the area that we should be more concerned about is the student’s welfare. This will translate so much into the lives of the students,” he said.

The Director, African Operations, Refuge Network International, Benjamin Gimo, said the organisation supported the student with 200 cartoons of noodles, describing it as part of their aid to humanitarian services.

“In Nigeria today, the economy is in shambles and students are at the receiving end, so I think the tokens that we have given them.  We are open to help anyone. It is all about services to humanity,” he said.