BY Oluwatoyin Bayagbon
Timi Alaibe, chairman of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), has fully equipped a library in the faculty of management sciences of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.
The university had named a library after Alaere, his late wife.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony, Alaibe said through his donation, he was determined to make the library the “best of its kind not just in Nigeria but in the West African sub-region”.
“Members of my family and I, as well as our friends and associates have decided to do all that is within our resources and powers to make the Alaere Augustina Alaibe Library… to be truly reckoned with as a true citadel of research and study especially in a rapidly changing world,” he said.
“The books we have in place now is just the first set of arrivals, it is just a tip of the iceberg. As we speak now, our friends are already expecting the arrival of a shipload of books for this Library.
“Our ultimate goal is to deploy information and communication technology to link the Alaere Augustina Alaibe Library here at the Rivers State University to the libraries of Ivy League universities across the world.”
In a message, Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate, represented by Tony Uranta, celebrated the late Alaere, describing her as “one of Nigeria’s best whom he met and respected in the course of her efforts to spread literacy in rural communities through her organisation, Family Reorientation Education and Empowerment (FREE).
Giving his remarks at the ceremony, Donald Hamilton, dean of the faculty thanked Alaibe and his friends for their donations.
“We also thank Timi Alaibe for surprising all of us all by personally making provisions and then inviting his friends to contribute to make this library the best of its kind in this country. We are truly grateful,” he said.
Some of those who witnessed the unveiling ceremony were Blessing Didia, the vice-chancellor, and Ifie Sekibo, managing director, Heritage Bank.
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