The Board and Management of the Faculty of Management Sciences of the Rivers State University, Port Harcourt, seemingly got much more than they bargained for as the Faculty’s new Library, named after the late MrsAlaereAlaibe, an alma mater of the Faculty and wife of businessman and politician, Chief TimiAlaibe, was unveiled over the weekend. In what may well go down as a new record of sorts in the country, the Library, on the day of its unveil, received virtually all that the Board and Management requested for to make the Library the best of its kind in Nigeria.
The Dean of the Faculty, Professor Donald Hamilton, had in his opening remarks explained why the institution resolved to name the new Library after the late AlaereAlaibe and requested for books in virtually all disciplines in the management sciences as well as computers for the new Library. “In line with the desire of the Faculty of Management Sciences of the Rivers State University to immortalize Mrs. AlaereAlaibe, who was an Alumna of the faculty, precisely the department of Banking and Finance, as well as her contributions to education through her Family Reorientation Education and Empowerment (FREE) Programme, we decided to name our Faculty Library after her,” Professor D.J. Hamilton said and further disclosed that the Late Mrs. AlaereAlaibe obtained her Bachelor’s and Masters Degrees from the Faculty of Management Sciences of the Rivers State University.
The Dean however said that while considering Mrs. AlaereAlaibe for the honour, the Board of the Facultysignificantly considered the great and selfless efforts the Late philanthropist deployed during her brief but eventful life on earth, to positively touch hundreds of lives in several rural and impoverished communities in the Niger Delta region of the country, through her pet project, FREE.
Professor Hamilton had barely rounded off his remarks when the torrent of donations to the Library from Chief TimiAlaibe, his friends and associates began. Chief Alaibe himself set the ball rolling when he told the gathering, which included the Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Blessing Didia, the Registrar and other key officials of the institution, that given the honour done his late wife, 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 AlaereAugustinaAlaibe Library, in the new Faculty Building of the Faculty of Management Sciences of the Rivers State University, the best of its kind not just in Nigeria but in the West African sub-region. We intend for it to be truly reckoned with as a true citadel of research and study especially in a rapidly changing world.” TimiAlaibe said and further disclosed the intention to link the Library to the libraries of the best Universities in the world.“Our ultimate goal is to deploy Information and Communication Technology to link the AlaereAugustinaAlaibe Library here in the Rivers State University to the Libraries of Ivy League Universities across the world,” Alaibe enthused.
Chief Alaibe, who is currently the Chairman of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, challenged both students and other guests at the event to imbibe the culture of giving back to their alma mater but to the society as a whole. “Martin Luther King Jnr once said to an audience in Alabama in 1957, that, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others? My message to the students of this great University and particularly members of this illustrious faculty therefore is that, as you journey through academic life and beyond, you should imbibe the spirit of selflessness. We must think beyond ourselves; what are we doing for others? What are we doing for our families? What are we doing for our neighbours? What are we doing for our State? What are we doing for our country? According to the great Indian Activist, Mahatma Ghandi, ‘the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members’. Most of us have become so self-centered and so wrapped up in our own lives…but as Albert Einstein once said, ‘Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.’ The people we admire for their value aren’t Millionaires; they are people like Martin Luther King Jnr. (who is honored in today’s America with a national holiday) and Mother Theresa,” Chief Alaibe counseled.
Alaibe then announced that in collaboration with the Sir EmekaOffor Foundation, a shipload of books was already on its way to equip the new AlaereAlaibe Library. In fact he confirmed that some of the books shipped in much earlier had already arrived the school. “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 at the Sir EmekaOffor Foundation are already expecting the arrival of a shipload of books for this Library. The books were ordered after due consultation with the Dean and other Faculty members; so the books that are coming will cover virtually all topics in management sciences both at graduate and post-graduate levels.” Alaibe said before proceeding to call out friends who accompanied him to the Library unveil to announce their donations.
Mr. IfieSekibo, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank, stunned the Vice Chancellor and other key Officials of the University when he announced that, in his personal capacity, hewould immediately proceed tomeet virtually all the pending demands of the Faculty’s Dean for the new Library. These include 500 pieces of internet-ready HP Desktop computers, renewable one year internet broadband for the Library, eight (8) pieces of 2HP Trunk Air conditioners for the Library, a 200kva diesel generator for the Library and in addition he pledged unfettered access to research findings from the Heritage Bank’s training and research laboratory for students and researchers using the Library.
Several friends and associates of Chief TimiAlaibe similarly made pledges of workstations, books, computers, and multimedia accessories for the new AlaereAugustinaAlaibe Library of the Faculty of Management Sciences of the Rivers State University.
In his message to the event, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka described the Late AlaereAlaibe 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 organization, FREE. Soyinka, who was represented by Mr. Tony Uranta said he was happy that the works of Mrs.Alaibe through FREE was being befittingly recognizedby the Rivers State University by naming a Library after her. It could be recalled that Prof. Soyinka once confessed that he was amazed by the magnitude of AlaereAlaibe’s vision in extending literary culture, empowerment and self-esteem to the forgotten. “I am not often impressed with people but she (AlaereAlaibe) has succeeded in impressing me with her drive, her vision and her total commitment,” Professor Soyinka once said after visiting FREE’s headquarters and commissioning the Library named after him in Igbainwari Community in Opokuma, Bayelsa State.
A thoroughly overwhelmed Vice Chancellor of the Rivers State University, Professor Blessing Didia, eulogized the Alaibe family for their exemplary disposition. “It is not how long we live that matters but what we make of the time we spend on earth. MrsAlaibe’s time here on earth was short, but today even people who taught her in this University are not being talked about at all. She devoted her time, energy and resources to better the lives of the less privileged in rural communities and her efforts paid off. That is why everyone is talking about her and we are honouring her today. I thank her husband, Chief TimiAlaibe and her children for allowing her to do God’s will for her on earth. We also thank TimiAlaibe for surprising all of us all by personally making provisions and then inviting his friends to contribute to make this Librarythe best of its kind in this country. We are truly grateful,” the Vice Chancellor said.
