In February this year 2020, award-winning Nigerian dancehall artist Patoranking announced, at an information session in Lagos, that he would be offering 10 fully-paid scholarships for promising students from across Africa to attend the prestigious African Leadership University (ALU) in 2020. Given his early childhood struggles more so with regard to access education.
Today that Patoranking is well known across Africa, having accumulated over 200 million YouTube views, while his most recent album Wilmar debuted at number 5 on the global Billboard Reggae charts amidst other wins such as having had two successful tours in Europe and the Caribbean in 2017/18, scoring a seat on the judging panel for the reality singing competition – The Voice Nigeria for two seasons (2016 / 2017), His urge to impact fans around the world through his culture has earned him some of the most prestigious awards including the Headies Award for The Next Rated Award and the Best New Act of The Year at the City People Entertainment Awards. Accolades continue to pile up for this charismatic performer, aside being awarded MTV Africa’s Song of the Year for My Woman, My Everything, Patoranking was also crowned Best African artist at the South African Music Awards (SAMA) in 2017. He’s gone on to win several awards including video of the year for his most talked about song Heal D World at the 2019 Soundcity awards, making him undoubtedly one of the most culture shifting visionaries at the forefront of African music, he got featured on Major Lazer’s Particular from the Know No Better EP in 2018. And in the same year he toured with Ms Lauryn for her Miseducation for Lauryn Hill 20th Anniversary tour across North America as a special guest.
Despite all this success, Pato never lost his passion for education. He said to himself if he was ever in the position to provide the education, he could not get for young kids from areas like Ebuta-Metta, he would. Fortunately, that opportunity came up at Youth Connekt Africa last year where he met Fred Swaniker, Founder of African Leadership University (“ALU”) and a member of Time’s 100 most influential people. “I loved everything ALU represents and strives for, I also attended their Africa Leaders Network in Ghana and it was a fantastic experience, we both believe in the importance of ensuring Africa’s next generation of leaders are educated,” revealed Patoranking in February 2020, he announced his Patoranking Scholarship offering 10 students across Africa a scholarship to the African Leadership University:
Yesterday in a signed release, he announced that these 10 outstanding students have been selected after reviewing thousands of applications from over 45 countries in Africa. The recipients of this scholarship will receive full coverage for their tuition and other study-related costs to study at the African Leadership University. He further shared the news on his social media, writing:
“These young Africans have distinguished themselves through their vision, resilience, and the impact they have already made in their communities despite their financial limitations. They have demonstrated exceptional potential in becoming part of the next generation of leaders that will greatly improve the continent, and it’s the potential impact that I see them making that gets me excited”, said Patoranking
“We are excited to receive these 10 Patoranking Scholars to both our Rwanda and Mauritius Campuses for the 2020 session. The scholarship was highly contested and these young Africans were able to stand out clearly with an impressive story,” Tino Elgner, the Director of Admissions at ALU, said. “We are even more confident that they will go on to create positive change starting from their communities.”
“I will be following up personally with each Patoranking Scholar throughout the duration of their study at ALU, and will support their development into entrepreneurial leaders,” Patoranking, he added.
Full List of Patoranking Scholars 2020/21
Nigeria: CHIDERA NNADOZIE (Female) Campus: Mauritius
Uganda: AMOS KASUMBA (Male) Campus: Mauritius
Nigeria: ABDULMALEEK USMAN (Male) Campus: Rwanda
Ghana: EMMANUEL MARKWEI (Male) Campus: Rwanda
Tanzania: HARDNESS RANGE (Female) Campus: Rwanda
Zimbabwe: HANISANI NLEYA (Female) Campus: Rwanda
Liberia: KAFUMBA S DARAMAY (Female) Campus: Mauritius
Kenya: EMMANUEL OKORWOIT (Male) Campus: Mauritius
Rwanda: SANDRA MUGENIWAYESU (Female): Campus: Rwanda
Burkina Faso: YOUSSOUF OUEDRAOGO (Male) Campus: Rwanda
Here’s a brief about the singer, songwriter Patoranking:
Born Patrick Okorie, 29, Patoranking is an award-winning Nigerian dancehall artist who has made major waves over the last few years with his unique blend of Dancehall, Reggae and Afrobeats has allowed him to create a distinct sound recognized by many. Since his emergence, Patoranking has accumulated a massive following online with over 160 million views on YouTube. His debut album GOE (God Over Everything) released in 2016 peaked at #4 on the Billboard Reggae Charts, the same album which spawned another hit, No Kissing featuring Ghana’s Sarkodie. He is also known for other hit songs such as “Heal the World”, “Daniella Whine”, among others.
He was recently announced as a recipient of the Forbes Africa 30 under 30 class of 2020, which is such a huge accomplishment for him.
About African Leadership University:
Founded in 2015, African Leadership University (ALU) is on a mission to unlock a new era of opportunity for Africa by unleashing a new generation of entrepreneurial and ethical leaders to solve the continent’s grandest challenges. With state-of-the-art campuses in Mauritius and Rwanda, ALU is composed of more than 1,200 students representing more than 40 African nations. In 2019, ALU was ranked as one of the 50 most innovative organizations in the world by Fast Company magazine and described by The New York Times as one of the top eight places ihttp://www.alueducation.comn the world where history is being made. You can learn more about ALU at www.alueducation.com.
Congratulations to all the recipients and we do wish you all the very best, on this new accomplishment. 👏🏾😊
