Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged Nigerian schools to embrace endowments as a strategic measure to address the chronic underfunding of the nation’s educational institutions.
Osinbajo made the call at the 94th Founders’ Day celebration of Igbobi College, Lagos, describing an endowment as a pool of funds or assets donated by individuals or corporations and set aside to support schools over the long term.
“Many great institutions are backed by large endowments that sustain their operations for decades,” he said. “Endowments are not just about financial provision; they are about sustaining standards, cultures, values and norms. It is not just continuity, but continuation of an ethos and a world.”
Recalling the history of Igbobi College, founded in 1932 by Anglican and Methodist missionaries, Osinbajo noted that the institution itself was built on endowment support. “While the school charges fees, the moral and civic environment that shaped generations of students was made possible by earlier philanthropic sacrifices,” he said.
The former vice president also decried the neglect of Nigeria’s education system, warning that the country was “paying a heavy price” for decades of underfunding. “Many schools are broken and under-resourced,” he said.
Osinbajo highlighted the formative role of secondary education in shaping future leaders. “The discipline of waking up at 5:30 AM and the ‘lights out’ rules in secondary school are what actually build great leaders. The habits that sustain adults are formed in school, not improvised later in life,” he said.
He further stressed that the roots of effective leadership extend beyond public office. “By the time a child turns 18, their ethical instincts are already likely formed,” he noted, adding that national leadership failures often reflect weaknesses in foundational education.
“Every investment in a school is an investment in the future of the country,” Osinbajo said, reminding stakeholders of education’s generational impact. “Our early leaders did not emerge by accident; they were shaped by schools deliberately protected from volatility.”
Osinbajo, who attended Igbobi College between 1969 and 1975, credited the institution for instilling values that shaped his career. He recalled receiving the State Merit Award and the African Statesman Intercollegiate Best Speaker’s Prize, describing them as products of the school’s disciplined, value-driven environment.
The event, moderated by Professor of Strategy and Development, Prof. Anthony Kila, was themed: “Building Generational Strength for Educational Institutions in Nigeria.”
During the celebration, the Igbobi College Old Boys’ Association (ICOBA) unveiled a ₦10 billion Endowment Fund to revitalise the school and safeguard its legacy for the next century.
Chief Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, the 12th President of ICOBA, said the fund would finance new hostels, upgrade science laboratories, and introduce advanced learning technologies. He assured stakeholders that professional asset managers, Chapel Hill Denham, would oversee the fund to ensure accountability.
“We don’t want anyone to ‘use the money anyhow,’” he said, urging alumni to contribute generously. Quoting an Igbo proverb — “Good soup na money kill am” — he emphasised that quality requires investment and long-term commitment, encouraging contributions even from the estates of deceased alumni.
Representing the Governor of Lagos State, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, pledged government support for initiatives such as ICOBA’s fund.
“When a school like Igbobi produces disciplined individuals, it helps the government save money on social problems and strengthens the leadership pipeline for the nation,” he said, linking educational quality to national development and infrastructure management.
Chairman of the lecture, Mr Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, described endowment as a shift from “short-term intervention to long-term institutional stability,” underscoring the need for structured, professional management of educational assets.
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