Ray Ekpu — The Guardian of October 13, 2020.

“A few years ago, I was invited by Mr Udom Inoyo, who recently retired as the Vice Chairman of Exxon Mobil, to give a talk at an event to honour teachers for their excellence. He and his wife, Ntekpe, had set up foundation called Inoyo Toro Foundation to build capacity for teachers, deepen the foundation for the teaching of STEMM subjects. For me this was a novel niche in philanthropy in the education sector. Most philanthropists in that sector concentrate in offering scholarships to students or supporting library development. I was thrilled to find that this Foundation decided to pay attention to teachers who are the purveyors of knowledge and to discover for decoration those of them who had exhibited electrifying brilliance. At the last count 238 teachers had received Excellence Awards, which included monetary compensation. The benefit here is not so much on the number of teachers honoured but the fact that a much forgotten area of educational development was receiving the attention of a philanthropists. That niche is unique.”