Obla Delivers ₦25m, £33,000 Scholarship To First-Class Idoma Law Graduate

Renowned philanthropist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Godwin Obla, SAN, has fulfilled his pledge to sponsor an outstanding Idoma female law graduate for postgraduate studies abroad.

Through the Godwin Obla Foundation, Obla has paid the £33,000 tuition fee for Ochanya, who has secured admission to Queen Mary University of London to study for an LLM in Artificial Intelligence and the Law.

The Foundation has also provided ₦25 million for her living expenses during her studies in the United Kingdom.

The payments were made directly to the university and Ochanya’s account respectively, while dummy cheques presented at a ceremony in Abuja were symbolic of the funds already disbursed.

Obla had made the pledge less than a year ago in Otukpo, during a reception organised by the Association of Idoma Lawyers for newly elevated Senior Advocates of Nigeria of Idoma extraction.

At the event, he promised to mentor and sponsor the first female Idoma graduate to achieve a first class at the Nigerian Law School for postgraduate studies at any university of her choice.

“Today marks a fulfilment of that promise,” Obla said at the Abuja ceremony.

“I can confirm today that her school fees of £33,000 and her upkeep of ₦25 million have been fully paid.”

He said the intervention was not merely a reward for academic excellence but reflected the need for the Idoma community to create opportunities for its younger generation.

“As a minority that is overwhelmed by the tyranny of the majority, we must be our brother’s keeper and helper at all times,” he said.

Obla urged Ochanya to see the scholarship as a responsibility to give back to others.

“This scholarship is a challenge and a call for you to commit to the ideals of carrying others as you have been carried,” he said.

President-General of Ochetoha K’Idoma Forum Worldwide, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, commended the Foundation and urged Ochanya to make the most of the opportunity.

He particularly encouraged her to explore AI ethics and algorithmic bias from an African perspective, stressing the importance of African participation in shaping legal and ethical frameworks for emerging technologies.

Obla said Ochanya would also be introduced to members of the Idoma community in the UK who would provide guidance and support during her studies.

The Foundation has previously supported projects in healthcare and education, including a kidney centre at the Federal University of Health Sciences Teaching Hospital, Otukpo, equipped with six dialysis machines, an ongoing 23-bed VIP and amenity ward, and a ₦40 million endowment for outstanding medical students.

Ochanya, who admitted that studying abroad had once seemed beyond her reach, expressed gratitude to Obla and the Foundation.

Obla disclosed that the Foundation was already considering another scholarship intervention, potentially supporting an Idoma girl seeking to become a pilot.

“Our next scholar may be in the area of aeronautics,” he said. “Possibly, we are looking at sponsoring a young Idoma girl as a pilot.”