The Adunni Foundation has announced the maiden edition of the Basic Education Torchbearers Award (BETA) and Hope Nigeria Talks, scheduled for Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at the NECA Main Hall, Hakeem Balogun Street, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m.
The ceremony, themed “Education is True Independence: Honouring the Past to Build the Present and the Future,” will feature Emeritus Professor Michael Omolewa, former Nigerian Ambassador to UNESCO, as keynote speaker.
According to Motunrayo Adunni Famuyiwa-Alaka, Founder of The Adunni Foundation and Executive Director of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), the award aims to spotlight individuals, schools, and institutions driving excellence and innovation in Nigeria’s basic education sector.
She said the initiative is rooted in the conviction that “a better and truly independent Nigeria begins with basic education.”
This first edition of BETA coincides with Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary and the 70th anniversary of the Free Universal Primary Education (UPE) Programme, highlighting education as the cornerstone of national development.
The event will also feature Hope Nigeria Talks, where primary school students will engage in national reflection on education and civic values, and the unveiling of Edupendent – Education is Independence, The Adunni Foundation’s flagship intervention for systemic education reform.
Famuyiwa-Alaka added that the Foundation’s mission is to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through education and goodwill, guided by the principle in Acts 10:38. “Our vision is of a world where the spirit of goodwill transforms lives, uplifts communities, and spreads healing without boundaries,” she said.
The Foundation’s Board Chair, Dr. Yele Okeremi, Co-Founder and CEO of Precise Financial Systems, joins in leading the initiative to strengthen Nigeria’s education sector and inspire long-term reform.
The BETA and Hope Nigeria Talks will bring together education leaders, policymakers, private sector partners, and students to celebrate transformative contributions to Nigeria’s foundational learning system.
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