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By Chinenye Anuforo
Tim Akano Foundation (TAF) has announced the award of scholarships and digital skill opportunities to a total of 122 students across Osun State and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in June 2025.
Mr. Tim Akano personally gave scholarships to 22 top university students from Oluponna, Iwo, Ile Ogbo, Kuta, and Telemu. These students had excellent grades (first-class and second-class upper). The scholarship event happened recently at Aipate Baptist Church in Iwo.
Akano shared how important community support was for him. He explained that in 1976, people in his community (men giving ₦10 and women ₦5) came together to build Oluponna Community High School. This act of kindness changed his life, giving him a good secondary education. He said, “If not for that group effort, I might have become a trader, hunter, or tailor. I am here today because of God and people’s kindness. That’s why I believe that when we educate people well, they can achieve anything.”
In recognition of his impactful contributions, Mr. Akano was presented with an Award of Excellence as a Community Role Model by the Federation of Ayedire Student Union in 2024, representing students from Oluponna, Iwo, Ile Ogbo, Kuta, Telemu, and environs.
TAF’s commitment to foundational education is also evident in its adoption of Baptist Day School, Oluponna, Mr. Akano’s primary alma mater. The foundation has provided approximately 300 students with two sets of uniforms each and exercise books, in addition to installing boreholes, constructing toilets, and fencing the school premises. This support is pledged to continue for the lifetime of the school.
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Further demonstrating his dedication to community development, he donated his entire May 2025 salary to charity within his community. This significant contribution includes financial support for the construction of a JAMB CBT Center at Aipate Baptist Church. This initiative aims to alleviate the burden on young students who previously had to undertake long, often unsafe journeys to Ibadan or other distant locations to sit for their JAMB examinations. The new center will ensure that all school leavers in the community can now take their JAMB examinations locally.
Addressing the scholarship recipients and community members, Tim Akano challenged the students from Oluponna and its environs to strive for excellence and shift the community’s narrative from agrarian to technopreneurship. He also announced his personal commitment to mentor at least 100 students from the community, guiding them to achieve heights far beyond his own accomplishments. A dedicated WhatsApp group, ‘Greater Heights,’ has been established for this mentorship initiative.
Extending his mission to bridge the digital divide, the Tim Akano Foundation also provided 100 students from the Department of International Relations at Obafemi Awolowo University with scholarships to acquire practical skills in Digital Marketing. Upon successful completion of their training, these students will be immediately onboarded as Affiliate Marketers for New Horizons, enabling them to earn commissions and generate income from their newly acquired expertise. This initiative is part of Mr. Akano’s ongoing support for his alma mater and the Department of International Relations, where he has adopted ten former and current students, offering them lifelong opportunities.
Akano’s engagement with OAU’s Department of International Relations also includes his participation as a Guest Speaker during the recent Diplomatic Week of IRS, OAU. Five years prior, he donated approximately 1,300 of his used books and journals to the department for student use, further enriching their academic resources.
Through these multi-faceted initiatives, the Tim Akano Foundation continues to exemplify that true impact is measured not merely by words, but by the tangible transformation of lives and the shaping of brighter futures.
“Each time I remember the smallness, vulnerability and impermanence of human beings in this vastness, I feel humbled and want to quickly touch as many lives as I come in contact with before night comes,” Akano stated.
