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Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Executive Governor of Imo State holds up
the keys of
the 4 fully fitted Security Vans presented to him by the
Chairman
of the Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, FNCS, OFR.
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Governor
Babatunde Fashola SAN (2nd right), Chairman, Zinox Technologies
Limited, Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh
(3rd right), Deputy Governor, Hon. (Mrs)
Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire (right), Commissioner for Science and
Technology, Mr.
Adebiyi Mabadeje (3rd left), his Education and Physical Planning and
Urban
Development counterparts, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye (2nd left)
and Mr. Olutoyin Ayinde (left)
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BY ROMMY IMAH
The global norm
is that a corporate organization can only be considered to be performing
corporate social responsibility when it identifies and is involved in the
overall development of its area of operation.
Only recently, one
of Nigeria’s foremost IT conglomerates, the Zinox Group donated items worth
over N100million to both the Lagos and Imo state governments as one of the
company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives aimed at enhancing the
efficiency and digital comfort of the Police Command and other security
organizations in the states in line with what is currently obtainable the world
over.
At the
presentation of the items in Lagos, which included four units of fully equipped
Security Vans, 150 units of Digital Radio, 150 units of Digital Solar Lamp and
150 units of Solar Torch, to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji
Fashola, chairman of the Zinox Group and leader of the group’s executive
management team to the visit, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh noted that the state has done
well to merit the ‘A’ list of the Zinox CSR portfolio.
In Imo State, the
Zinox Group chair announced the donation of four fully fitted security vans,
150 Jonta flash lights, 150 self-charging digital lanterns, and 150 I-Max radio
sets to support the security monitoring functions of Imo State. This is in
addition to the donation of N10million to the Imo Foundation launched by the
Governor a few months ago in support of structured overall social development
of Imo state.
He said that as
a group of companies primarily concerned with knowledge development and
building a new generation of Nigerians, the Zinox Group would also donate
digital knowledge content encapsulated in Zinox Whizkid Version 2 to four
schools in the State.
This content according
to Ekeh would make kids from privileged and exposed public schools better while
enhancing the overall academic performance of the underserved. “We would also
provide digital training sessions for teachers to improve
the overall teaching
and learning environment. Our expectation is that the total cost of this
intervention would be N50m”, he said.
But describing
Governor Fashola’s leadership of Lagos State as exemplary, robust and
world-class, Ekeh listed some of the achievements of the Governor in pursuit of
his vision to build a mega city to include expanding existing and building new
infrastructure such as roads, railways, general hospitals; giant steps in
education; the provision of portable water, and the guaranteeing of a safe and
stable environment.
The Zinox boss
described Governor Fashola’s administration as the benchmark for the assessment
of State Governors nationwide. He therefore, summarized the purpose of the
courtesy visit as a show of support to spur the Governor to greater heights.
The Zinox Group
chairman also promised to use four schools in Lagos state as Digital Content
Centres for its new digital product - the Zinox Whizkid Version 2, which has
helped many students to achieve excellent result in GCE, WASCE, JAMB and Post
UME nationwide.
He explained
that Zinox will deploy the equipment and content, train the teachers in its
digital laboratory in Gbagada and certify them ready to challenge the best
teachers in the world. This according to him will revolutionize education in
tandem with President Jonathan’s transformation agenda.
Receiving the
items, Governor Fashola said that the Lagos State Government welcomed the
donation and recognition from the Zinox Group and described the donation as a
call beyond duty. “Zinox is always one of the corporate persons that pay tax
promptly. For Zinox to go beyond that and do so much for the State shows that
Zinox has the heart and the head to maintain a balance between its corporate
social responsibility and the size of her balance sheet”, he said.
On the request
by Zinox for four schools that would serve as Digital Content Centres, Governor
Fashola listed three new schools in Gbagada and Bariga areas and noted that the
other school would come from one other zone in the State.
On the issue of
partnership in knowledge development, Governor Fashola said that the Lagos
State Government has bought hundreds of thousands of text books, built
thousands of classrooms and desks but was now concentrating on curriculum to
ensure that there is standard content for the development of the child. He said
that the Government would partner with Zinox in an effort to create a knowledge
platform to harness innovations in the State.
Governor Fashola
urged other corporate persons in Lagos to emulate the Zinox gesture by donating
to the Security Trust Fund or partnering with the Government to rebuild the
educational sector adding that corporate persons who desire to intervene in
education can adopt a school or a class or a set of pupils.
Zinox
Technologies Limited has a rich pedigree in responsible corporate citizenship
in Lagos beginning with the equipping of a digital laboratory at the Lagos
State Polytechnic, Ikorodu; the upgrade and tarring of the Redemption Crescent,
Gbagada; an interest arousing competition in mathematics for pupils in Primary
4.
Others include
the donation of computers to many schools in Lagos State including Queens
College, Yaba, and Archbishop Aggey Memorial Secondary School, Mushin; the
training for budding entrepreneurs entitled the ‘Spirit of the True Nigerian
Entrepreneur,’ (SoTNE); and offsetting of medical bills of many patients.
Recently, the Zinox Group received commendation from the Lagos State Government
for maintaining a clean and green environment in Gbagada area of Lagos.
Meanwhile, the
Imo State Government has named the IT centre in Imo Centre for Advanced
Professionals, ICAP, after Zinox Computers in recognition of the company’s
contribution to the development of Information Technology in Nigeria. The
announcement was made by Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Executive Governor of Imo
State while playing host to the management team of Zinox Group when the later
paid a visit to him.
The Imo State
Governor said that the donation from a team of the Zinox Group led by Dr. Leo
Stan Ekeh is further proof of the chairman’s commitment to the development of
knowledge. He called on well meaning citizens of Imo State to follow the
exemplary conduct of Zinox saying the situation in the State today calls for
all hands to be on deck irrespective of political affiliation.
The Zinox
Chairman had earlier extolled the governor’s visionary leadership represented
by recent developments in the State. He recalled the expanding of existing and
building of new infrastructure- roads, parks, schools in addition to breaking
the myth about the impossibility of free education; the provision of portable
water, and the guaranteeing of a safe and stable environment adding that Owelle
Okorocha’s administration has made Imo State one of the fastest developing
States in the Federation and therefore, deserves to be encouraged.
The Zinox Group he
said is a responsible corporate citizen whose contributions to society form an
integral part of the vision of its founding fathers. “Zinox has a tradition of
executing major CSR every five years outside our annual commitments in the
spirit of Zinox”.
He traced the history
of Zinox CSR in Imo State in such interventions such as building and equipping
of digital laboratories at the Federal Poytechnic, Nekede; Imo State University
and Federal University of Technology, Owerri and some secondary schools in the
state.
“There is no
geo-political zone in the country that has not been touched by our
interventions in tertiary, secondary and primary education. Our interest in
capacity building has benefitted scores of Imo indigenes in the form of
scholarships at all levels of education including post graduate education in
world class European and American Universities”, he concluded.
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