One of the key features of experiments is that they test assumptions, thereby establishing whether previously-held opinions are or continue to be true generally or in specific points in time or space. Considering this fact, Dr. Ahmed ’Tunde Popoola (FCA) (FCIB), the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CRC Credit Bureau, Lagos, set out to facilitate youth education through the award of scholarships to secondary school students by TOMEB Foundation which he co-founded and co-chairs with his wife, seasoned educationist Hajia Mariam Mojisola Popoola.
Established in 2011, one of TOMEB Foundation’s objectives is “to develop youth in various forms of education, vocation, or any other undertaking considered necessary for their overall well-being”; its vision is “to inspire people to do more with their lives”; its mission is “to promote issues, activities, and programmes to energise individuals and communities to be economically self-sustaining and environmentally-friendly”; and its ambition is to “inspire and practically spur up potential in individuals, especially the youth who are the leaders of tomorrow.”
On 16 October, 2026, at TOMEB Foundation’s 15th Scholarship Award and Lecture at Sepeteri, Saki-East Local Government Area, Oyo State, Dr. Popoola remarked: “Fifteen years ago, my wife and I began with a simple belief that where a child is born should never limit how far they can dream. We had witnessed, both in our own journeys and in the communities around us, how much talent goes unnoticed simply because a gifted child happened to arrive in the wrong place at the wrong time, without access to books, without a mentor, without anyone to give them the quiet assurance that they mattered. TOMEB Foundation grew out of that awareness.”
Dr. Popoola further noted: “What started as a small effort to support five students across three schools here in Sepeteri [Community High School, Muslim Grammar School, and Obalufon Grammar School] has, over the last fifteen years, become a growing family of 106 scholars, many of whom have since gone on to become graduates, working professionals, and mentors themselves to the … generation coming up behind them.”
The broad theme of the 2026 scholarship award programme was “Education for impact: Building tomorrow’s leaders,” and the Chair, Dr. ’Bade Adeshina (FCIB), Chair of Health Assur Ltd., Lagos, remarked that given Dr Popoola’s robust educational and career background, it was amazing for him to find time to relate closely with his community of origin and to embark on the high-value act of awarding scholarships to students who would otherwise have faced grave educational challenges. Dr. Adeshina therefore implored the awardees to make profitable use of the opportunities TOMEB Foundation has provided them, and he implored the Sepeteri community as a whole to treasure and guard the special gift that Dr. Popoola is to them.
As the Guest Speaker at the programme, my presentation was titled “Community and youth development: TOMEB Foundation’s 15-year experiment” and an article that I found germane to the speech is “How does education contribute to community development?” by Mark Anthony Llego, in the publication TEACHERPH, and accessed on 16 October, 2026. In the article, Llego wrote: “Education is one of the most critical foundations for community development. … A well-educated community is more likely to be able to capitalize on economic opportunities and create positive change. Education can help to break down barriers within communities and promote understanding and cooperation.”
This set of views on the value of education in mitigating poverty, enhancing societal problem-solving, ensuring social stability and facilitating social mobility is consistent with the legendary anti-Apartheid champion Nelson Mandela’s position that education is “the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world,” and that “It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor… that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.” Indeed, like former South African President Nelson Mandela, former U.S. President Bill Clinton was the first person in his family to go to the university.
In the same vein, Dr. Popoola remarked at the TOMEB Foundation scholarships event: “Fifteen editions later, our question has moved beyond whether our scholars pass their exams. We now ask what they do with what they have learned, how they carry themselves, and who they become for their families and communities. … Each young person we celebrate today has already begun to answer the questions, through diligence, and a quiet strength that has carried them through circumstances that might have broken the resolve of many others. They are not merely passing through school; they are being shaped into the kind of leaders Sepeteri, and indeed this nation, will need tomorrow.
Incidentally, in an event which showed that the TOMEB Scholarship programme was yielding the desired effect of inculcating in the beneficiaries the spirit of giving back to the community, on 13 and 14 October, 2026, one of the TOMEB Scholars who has just graduated in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Abdulazeez Aminu, organised a 2-day IT and AI Literacy training for the Scholars and other interested youths.
Noting that seeking education is a lifelong endeavour, the Guest Speaker remarked that Dr. Popoola has held himself up as a noble example. At a point at which he seemed to have acquired sufficient education and had made a remarkable success of his life, he enrolled for a PhD programme in faraway South Africa and successfully completed it, in spite of the difficulties that came with the programme.
Addressing the awardees, who consisted of females and males as well as Muslims, Christians and adherents of Traditional Religion, the Guest Speaker noted that the awardees have a personal input to make towards the achievement of the vision of TOMEB Foundation for an assured future for them. The speech admonished that fulfilling their part of the bargain required that the awardees should dare to dream, because they were not too young to dream. And those dreams should be big dreams, in line with the following challenge: “Reach for the high apples first; you can get the low ones any time.” The speech further exhorted the awardees to be focused and avoid giving up their dreams flimsily, and should avoid everything that can kill a dream.
Deacon Matthew Kola Ogunkunle, the Coordinator of the TOMEB Scholars Selection Team, who was also Dr. Popoola’s teacher in his secondary school days, noted in relation to the general success of the TOMEB initiative: “As usual, when I requested for the last WASCE results of TOMEB Foundation Scholars from the 3 schools, I was highly impressed. Not only because [they] did well in their various schools, but also because they performed excellently in their JAMB scores. For example, one of them, Paul Oyesola, scored over 300 marks in the 2026 JAMB exams, and has been offered admission to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ibadan.” In all, TOMEB Scholars are attending or have graduated from 31 higher institutions and have studied or are studying 34 different courses.
Deacon Ogunkunle further noted: “Also, the emphasis of the co-founder of the scheme, Hajia Mariam Mojisola Popoola, on girl-child education is yielding positive results. As at today, 65 females and 38 males, putting the total figure at 103, have benefitted from the Scheme.” In fact, one of the former female TOMEB Scholars, Maryam Afonja, was the valedictorian and best graduating student at the first convocation ceremony of First Technical University (now Abiola Ajimobi Technical University), Ibadan, in 2021. She has since joined the university as a lecturer, and is already on a PhD programme in Pharmaceutical Microbiology. One undergraduate and two Master’s degree scholarships have also been awarded under the TOMEB scheme.
Another session – “An Evening With TOMEB Scholars” – was held after the scholarship awards on 16 October, 2026. Alhaji Bashir Tayo Lawal, a Deputy Director/Tax Controller with the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) was the Guest Speaker at this event. In his remarks titled “From dreams to reality setting and achieving your goals,” he shared his life experiences and counselled the TOMEB Scholars to internalise the following personal development template: “Dream it. Plan it. Work for it. Achieve it.”
Looking back and savouring the success of the TOMEB Foundation educational experiment, Dr. Tunde Popoola noted with satisfaction: “The work of these past fifteen years has proven that the model works, that a scholarship, paired with mentorship and belief, can change the direction of a young life.” The positive result of the experiment has made the foundation to raise the bar for itself, as Dr. Popoola said: “Our task is now to build on that proof. We envision reaching beyond the three schools that have been our home base since inception, extending this opportunity to more communities within the state and, in time, beyond it.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Popoola became the National President of Sepeteri Community in 2021, and as he was taking care of the living, he was accommodating the departed. Therefore, the second event of the day which took place immediately after Asri prayers was the commissioning of the re-built Baba Imam Ratibi mosque as Sadaqah Jariyah (charity that continues to benefit the living and for which the departed continue to get reward) for his late mother, Mama Sidikatu Abio Popoola, who died on 22 December, 2025.
Engr. AbdulHakeem Raji, the elated Chief Imam of Sepeteri recalled how he had reasoned with the Popoola family that it was a nobler endeavour to rebuild the mosque and sink a borehole which would supply water to the mosque and the neighbourhood than to embark on a financially wasteful funeral ceremony. One of the oldest members of the congregation also narrated how the members of the mosque resisted the pulling down of the old structure, because they considered the suggestion of rebuilding it as a pipe dream in the light of the meagre regular contributions from the congregation. He said that when the Imam continued to be resolute in his reassurance that the mosque would be successfully rebuilt, the congregation relented.
Meanwhile, Dr. Popoola had invited well-wishers to contribute to the rebuilding of the mosque and sinking of a borehole there to honour the memory of his late mother. The response was remarkable and the ultimate result was the exquisite mosque now standing on the spot of the old one. The Imam prayed profusely for the late Mama Sidikatu Popoola, the Popoola family and all who had contributed to the building of the mosque which now stands as a source of knowledge acquisition and an object of pride to the congregation.
As the Nigerian government continues to make efforts towards youth and community development, the TOMEB Foundation scholarship programme and related initiatives validate the complementary positive impact that individuals and non-governmental groups can make, and provide an invaluable, sustainable empirical model.