A seven-year-old pupil from Jigawa State, Faith Maiyaki, has captured the public’s admiration with her touching display of generosity and love for books.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Primary Four student of Elpis Nursery and Primary School in Dutse made a personal donation to “Oluremi at 65 Education Fund,” a project launched to promote literacy and provide storybooks to the National Library of Nigeria.
The initiative, introduced to mark First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s 65th birthday on September 21, 2025, invited Nigerians to contribute funds toward educational development instead of sending gifts or congratulatory messages.
Faith learned about the campaign while watching television with her parents and became determined to take part. For several days, she pleaded with her father to let her donate from her savings.
On September 3, after hearing the campaign jingle again on TV, she hurriedly wrote down the Zenith Bank account number and persuaded her father to break her clay piggy bank. At 10:08 p.m., he made the transfer on her behalf, showing her the receipt as proof of the fulfilled promise.
Her 10-year-old sister, also inspired by Faith’s enthusiasm, made her own donation just minutes later. The sisters are both passionate readers, Faith has completed 68 storybooks since July 2024, while her sister has read more than 100 and writes her own short stories.
Together, they maintain a shared bookshelf, attend phonetics classes weekly, and credit their parents for nurturing a home culture of reading and learning.
Faith explained that her contribution was meant to help other Nigerian children gain access to storybooks through the National Library. She and her sister also extended birthday wishes to the First Lady, praying for her continued health and long life.
Their commitment to education extends beyond reading. On October 11, the International Day of the Girl Child, both sisters participated in a symbolic plenary session at the Jigawa State House of Assembly, where girls presented proposals to lawmakers. Speaker Hon. Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin vacated his chair for the day to allow a girl-child Speaker to preside over proceedings.
