The Nation Newspaper

Category: Southwest

  • Training for pharmacists

    Training for pharmacists

    In its resolve to improve quality of life by enabling people to feel better and live longer, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)–one of world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and health care companies–has gone into partnership with the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) on an innovative training programme, tagged Scientific Course for Pharmacist Education (SCOPE), which aims at enhancing knowledge of Nigerian pharmacists.

    According to the partners, SCOPE, a non-promotional and free online training programme for pharmacists, consists of nine disease area modules that are accredited by the United States-based Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE).

    In her contribution at the media conference held in Lagos to announce the partnership, Google Nigeria Country Manager, Mrs Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor explains that “the Internet plays a key role in professional development across all sectors and it’s great to see GSK and PSN driving digital awareness within the pharmaceutical sector.”

    A 2013 survey conducted in Nigeria revealed that 50 per cent of pharmacists seek training as value added service from GSK. This need led to the development and launch of SCOPE, which is designed to enhance the knowledge base of pharmacists and improve pharmaceutical care outcomes for patients at the pharmacy. These would improve patients’ productivity and well-being, thereby building credibility for pharmacists within their communities.

    The Commercial Development Manager, Africa and Developing countries in Asia (ADC) Mr Jide Adeosun commended the PSN for pioneering the partnership with GSK.

    “We are committed to rolling out similar programmes across Africa,” he said.

    In his remarks at the media conference, PSN President, Mr. Olumide Akintayo revealed that successful completion of SCOPE is now one of the requirements to receive 10 credit points towards the required 30 credit points under the Mandatory Continuous Professional Development (MCPD) programme of the Pharmacists’ Council of Nigeria (PCN).

    Mr. Akintayo noted that the partnership with GSK will further strengthen PSN’s doggedness to promote and maintain high standard of pharmaceutical education in Nigeria, stressing that, “SCOPE facilitates a future grounded on professionalism through new frontiers in quality education updates.’’

    Speaking at the event, Managing Director GSK, Lekan Asuni stated that the MoU signing marks a milestone for not only the partners, PSN and GSK, but also for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole.

    “We consider this education partnership a great opportunity for us at GSK to fulfil our mission of improving the quality of human life.  Through this innovative programme, we aim to enhance the knowledge of Nigerian pharmacists and in turn, positively impact the lives of patients in Nigeria. The online platform was chosen to implement the modules because it’s more cost-effective than face-to-face trainings with a wider reach as pharmacists in hard to reach areas can benefit. Access to quality education will indeed build credibility in the pharmaceutical industry,” he said.

    Among key opinion leaders in attendance were Director of Pharmacy, General Hospital, Ajeromi; Mrs. Awofuwa, Chief Executive Officer Health Plus, Mrs. Bukky George, Mrs Dorcas Omeire of University of Lagos Medical Centre, Director of Pharmacy, Central Bank of Nigeria Staff Clinic, Mrs. Nmadu; Deputy Director of Pharmacy, Lagos University Teaching Hospital Idi-Araba Mrs Bolanle Adekoya, Director of Pharmacy, Health Service Commission Mr Salami and host of other dignitaries.

  • Couples advised on child spacing

    Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo has advised couples to embrace family planning and adopt child-spacing to guarantee healthy living.

    Speaking against the backdrop of what he described as an alarming spate of cases of abandoned babies in government hospitals in the country, Dr. Ojo stressed that proper family planning and child spacing would not only reduce the incessant cases of child abandonment but will also ensure a manageable and healthy family.

    The commissioner emphasised the need for families to have sizeable number of children they could cater for, saying that having too many children than could be reasonably managed may lead to poverty, hunger, hooliganism, prostitution, robbery and other social vices.

    Ojo said parents must care and protect their children, especially the girl-child, noting that failure to do so may lead to teenage pregnancy. He cautioned youths, particularly school age girls, against waywardness, warning that, apart from poverty, pleasure seeking and waywardness also lead to unwanted pregnancy with the attendant menace of child abandonment.

  • Church cleans up communities

    Church cleans up communities

    Mindful of the maxim that cleanliness is next to Godliness, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints penultimate Saturday went to the streets of Lagos and other areas in 22 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to clean up filthy environments. This they did for three hours each day.

    The cleaning exercise was in commemoration of the annual “All Africa Helping Hands Community Service Project.”

    The exercise, which held simultaneously in other countries of West Africa, was carried out in conjunction with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

    The theme for this year’s project was “Hand in Hand, Serving the Community.”

    The starting point of the clean-up exercise in Lagos was Awori Street, off Capitol, Orile-Agege, where over 20,000 members of the church and its partners converged, armed with work tools before going to different areas of the state.

    The members engaged in clearing of blocked drainage systems, tree planting, building bridges, beautification of sites, painting and renovating public buildings and cutting overgrown grasses in markets and public places. The service will be extended to orphanage homes and the prisons.

    The project was carried out simultaneously in the FCT, Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Jos, Kwara; Kaduna, Plateau and River states and 30 African countries.

    The immediate past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of LAWMA, Mr Ola Oresanya praised the church for articulating their faith and belief by eradicating contagious diseases and solving immediate problems facing communities.

    Describing the partnership between the church and the waste managers as fruitful one, Oresanya thanked the church for donating labour and time to service of humanity.

    Some of the areas which benefitted from the project include the Oba’s Palace and Town Hall in Ondo, the Akure State capital and the king’s palace in Ile-Ife and Abeokuta; clearing and cleaning of Ipata Market, Ilorin East Local Government Area; painting and clearing of the palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan.

    In Ijebu-Ode, the Outpatient and Children Emergency Units of Ijebu-Ode General Hospital were repainted, its surroundings cleared, trees were planted in the premises, medical equipment such as litmus, stethoscopes and sphygmomanometer were donated and abandoned patients were reached out to.

     

  • Group laments insecurity in Oshodi

    A group of residents and business owners in Oshodi and its environs has urged security agencies to do more in providing  security, especially by curtailing hoodlums who have turned that high density area of Lagos to a theatre of violence.

    The group, Oshodi Peace Movement (OPM), which consists of traders and residents helping security agencies in promoting peace and orderliness in the area, urged the Commissioner of Police and authorities of other relevant agencies to keep vigil as crimes perpetrated in Eyin-Irin area of Oshodi, which falls under the Onigbongbo Local Government Area, has recently been in the increase.

    “We are calling the attention of the security agencies to the various crimes by a group that call itself Ko si Oga (No leader) and has continued to wreak havoc in our neighbourhood.

    “We have identified some of them, although we understand that the security agencies have also been on the trail of their cohorts,” the group spokesman, Mr. Waheed Olaosebikan, said in a statement made available to newsmen.

    Continuing, the statement said: “Although some of the hoodlums have been arrested, the Oshodi Peace Movement established five years ago, said the crimes have not abated because the leaders of the group are yet to be arrested.

    “Various security agencies have been raiding this area but much has not been done to arrest the main culprits whom we have identified by their names and aliases which include: (Spider, One Naira, Gbenga Fowosere, Eba, Kango, Inspector, Baba Oba and Emi Esu). Until these people are arrested, we cannot have rest of mind here in our neighbourhood.”

  • Lagos to clamp down on safety defaulters

    Lagos to clamp down on safety defaulters

    The Lagos State Government has stepped up its efforts to ensure residents imbibe safety culture in their homes and places of work. In the circumstances, therefore, the government will embark on massive awareness campaigns to residents of the grassroots in a bid to sensitise them on safety regulations of the state, which are aimed at securing lives and properties.

    The Director-General of the Lagos State Safety Board, Mrs Dominga Odebunmi, said event centres, entertainment outfits and night clubs that do not comply with safety measures of the state would be shut down. All corporate offices and event centres operating in Lagos, she said, have been notified to have multiple entry and exit doors in their facilities to ensure safety of their workers and customers.

    Odebunmi said the board would come down hard on any business outfit that flouts the safety measures, stressing that the enforcement of the Lagos Safety Law was not to stifle commercial activities but to prevent needless loss of lives as a result of human negligence.

    The D-G spoke during the monthly Lagos Safety Walk organised by Safety Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (SAEF), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), with the theme: Keep Fit, Live Healthy.

    Odebunmi said: “The recent government clampdown on a few hotels, night clubs and event centres is making owners of many business outfits to know that there are no more excuses. They are aware that, henceforth, Lagos State government will not tolerate any firm or outfit that brings the public to their own vicinity without ensuring their safety.

    “This starts by making sure that there is no single entry-and-exit door to a place. There must be, at least, two to four entries and exits, depending on the size of the outfit.”

    The D-G said there was need to always carry out safety risk assessment at every organisation that could host large number of people at the same time, noting that such a task would keep the business and the people safe.

    She also cautioned people on the wrong use of safety colours, which she said could lead to confusion when there is an emergency. She advised managements of public and private organisations to ensure that use of safety colours conformed to international standards.

    While praising the Lagos State government for supporting the activation of the board since its inception, Odebunmi called on the Federal Government to sign into law the National Safety Bill passed by the 7th National Assembly.

    She said: “We are proud that the Federal Government pushed the National Assembly to pass the National Safety Bill before the last general elections. But, we are pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the bill into law. Given that the President is a man that puts his pen where his word is, we are optimistic that, before the end of the year, he would sign the bill into law.”

    The SAEF Executive Director, Mr Jamiu Badmos, said the monthly road exercise was informed by the need to make people live longer. He said the work-out was to check the growing cases of death from diabetes and high blood pressure among workers, noting that the NGO has the belief that periodic aerobics could prevent needless loss of lives.

    “A lot of people have various health challenges, including diabetes, excess fat and high blood pressure. We believe that exercise plays a key role in correcting all these diseases common among the people. This is why we introduced the safety walk in Nigeria, starting from Lagos to other parts of the country. At the end of the day, we can live longer like our forefathers,” he said. The Principal Consultant, Zub Chord Technical Venture, Mr Shamsideen Kadiri, said the event also had the objective to increase safety awareness at the grassroots, observing that the NGO would not relent in educating every citizen about isolating hazards in their communities.

    He said the NGO would continue to partner with the board, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other emergency response bodies to ensure the country is rid of preventable accidents in homes and at work places.

    Former Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Manager at Exxon Mobil, Mr Kofi Sego, said the NGO would ensure that people imbibe safety culture, adding that the signing of National Safety Bill into law would increase enforcement and prevent loss of lives and property to needless accidents.

    Some workers, who participated in the nine-kilometre walk included staff of various public and private organisations.

  • N20 million for Ekiti artisans

    Ekiti State Government has earmarked N20 million as soft loans for artisans, just as it declared August 6 as Artisans’ Day to appreciate their contributions to the development of the state.

    Also, the state government will soon set up a board to promote the activities of artisans in various fields and incorporate them into its developmental plan.

    Governor Ayo Fayose, who stated this during a meeting he had with artisans in Ado-Ekiti said the role of artisans could not be over-emphasised.

    Fayose said the initial seed money for the soft loans would be N10 million and that the remaining sum would be added later.

    He added that each artisan would be entitled to a maximum of N50, 000 and that they would be given two weeks grace before they begin weekly repayment of N1, 000.

    The President of Ekiti Artisans Association, Mr J.O. Adu, praised Governor Fayose for his support to his members, even as he requested further assistance. This is just as the organised labour in Ekiti State has appreciated Governor Fayose for his love for workers.

  • Ondo 2016: ‘Pick woman as APC candidate’

    An ex-Women Leader of the Defunct Action Congress (AC) in Ondo State, Mrs. Kehinde Adeniran has appealed to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to give necessary support for a woman to emerge as the party candidate for next year’s governorship election.  Adeniran made the appeal during her inauguration as the Woman Leader of the Coalition of APC Support Group in Akure, the state capital.  Former State Assembly aspirant from Akure North State Constituency, Mr. Leye Akinola emerged as the Coordinator of the group, while she will be assisted by ex-caretaker chairman of Ose Local Government Area, Afolabi Mabogunje.

    Mrs Adeniran maintained that women in the party are fully ready to compete with the men for the party ticket.

    According to her, APC women in the state are intellectuals and mobilisers who can also win elections for the party.

    The APC chieftain said women have always been driving force during campaigns, saying they are worthy of both governorship and deputy governorship positions come next year’s election.

    Akinola, however, assured leaders and members of the party of total victory in next year’s gubernatorial election.

    He also promised to begin mobilisation and massive membership drive for the APC so as to increase its profile.

    Akinola, who said the group, has done it in the March 28 Presidential and National Assembly elections, stressed that the coalition of APC support group will boost the chances of the party to form the next government.

  • ABC of Ooni’s selection, enthronement

    ABC of Ooni’s selection, enthronement

    As the world awaits the emergence of a new Ooni, BISI OLADELE examines the traditional, political and spiritual processes involved in the selection of a new king for the cradle of the Yoruba.

    Ooni cropped1When the late Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, joined his ancestors on July 28, this year, not a few people worried less about the pains which his demise brought to his immediate family but focused more on how the town would find a good or even better successor.

    Clearly, the worry is not limited to observers and indigenes because kingmakers, it is believed, will be under intense pressure to throw up an acceptable candidate for the revered stool.

    Aside the town being the cradle of the Yoruba race and the throne highly revered from the time immemorial, the late Oba Adesoji Aderemi brought more honour to the throne through his pedigree while his reign lasted. Oba Aderemi, who reigned from 1930 to 1980, was at a time the Governor of Western Nigeria. He worked closely with the then colonial government as well as the administration of Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo and Ladoke Akintola whose administrations succeeded that of the colonial masters after independence in 1960.

    Aside being elite, his position as Governor and participation in the government of Western Nigerian Government afforded Oba Aderemi the opportunity to relate with the British Government directly. He was really distinguished and influential. Hence, Oba Aderemi was highly honoured within and outside Ile-Ife.

    Largely, Aderemi can be described as the architect of the immense modern honour accorded the Ooni’s throne.

    So, when Oba Sijuwade was chosen to succeed him in 1980, indigenes and most observers heaved a sigh of relief, believing that he was capable of sustaining the honour and even lift it higher within and outside Nigeria.

    Oba Sijuwade did not disappoint many. In addition to sustaining the honour of the stool, the late king brought immense social and political glamour and influence to the stool of the Ooni. Being a socialite prince and businessman, who was well connected to top government functionaries in both civilian and military regimes, Oba Sijuwade succeeded in maintaining the honour of the stool throughout his 35 years reign.

    He also brought some reforms to the town, including promotion of first-class chiefs to obas and modernisation of many traditional rites and festivals which had hitherto tainted Ile-Ife as a town of endless traditional sacrifices.

    Now that Sijuwade has passed on, what processes are involved in the selection and enthronement of a new Ooni?

    The process

    A new Ooni is usually selected from among the four ruling houses in Ife. Rotation among the four ruling houses came to stay since about 120 years ago after, at least, 46 Oonis had reigned.

    The four ruling houses are Ogboru, Giesi, Lafogido and Osinkola. Rotation took firm roots since 1894 when Oba Adelekan (Olubuse 1) mounted the throne. Oba Adelekan hailed from Ogboru Ruling House.

    He was succeeded by Oba Ademiluyi (Ajagun) who hailed from Lafogido. Then, Aderemi succeeded the Ajagun. Aderemi hailed from the Osinkola family.

    Rotation as the first factor guiding selection of a new Ooni was re-emphasised in the 1977 and 1980 government gazettes.

    According to the gazettes, the four ruling houses are arranged in the following order: Osinkola (then ruling), Ogboru, Giesi and Lafogido. Clearly, the arrangement took cognisance of the then incumbent Ooni, Oba Aderemi, who hailed from Osinkola House.

    The gazette, however, stated that in the event of the death of an incumbent, the next houses on the line should produce the next Ooni but that the second next can produce the king if the candidate of the immediate next ruling house is not acceptable.

    The 1976 gazette stated: “That the normal successor to this chieftaincy through the male line of the ruling house can devolve on the female line only if none of the candidates presented through the male line of the ruling house concerned is suitable and if the candidate presented through the female line possesses the necessary qualification and is acceptable to the kingmakers, otherwise selection is made from the family of the next ruling house.”

    Going by the gazette, Giesi is expected to produce Oba Sijuwade’s successor, failure of which to produce a suitable candidate will allow Lafogido to do so.

    The ruling houses will screen aspirants within each house. An expression of interest form has since been designed by the Giesi family for aspirants.

    The houses will screen all aspirants to authenticate their origin and that of their wives after which those who scaled through would be presented to the kingmakers.

    The kingmakers’ stage

    There are two key kingmakers in Ile-Ife. They are the Obalufe, who is the head of the right inner chiefs (Otun Ife) and Lowa, who is the head of the left inner chiefs (Osi Ife). The Otun chiefs are the heads of each of the six original quarters that combined to make Ile-Ife. They are the Obalufe, Obajio, Obaloran, Obalaaye, Akogun and Waasin. Lately, two others appear in the group – Jagunosin and Ejesi.

    Osi Ife includes Lowa, Jaaran, Aguro, Arode, Isanire, Laadin and Lowa Ate. Erebese has since joined them.

    Though Obalufe and Lowa are the major kingmakers, they choose in consultation with other chiefs in the two groups.

    The kingmakers will re-screen the aspirants before presenting them to the Ifa diviners to determine the most suitable candidate for the throne. The kingmakers have the role of announcing the preferred aspirant who immediately becomes the candidate.

    Government approval stage 

    The candidate will be presented to the Osun State Government for approval. If there are important reasons why the candidate should not be coronated, the state government would hold meetings with the kingmakers and find a way out. Otherwise, factors such as strong court cases filed by those who feel cheated among aspirants or ruling houses as well as mass protests against the candidate may hinder government’s approval.

    Modern political influence

    At both the kingmakers’ and government’s approval stages, it is believed that political influence of aspirants will play a major role. The position of Ooni is huge, even in wielding political influence in the entire state and Nigeria.

    Therefore, it is believed that the government may not sit down and watch any aspirant that can upset the political system enthroned as the new king. But it is not clear if the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at both the state and federal levels will wield its influence to determine who mounts the throne next.

    Though many observers opined that only political and monetary influence will determine who wears the crown next, a source close to the kingmakers insisted that Ifa divination will be the strongest factor to throw up the new Ooni.

    Pre-coronation traditional rites

    First in the set of rites is to install him as Sooko, if he is not one yet. A Sooko is a distinguished prince or princess. Distinguished men and women in the four ruling houses are installed as Sookos.

    After being made Sooko, traditional rites would be performed for the new Ooni-to-be in 201 shrines, according to sources within the traditional chiefs group. But it is not clear if the full rites will be performed for the new Ooni-to-be in the face of modernity.

    His first port of call is the Iledi. The Iledi Ooni is made up of traditional Ogbonis who are in regular consultation with the Ooni. They regularly reveal the mind of the gods to the king on issues in the town. They are full traditionalists and the Ooni is regarded as their head.

    They used to function as the Supreme Court before modernity brought judicial institutions as an element of democracy.

    The candidate gets initiated into the Iledi within one week after which he moves to the shrines of gods and deities.

    The period of pre-coronation rites will see the candidate introduced to at least, all the major gods and deities, including the Oodua and Obatala. The rites are performed at their shrines. He would be taught the dos and don’ts of the Ooni and would be made to take oaths that he would be loyal to the cause of Ile-Ife in all circumstances. He would pledge not to betray the people and customs of the town and seek its progress and well-being at all times.

    One of the reasons, according to a reliable source, is to enable him to understand the importance of each festival and deity because he will become the head of all the deities the moment he is crowned the Ooni. The knowledge will also help him to resist pressure of issuing draconian rules against worshippers of the gods or customs known with them.

    The period of completing the traditional rites is referred to as Ilofi. It lasts for about three months.

    The coronation

    After the candidate has received blessings in all the major shrines, he would take a journey to Oke-Ora; a small remote community along Ife-Ilesa Road, where the Onpetu Ido will crown him. The Onpetu was the only king that surrendered his crown to Oduduwa and his warriors on conquering Ile-Ife and its environs at inception.

    Then, the public coronation ceremony will hold on the day chosen by the kingmakers, most possibly at Enuwa Square opposite the palace. He receives the staff of office during the ceremony.

    Thereafter, he will be entitled to wear the Are, a unique crown said to be only available in Ile-Ife. It was learnt that Oduduwa sometimes wore Are apart from beaded crown during his reign. But the Are is worn only occasionally. It symbolises the Oduduwa authority and is believed to carry some spiritual powers. It is believed across Ife that anyone that the Ooni curses with the Are is doomed.

    The Ooni wears Are only once in a year. He wears it during the Olojo Festival, the most popular festival in the town.

  • ‘Invest in agriculture’

    ‘Invest in agriculture’

    Worried by the country’s continued dependence on imported foods despite the abundance of arable land, the Chairman of ODS Global Investment Farms and Company, Alhaji Olaniyi Salami has advised Nigerians to invest in agriculture as crude oil and gas could no longer be major revenue earner for the country.

    Alhaji Salami spoke during the facility tour of 50 acres of farm land acquired by his company at Onigambari, Ibadan/Ijebu Ode Road in Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State.

    The investor, who decried a situation whereby the country would continue to spend huge sums to import food items despite the availability of vast arable land and enough manpower necessary for self-sufficiency in food production, also observed that importation of food was one of the factors that depleted the country’s foreign reserves and should be discouraged.

    “My company decided to embark on large-scale farming to assist the government in  its effort at attaining self-sufficiency in food production and industrial raw materials. The farm, when operational, would embark on food processing and would also create employment for many people,” he said.

    Salami ,who emphasised the need to harness agriculture to boost food production and less dependence on food importation, also enjoined government at all levels to give priority attention to agriculture sector and appoint competent individuals  to man the Ministry of Agriculture.

  • Council distributes GCE forms to students

    Council distributes GCE forms to students

    Determined to encourage those indigenous to Oriade Local Council Development Area (LCDA) to further their education, it has distributed the General Certificate of Examination (GCE) forms to over 100 deserving students of the council.

    Speaking during the distribution exercise, the Executive Secretary of the council, Hon. Bola Badmus-Olujobi assured that both the council and Lagos State Government are committed to providing quality education for all children of school age, even as she advised the students to be studious, obedient and respectful at all times.

    Noting that the council, in its wisdom purchased the forms to be given to the recipients free, she said the students were randomly drawn from different wards of the council for fairness and even representation.

    Expressing her worries that results of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the General Certificate Examination (GCE) in recent time reveal great decline in the standard of the education sector, the council chief maintained that “it has manifested in the quality of our graduates that are churned out yearly from our universities and other institutions of higher learning. There is no need to argue that urgent steps need to be taken to reverse the trend.”

    Hon. Badmus-Olujobi stated that the presentation of the GCE forms to the beneficiaries was a manifestation of the council’s commitment to improve standard of education, provide opportunities for brilliant but indigent students to access quality education and generally to improve the educational content of the local government.

    Promising that the council will organise first-rate preparatory classes for GCE candidates and recipients of the council’s gesture, the council chief advised the beneficiaries to take their studies serious and comply with all rules and regulations governing all examinations. She further urged the students to “read your books and be committed to your academic careers so that you would excel in all your examinations.”

    Continuing, she said: “It’s natural that in an environment such as ours, students should be encouraged to realise their potential. Parents of some of the beneficiaries could not afford the cost of the GCE forms; and these are brilliant students. So, I think it’s necessary for the local government to help them. That informed our distribution of the forms to deserving students.”

    In a chat with Southwest Report after the event, Hon. Badmus-Olujobi said she is worried by the continued decline in education standard which results from students’ lack of interest in reading books, saying that the council is willing to set up coaching centres where students would be taught the art of reading and writing.

    On how to tackle the falling standard of education, the council chief advocated an encouragement of reading culture and enforcement of literary appreciation for all students, irrespective of their chosen areas of study as a way of inculcating in them the reading culture.

    “If children are encouraged to have interest in books and reading right from their formative years all through their primary, secondary and tertiary education years, our schools, especially the universities would produce quality graduates who will, in turn, help the country in her quest for socio-economic and technological development,” she said.

    While decrying the prevalence of examination malpractices in Nigerian schools, which, she said, resulted from students’ lack of interest in books and reading, Hon. Badmus-Olujobi, who was the Deputy Speaker of the Seventh Lagos State House of Assembly said lack of solid foundation in the area of reading and having interest in books has adversely affected the standard of education in our country, even as she said the remedy lay on government making literary appreciation an integral part of the school curriculum to give a fresh direction to the issue of reviving or rekindling the reading culture in our students and among Nigerians.

    She said: “This hue and cry about the falling standard of education which results from lack of interest in books and reading would be in the thrash can of history if government and the relevant agency and stakeholders saddled with the responsibility of moulding our future leaders should see it as an urgent challenge to redirect the mindset of our students by blocking all loopholes that make examination fraud to thrive, through serious emphasis on reading as part of our culture and the provision of books for students’ use.”

    Hon. Badmus-Olujobi hinted that should the passion for reading is sustained, students would excel in any field of study, be it the arts, economics, technical or scientific. She therefore urged government to urgently embark on fundamental reforms of our education system which touches on curriculum, teaching and learning.

    She advised parents to monitor their children’s’ activities and the kind of friends they keep.

    She said: “It is the duty of every parent to ensure that their children imbibe reading as culture. They should sit down with their children to read with and for them. It is unfortunate that these days most parents don’t spend quality time with their children to monitor their academic progress. The craze for materialism tend on the part of parents tends to trivialize the important parental function of bringing up children the right way.

    “Some parents do not care the kind of fiends their children keep. Some do not care about how their children spend their leisure time and the periods they watch television. These days, children are much more interested in watching television even late into the night and surfing on the net. There seems to be lack of parental guide on the kind of film to watch and what periods to do certain things. In such situation, it is logical that less and less time is being devoted to the book and reading.”

    “Government, parents, teachers and all stakeholders in education should take decisive steps to ensure that the future of the country is not populated by semi-illiterate individuals who will definitely impinge on the country’s quest for development,”

    She also advised government not to leave the provision of books to the parents alone but should provide schools and students with books on a regular basis, even as she said government should establish libraries in every primary and secondary schools and stock them with the relevant books.