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Warri monarch’s wife immortalises dad with STEM centre for Delta kids

By Barakat Akolade
26 May 2022   |   4:17 am
To equip kids with qualitative education in the Oil City and Delta State at large, wife of the Olu of Warri, Olori Atuwatse III, has officially unveiled the Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ..

Son in-law to the late Capt. Hosa Okunbo, Nick Rhodes (left); the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III; Co-founder, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo STEM Innovation Centre, Olori Atuwatse III and Adesuwa Okunbor-Rhodes at the launch of the centre in Iyara, Warri…yesterday.

To equip kids with qualitative education in the Oil City and Delta State at large, wife of the Olu of Warri, Olori Atuwatse III, has officially unveiled the Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Innovation Centre, Iyara.

The facility, which was launched in memory of the queen’s late father, attracted representatives from the palace, local and state governments. 

The ceremony was officiated by founder of CleverMinds Foundation and administrator of the innovation centre, Zion Oshiobugie, who ushered in Ogiame Atuwatse III and Olori alongside other guests.

The monarch and visitors were treated to exciting demonstrations by the young learners. The displays include remote control and management of electronic devices, Warri-Tesla prototype and other laudable projects embarked upon by the children. They also rendered a song to honour the departed Idahosa, which left a good number of guests emotional. 

In her remarks, the centre’s founder, Olori Atuwatse III, after acknowledging her husband and visitors, commended wives of the President and Delta State governor, Hajia Aisha Buhari and Dame Edith Okowa, on their initiatives geared at providing indigent children with qualitative education. She acknowledged that more still needed to be done.

Her words: “It all starts with little initiatives like this STEM laboratory. We do not always have to wait for government or huge funding to build legacies for our children. All we have to do is to touch lives in remote communities like Iyara and the effect would trickle down to other parts of the nation.

“As a collective, our little efforts can go a long way in providing the infrastructure and enabling environment necessary for our children to grow into intellectual giants.

“This is my dream for every community in the kingdom – that the lives of children would be transformed – from even as young as two and three years old. That we would import the highest quality education and give our children the environment that creates giants and enables them to thrive.”

She lauded her siblings for their contributions to making the centre a reality. The queen also acknowledged the wife for their charitable works in the kingdom.

A backer of the centre and Managing Director of GABBEM Integrated Services, Dr. Paddy Emmanuel Iyamu, applauded the Ogiame and his wife for improving the lives of children and indigenes of the kingdom.

The centre is the first of its kind in the kingdom where orphaned and indigent children from different slum areas around Warri could explore the amazing world of STEM.

The place parades an array of engaging activities for kids, including digital laboratories, coding challenges, robotics kits, prototyping with 3D printers, physical computing with Arduino, computer games, child-friendly sci-fi movies/animations, short videos on emerging technologies and many more.

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