Determined to leave a legacy that would be difficult for posterity to ignore, especially in the education sector, the Osun State Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola recently inaugurated an imposing N750 school building in Ejigbo, Ejigbo Local Government Area.
To some, such a giant step was not new because his administration has already put in place world-class school structures. These included 14 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and 11 high schools.
The gigantic edifice has the following facilities well equipped and furnished: 72 classrooms of 49 square-meters each and capable of containing 49 students, six offices for study groups, six laboratories; 18 toilets for ladies, 18 toilets for gents, 1 science library; one art library; one facility manager’s office, one bookshop and a sick bay.
In addition, it has one bursar’s office, three principals’ offices, three general staff offices, one senior principal’s office, one record store, one security shed/reception, a 1,000 capacity hall for external examinations.
Other facilities include: storage for equipment and utility storage, a stage office space, storage for documents, four female toilets, four male toilets, borehole and transformer to ensure uninterrupted power supply.
The new school, named after Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, is a magnificent three-in-one school, which has the capacity for 3,000 pupils.
The government had earlier inaugurated the Salvation Government Middle School, Alekuwodo, Osogbo, Baptist Elementary Government School, Ilare, Ile-Ife as well as the Ansar-rul-Deen Government Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Governor Aregbesola stated that the cost of the school though huge, considering the lean resources of the state, is an investment worth making.
Aregbesola said within the first quarter of next year the government would also inaugurated another set of schools in the same category.
He stressed that no government can overspend on the education of the people, saying ýeducation translates to a total development of the human person. He added that it is the best way the people of the state can get a lasting benefit from government.
The governor noted that one of his first actions in office after inauguration in 2010 was to hold an education summit chaired by Prof. Wole Soyinka, adding that the rehabilitation of schools and construction of new ones were derived from the outcome of that summit.
Aregbesola stated that it is befitting that Osun State named the school after Prof. Wole Soyinka who he described as an excellent product of public education in Nigeria and a distinguished academic who brought honour to Yoruba land, Nigeria, Africa and the black race with his Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986.
He said: “We can construct a good road that will last for 50 years and we are doing that, but this can never be compared to the enlightenment an educated person receives in terms of its value to the society and humanity.
“The state of education prior to our coming was appalling and frighteningly so. Zoos were better than the places where the pupils were receiving education. Many of them were dilapidated and falling down.
“These schools were therefore not encouraging any serious learning or character building. The result was that the pupils themselves were behaving like animals. They were forming cult groups, fighting regularly with dangerous weapons and engaged in all immoral acts.
“These are children aged seven and above. My heart bleeds to see the public education system disintegrate and become dysfunctional.”
The governor added that the inauguration of the school was Osun’s way of making a statement that public schools can be the best and be returned to the pre-eminent position it occupied in the past.
He reiterated his commitment to complete all ongoing projects embarked upon by his administration despite the dwindling economic fortune of the country and the state in particular.
Speaking earlier, the Deputy Governor who is also in charge of education, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori said the administration of Aregbesola has brought a lot of laurels to the state with his giant strides in education in Osun.
She noted that the state is redefining the environment of learning hence the construction of 100 new state-of-the-art schools.
In his remark at the event, the Nobel Laureate commended Governor Aregbesola for doing a great job with the construction of the schools, saying he is elated that such honour is bestowed on him. He pledged to visit the schools frequently to see how they are faring.
Prof. Soyinka, who spoke in Yoruba language, enjoined leaders in the country to ensure that children are brought up with a feeling that one religion is not superior to the other to avoid creating ill feelings in their reasoning faculty.
He stated that all hands must be on deck to see to it that children in schools are not differentiated along religious lines for a better Nigeria.
His words: “I sympathise with the religious policy of governments in schools. Children must not be brought up with a feeling that religion inhibits knowledge.
“In schools, we need not distinguish our children. The fatalistic religious holiness and the holier-than-thou attitude must be reduced among our students.”
