Inside a town snug in Nigeria’s Osun State, a collective of the town’s professionals, born and bred, is transforming Esa Oke with a project addressing the region’s longstanding electricity supply woes. This collective is named the Esa Oke Renewal Initiatives (ERI). Their latest feat involved bringing solar-powered streetlights to the Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke (OSCOTECH), illuminating a campus that had been covered in darkness for decades.
This particular initiative, which culminated in a formal handover ceremony on 21st August 2024, installed 50 LED solar-powered streetlights, worth 15 million naira, on the school grounds. Students, who once studied under the cover of darkness, say the new lights have transformed their learning environment.
“This is more than a donation,” said Dr. Samson Omobayo Adegoke, the Rector of OSCOTECH, during the ceremony. “It’s an investment in our students’ future.”
But this project is more than an ordinary act of philanthropy. The ERI, founded by a coalition of high-achieving professionals and young innovators, was formed to tackle the infrastructural deficits that have plagued Esa Oke for years. Unlike previous efforts, which were largely individual and uncoordinated, ERI’s initiative represents a coalition-wide effort to address critical needs.
Before the streetlights were installed, the college campus was a haven for criminals. The lack of lighting provided cover for thieves who frequently raided the school, stealing equipment worth millions of naira. The local police struggled to contain the crime, and relations between the college and the surrounding community grew tense.
“Darkness enabled the thieves,” said a college administrator, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the issue. “The lights have made a world of difference, not only in terms of security but also in restoring trust between the college and the people of Esa Oke.”
The ERI, in collaboration with Cedrus Group Africa, an Investment Bank, led by Nigerian Businessman Olubusayo Adeniyi, stepped in to address the problem. Their solution was both straightforward and ambitious: install enough solar-powered streetlights to make the campus safe and conducive to learning once again.
The first phase of the project focused on lighting up the college campus, but a second phase, slated to begin later this year, will extend the lighting to the main road from Ilesa to Oke-Imesi, benefiting the broader Esa Oke community.
“This project demonstrates our commitment as a not-for-profit organization to improving the living conditions of the Esa Oke community,” said Prince Wumi Adeniyi, Chairman of ERI, at the handover ceremony. “These solar-powered streetlights will enhance the beauty of the campus, improve security, and motivate excellent academic performance.”
Many of the dignitaries present at the ceremony, including the Owa Omiran of Esa Oke, Oba Adeyemi Adediran, and the Asiwaju of Esa Oke, Chief Dosu Fatokun, expressed their appreciation for ERI’s work. Chief Fatokun called on the college to ensure the lights are well-maintained, stressing that such initiatives should encourage OSCOTECH to engage in meaningful corporate social responsibility projects for the host community.
Since its establishment in 1981, OSCOTECH has struggled with inadequate infrastructure, exacerbating tensions with Esa Oke, the town that donated the land for the college. Aside from the late Chief Bola Ige, the former Governor of the old Oyo State, who played a pivotal role in founding the institution, few have made as significant a contribution as the ERI.
In its Assessment, the College team assigned to evaluate the impact of the project, wrote in its report that “The project, having been completed, has a very resounding effect; it does not only illuminate but also beautifies the areas covered. The areas covered are now a cynosure of all eyes beholding it. The Campus Health Centre is also well illuminated. The College plans to begin a 24-hourhealth service delivery at the Centre as soon as possible. The entire OSCOTECH Community cannot but profoundly welcome and appreciate the rare gesture initiated and prosecuted by Esa-Oke Renewal Initiative in collaboration with CEDRUS GROUP AFRICA and the other Donors to the project”
In his remarks, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of ERI, Tpl. Ayo Adediran, an expert Town Planner and former Permanent Secretary in Lagos State, who also served as the Chairman of the of the ERI Committee that oversaw the project implementation, said “It is really a beauty to behold at night”; “The project has transformed not only the campus but also the broader perception of Esa Oke as a town capable of sustaining large-scale, long-term developments.” He also commended the Contractors – Messrs. Mundial Engineering Ltd, a Solar Energy Technology Company in Lagos for the delivery of the project within a very short timeline.
For many in the town, the streetlights symbolize a new era of collaboration and collective growth, something that had previously been elusive. It also serves as a reminder that while government efforts to tackle infrastructural deficits remain slow, communities can come together to create solutions.
“As the old saying goes: ‘To whom much is given, much is expected,’” said Dr. Edward Omotoso, a community elder, whose Foundation made a financial contribution to ERI for the project, during his goodwill message. “We are not only thankful, but we are also reminded that this is just the beginning.”