In the best American tradition of funding university scholarships, American University of Nigeria board members, Mr Jon Freeman and Alhaji Tajuddeen Dantata, have chosen to honor one of their colleagues, Dr Enyantu Ifenne, by sponsoring two scholarships in her name for JAMB candidates entering AUN.
The female candidate with the best JAMB score entering AUN in any given year wins the first scholarship while any candidate with the best JAMB score from any of the three geographical zones in the North, gets the other. Scholarship winners can enroll for any course of their choice offered at AUN.
The university’s founder and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar also recently announced two fresh scholarships in honour of deceased AUN board member and former United States National Security Adviser, Dr Robert Pastor, who passed away in January. The Robert Pastor scholarships will be awarded annually to deserving male and female JAMB candidates entering AUN.
A statement by the university said that the scholarships are a “further demonstration of a fundamental commitment to increasing access to education, especially for females, in the educationally disadvantaged North East region.
Female candidates are particularly encouraged to enroll at AUN because of the numerous scholarship opportunities available. This commitment is further reflected in the university’s latest admission figures, which show that it has enrolled more female candidates than males, for the first time in its history”.
Mr Freeman said of the scholarships: “I am honoured to support the scholarship for a female AUN student in Dr Ifenne’s name to honour the work she has done with girls and women in Nigeria.” He and Alhaji Dantata made the pledges at the Board of Trustees meeting in Washington DC, in October last year while the scholarships took effect in January this year.
AUN President Margee Ensign expressed happiness with the development. “This scholarship support from Board Members Jon Freeman and Alhaji Tajudeen Dantata in honour of the work and accomplishments of Dr. Ifenne is extraordinary. We thank our Board members and will identify scholarship candidates with great potential.
“By providing yearly scholarships in her name, they have recognized Dr. Ifenne’s vital work in heath, particularly with regard to HIV/AIDS. We are honoured that, like Dr. Ifenne, Trustee Freeman and Trustee Dantata have chosen to support deserving students at AUN in our commitment to building a better educated Nigeria.”
Harvard-trained pediatrician, politician, and health activist, Dr Enyantu Ifenne, is a role model whose own dazzling career can inspire a generation of young females for the highest educational attainment. A member of AUN’s Board of Trustees, Dr Ifenne has distinguished herself in important positions in the public and private sectors at national and international levels.
She was Country Director, Nigeria Center for Development and Population Activities [CEDPA], Washington DC, a US-based international, non-profit organization (1996-2002) and first Director- General, National Commission for Women.
She was at various times Chairman, Okpokwu L.G.A., and later, Health Commissioner, in Benue State and she advised various Nigerian governments on women and gender issues as well as chaired the United Nations Economic Commission [ECA] 4th Regional Conference on Women Development in Africa.
As lead consultant for UNICEF/USAID, Dr Ifenne is credited with designing the internationally acclaimed National Action Plan on Orphans & Vulnerable Children. She presently serves as Executive Secretary, Nigeria Business Coalition Against HIV/ AIDS.
