Education
Airtel Transforms Life of Toddler Blinded by Ritualists
The prompt intervention of one of the leading telecom companies in Nigeria, Airtel, in giving succour to a little boy, Master Sadiq Usman, has been applauded by a teacher.
In 2016, Sadiq was kidnapped and blinded by unknown persons suspected to be ritualists and his life almost crumbled but Airtel came into the picture and today, he now lives a surprisingly more productive life as a young student.
According to one of his teachers, Mr Ibrahim Yusuf Morah, the cash and equipment donations from Airtel and its employees made it possible for the school to reintegrate the boy.
Mr Morah is the lead tutor and head of the Special Education Unit at Professors International Group of Schools in Tudun Wadan, Zaria, Kaduna State.
Today, the teacher said, “Sadiq is in Primary 2 and one of our best students in the school –we have a nickname for him; we call him Professor.”
As a three-year-old, Sadiq Usman was seized from his neighbourhood in the Jushi area of Zaria by suspected organ thieves still at large. The assailants gouged out the pre-schooler’s eyes and abandoned him in a remote part of the town. The horrific incident devastated the boy’s family of eight and threw the village into a panic.
After passers-by found Sadiq and took him for treatment at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Professors International Group of Schools, Zaria offered to assist his indigent family by training him for free.
However, said Mr Morah, “We weren’t equipped with all the standard materials and apparatus needed to facilitate his learning. Although we were able to acquire the ones we could afford, what we had still wasn’t enough to fully help the boy with the academic support he really needed.”
Via the company’s Employees Volunteer Scheme, Airtel’s staff raised N400,000 for Sadiq’s tuition and donated several sophisticated training equipment to the school.
Some of the items presented included a Perkins Brailler, a laptop computer, a Braille Coacher, a Crammer-style abacus, and a Taylor frame, among others. Since this intervention three years ago, the teacher confirmed that Airtel has continued to completely pay for Sadiq’s education.
“After Airtel started paying [Sadiq’s] tuition fees, more people have reached out to us, asking to help, too. Some have donated clothing materials, among other things, for his upkeep. One person even donated a car to help with his transportation,” he added.
Airtel’s donations towards Sadiq’s rehabilitation have been beneficial, not only to the boy but also to his teachers, according to Mr Morah.
“Really, not only has Airtel’s contributions significantly helped him; it has further propelled me to tutor him better than I ever could,” he said.
Remarkably, he noted, the pupil has taken well to all the equipment provided by Airtel. “He particularly likes using the laptop Airtel got him as it came with a computer program called JAWS, which allows the visually impaired to read and operate a computer, using text-to-speech.”
Sadiq is also said to have developed the needed capacity to use a typewriter when there is no power on his laptop.
This “is a remarkable feat, considering the fact that most visually impaired children do not operate Perkins Brailler efficiently until they are about ten years of age. He started to type efficiently when he was only in primary 1.
“Another remarkable achievement is that Sadiq is now multilingual as he speaks four languages fluently, including French, Arabic and, of course, English and Hausa,” Mr Morah noted.
When Sadiq learnt of how the telecom company had saved him, Mr Morah said the school staff observed his gratitude.
“It gave him hope and we saw him go from being withdrawn to jovial and cheerful. Today, he feels loved and he understands what compassion means,” the teacher said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates, with 61.54 per cent of candidates obtaining credits in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The Head of WAEC’s Nigeria National Office, Mr Amos Dangut, announced the results at a press briefing in Lagos on Wednesday.
Mr Dangut said 1,200,514 candidates met the benchmark for admission to higher institutions, out of the 1,950,726 candidates who sat the examination nationwide, held between April 24 and June 19.
He said 102,708 examiners were engaged in the marking exercise held at 88 marking venues across the country between 2 July and 20 July.
“Today, I am happy to inform you that all the processes leading to the release of results have been completed. It is now my pleasure to announce the release of the results of candidates who sat the WASSCE for School Candidates, 2026 in Nigeria,” he said, directing candidates to the agency’s portal to access their results.
“UPDATE: 2026 WASSCE (SC) results have been released. Generate your PIN at waec.org and check your results now on waecdirect.org,” the examination body said, noting that candidates must obtain their Serial Number and PIN before they can check their results.
To generate the required credentials, candidates are expected to visit WAEC’s official website and select the “Serial Number and PIN” option at the top of the page.
They are then required to select the appropriate examination year and diet, enter their examination number and National Identification Number (NIN), and ensure that the NIN provided is the same one used during registration for the examination.
Candidates must also provide their email address and phone number to receive a One-Time Password (OTP).
After entering the OTP, candidates can recover their Serial Number and PIN, which they can subsequently use to check their results through WAEC Direct.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 200 senior students of Cleggs Girls High School, Surulere, Lagos, were on July 23, 2026, engaged in practical knowledge about the risks associated with smoking, vaping, and shisha.
This engagement was made possible through a collaboration between Breathe Life Foundation and Teach Nigeria Fellow.
Participants were students aged 15–19 years. They were also informed about the misconception that shisha is a safer alternative to cigarettes or other substances.
Through an engaging and interactive discussion, students explored the influence of peer pressure and learned practical strategies for making healthier, more informed lifestyle choices.
They also gained a better understanding of common environmental triggers of asthma and other respiratory conditions, including cigarette smoke, generator fumes, bush burning, mosquito coil smoke, candles, charcoal, and firewood.
The session highlighted an important reality: young people may not always recognise how seemingly routine lifestyle choices and environmental exposures can gradually affect their respiratory health, quality of life, and long-term wellbeing.
For Breathe Life Foundation, this reinforces the importance of shifting the conversation from treatment to prevention through awareness and education.
By equipping young people with the knowledge to identify risks and make healthier choices early, the foundation is helping to build a generation that is more conscious of – and better prepared to protect – its respiratory health.
The organisation said it is dedicated to advancing respiratory health, an often-neglected public health priority. Healthy lungs are essential to life, yet respiratory diseases remain among the world’s leading causes of death and disability, even though many are preventable and treatable.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes, the Obajana Plant of Dangote Cement Plc has distributed some educational materials to some pupils in Kogi State.
The items shared to the beneficiaries included school bags, exercise books, writing materials, water bottles, and other essential learning aids aimed at enhancing the learning experience of the pupils and preparing them for the next academic session.
The General Manager for the Social Performance Department of Dangote Cement at Obajana Plant, Mr Ademola Adeyemi, said the materials were donated days after Dangote Cement distributed similar education materials to pupils in public schools in its catchment communities of Oyo, Iwaa, Obajana and Apata; and commissioned a multi-million-naira hospital in Obajana, which added to the growing list of social investments that includes an earlier hospital project in Iwaa and Oyo Communities.
He noted that, over the years, the company has invested billions of naira in a wide range of social programmes for host communities, including empowerment programmes, road construction, and potable water projects, and it remains resolute in its commitment to sustaining and expanding its interventions.
He noted that the company’s corporate social responsibility programmes are aligned with government development priorities and are implemented through sustained, mutually beneficial partnerships.
“The intervention was informed by findings from a needs assessment conducted by Dangote Cement. During the assessment, it was observed that several pupils attended school without school bags, while others carried their books by hand. It was also discovered that many students lacked essential learning materials such as exercise books, pens, pencils, and other basic learning materials,” the cement firm said.
The Head Teacher of UBE LGEA School, St. Luke Model II, Adankolo, Lokoja Local Government Area, Mr Abubakar Sanni, expressed profound appreciation to the management of Dangote Cement for the gesture.
The Head Teacher expressed gratitude to the Group President of the conglomerate, Aliko Dangote, for extending the company’s educational support programme beyond its host and impacted communities to schools located at the state headquarters.
The beneficiaries, school management, parents, and community stakeholders expressed gratitude to Dangote Cement for the timely intervention and prayed for the continued growth and success of the company in its efforts to improve lives and support sustainable community development.
