By DAYO ADESULU
Mobo Oresegun is a quintessential Nigerian in the Diaspora. A graduate of International Development Studies from the York University in Canada; where she tripled as a student, wife and mother.

Brimming with the resolve to make a difference in the lives of the younger generation, Oresegun who is the CEO/Managing Director of Comfort Zone Educational spoke recently to newsmen about her pet project – Luz Neema Foundation, which is offering scholarships to five Nigerians to study in Canada. She also identified reasons behind students’ failure to get admission yearly, the way forward and other issues.

*Mobo Oresegun

Excerpt:

What is Luz Neema Foundation about?

The literal meaning of Luz is a Bible word from Genesis 28:19 and it is translated to mean God’s abode. Neema is a word in Swahili language that means mercy. Fused together, it means God’s place with abundant mercy. For anybody to be able to excel and impact other people’s lives, it is the mercy of God.

To think of paying the tuition of a child in the western world comes from God. This is the basic idea of the foundation and it is tied to the programme I went for, which is International Development Studies. It is a way of giving back to the community.

I believe that Canada offered me great opportunities in life and I should in turn give back to my local community through the foundation. This is the maiden edition. We intend to do a publication calling for entries from candidates where the candidates would be selected via their performance in the WAEC and NECO examinations. We will then narrow it down to the best 50 who would be given the opportunity to compete for the five slots available.

One of the areas I had to overcome was the issue of transparency. Most people are of the opinion that selection would favour those known to me, either in my own local community or sponsoring friends and family. The process of selection, however, transcends any personal relationship.

It is of little importance if one bears the same surname with me, all shortlisted students will have the opportunity to prove their worthiness in an open forum both in simple written and oral tests. This process thus ensures that the best students are selected.

Why didn’t you consider spo nsoring the indigent to school in Nigeria?

To a large extent, that is a logical way of reasoning. However, the issues bothering Nigerian universities transcend  money. There are policies guiding the Nigerian universities of which the academic staff are still fighting to uphold which is a major charge to be addressed.

If on the other hand we are meant to donate some money to Nigerian universities, there is also the criteria of what value is appropriate to which school. This process needs to be thought through if we were to engage in it.

Subsequently, the only way we can make a success out of the programme is for the students to come back home on completion of studies. By that, we would have plugged the brain drain syndrome. Their return ensures a trickle-down effect of acquired knowledge into our society.

It is just like the process of refining gold. The original form is usually very rough and ugly, the only time you add value is when it is refined and doesn’t remain where it was refined. Same with the students, if they stay back in Canada, they are just one in a million and a part of those competing for job opportunities: but their impact would be felt more with their return  which makes a huge difference.

What is the future plans for Luz Neema Foundation?

We have to be able to prove that we are in this for the long-run and like I told you initially, one key factor would be our transparency and credibility in order to gain the continuous support of both Canadian and Nigerian governments.

These two attributes are paramount. At this stage, some things may be challenging, but in the next five to 10 years, we will begin to look for an opportunity to create an enabling environment for the youths. We want to be able to give the youth a voice.