The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Lagos, Cardinal Anthony Olubunmi Okogie has donated a multimillion Naira water plant to Augustine University located at Ilara in Epe area of Lagos State.
The water plant is built is built with state of the art facilities to provide clean potable bottle water.
The Catholic priest while speaking at the commissioning of the water plant on Tuesday, thanked those who assisted him to donate the water plant and other laudable development in the institution.
The Catholic Archbishop who is also the founder of the university appreciated the proprietor of the institution and Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Dr. Alfred Adewale Martins for his fatherly and extraordinary care of the staff and students of the institution.
Okogie also thanked the pioneer Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Steve Olaoluwa Afolami for first selling the idea of the water plant to the institution.
The man of God said: “Taking a leap from the English proverb that, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’, the institution took the institution to proffer a permanent solution to water problem on the campus. It was the need for regular water supply that led us to a water plant.
” As our ace musician Fela Anikulapo would say, ‘Water no get enemy’. It is therefore becomes expedient to source for a mean for potable water because it is a basic necessity of life”, he said.
The BOT chairman of the institution, Sir Steve Omojafor (OON) revealed that the decision to build the water plant was after seeing students on the campus going round to get drinking water. He added that schools like Maryland Comprehensive schools provided water plant for its students saying this is one of the things that motivated the school to build the water plant.
Omojafor added that the idea started from school Governing Council saying while seeking for a donor, the Cardinal volunteered to sponsor the project which was initially at N20 Million.
The proprietor of the institution who is the Lagos Archbishop, Most Rev. Alfred Martins said the water plant is one of the tasks by the Cardinal to contribute to the development of the university.
Martins said: “Water is essential but can’t be useful if it is not treated. This is just like how Elijah in the Bible purify water before it could be useful. In Augustine University, we don’t only have purified water but also sanctified water.
The following names are those who are recognized as contributors to the university’s development: ” Rev. Fr Melchizedek Okpala, Rev. Fr Alexander Oboh, Rev. Fr. Christopher Adeyemi Atoyebi, Prince Joseph Nnamukwu Okeanyanwu and Mr. Stephen Ubule.
Other benefactors are: “Mr. Christopher David Hassan, Mr. Emmanuel Abejeshi Ikwen and other two who are dead: ” Late Fabian Onyeugo and late George Akutsam.
