The establishment of a secondary school at Oboghoro in Warri North Council Area of Delta State will reduce migration from the riverine community to urban areas, a former chairman, Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), Godwin Ebosa, has said.

Ebosa, also ex-chairman of Warri North Local Government, spoke on the sidelines of the festivities marking the second anniversary of the establishment of Odokun Secondary School, Oboghoro.

He said the establishment of the school was part of efforts to develop the community, which was an island on the Benin River.

According to him, with a topography like Mayou in Louisiana, the community has a lot to offer in terms of tourism not only to Nigeria, but also the rest of the world.

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Ebosa said: “Due to the high number of rural/urban migration affecting Itsekiri communities, we decided to establish a school in our community that will make youths remember where they are from.

“Some of my friends and I attended primary and secondary schools in the community.

“We decided to replicate the experience so that when the children from the community spend their first 15 years here, doing their primary and secondary education, they will remember their home town.”

He said initiatives were made to attract prospective students.

Pioneer Commissioner for Oil and Gas Mr. Omamofe Pirah said with the devastating effects of Warri crisis on the riverine communities, the development was a welcomed one.

The Oboghoro Community Trust Chairman, Charles Edema, hailed Ebosa for his philanthropic gesture, saying “he has touched the lives of many people.”

The Principal, Mr. Mattu Mogbejuleoritse, noting that Odokun Secondary School was the best in the last Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in the local government, said there were about 300 students in the school, which also had a boarding facility.