The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Education

  • Give us education

    Education, they say, is the bedrock of sustainable development in every society. At a social level, education liberates the enslaved and empowers the poor to prosper and blossom. Society rises and falls on the levers of education. Through education, the seemingly weak becomes exceedingly powerful, exuding the courage and savoir-faire to recreate the narrative of civilisation.  Just like every other citizen, the Almajiris in the North-East Nigeria also thirst for education.

    Amidst the backwardness in education in this region, the threat posed by terrorism by insurgents has contributed to high social displacement resulting in a rise in the number of Internally Displaced Persons, pushing more Almajiris to the street. This is definitely not acceptable, especially as we begin to turn the page to a definitive phase in human social evolution.

    I have always been worried by the increasing number of almajiris on our streets as well as the attendant threat they pose to social harmony.  Coming across a group of these folks struggling to read newspapers at the University of Maiduguri brought tears to my eyes. I knew these ones were willing to learn, to know, to interrogate the society they live in. But somehow, their fate is a chequered one. And just then, memory of an article I read titled: Mining the mind to mine the earth popped up in my head. I imagined the magical powers of knowledge and all that can be made to be just on the strength of it.

    Indeed the greatest injustice that could be committed against these children is to deprive them of education. The human mind is a terrible thing to waste, and so these innocent children should be educated.

    One wise man once said: “I hold it as an indisputable fact that the first duty of a state is to see that every child born therein shall be well fed, housed, clothed and educated till he attains the year of discretion.” These are basic rights of our children but we have failed in all these areas.

    The failure of education is the root of vandalism, terrorism, lawlessness, poverty and acts of irresponsibility being witnessed in Nigeria today. Of a truth, education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive, easy to govern, but impossible to enslave. Chief Obafemi Awolowo knew this when he introduced free primary education in 1995 in the defunct Western region. Improved quality of life can be achieved through education for all.

    The biggest tragedy in Nigeria is not the great waste of natural resources or the looting of treasury by selfish politicians and sundry. The biggest tragedy is the waste of human resources and the continual neglect of our schools. Our children should stop begging in the streets but be educated to advance the cause of the Nigerian project. This and no other is the only way to salvage this country.

     

    • Oluwasheyi, 300-Level Mass Comm., UNIMAID

     

     

  • Tambuwal committed to girl-child education

    SOKOTO State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal on Tuesday said his administration’s focus on the education sector is holistic, especially for the girl-child in the state.

    Tambuwal said he would ensure girls access quality education to make their lives meaningful.

    The Governor spoke in Sokoto through the Commissioner of Science and Technology, Alhaji Nasiru Zarumai, at a conference on inclusive education in Northern Nigeria organised by the British Council in collaboration with the Sokoto State Ministry of Education.

    “The government is fully determined to ensure improvement in the education sector, especially to girls that are left behind in the state.

    “This will improve maternal health of women and address the level of death rate in the sector.

    Tambuwal thanked the British Council for organising the programme in the state and appealed for collaborations to improve the education sector not only in Sokoto but across the country.

    The Commissioner, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Dr. Jabbi Kilgore, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Mainasara Ahmad, said inclusive education is an attempt to bring children of school-age to learn together irrespective of their abilities.

    “The programme, if adequately implemented, would support the development of individual strengths and gifts, work on individual goal while with other children in the classroom.

    “This will, however, involve parents’ participation in the education of their children; foster a culture of respect and belonging among children, developing friendship among children and appreciation of diversity and inclusion in the community,” he said.

    Vice-Chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Prof Abdullahi Zuru appreciated the British Council for the initiative of opening up neighbourhood schools to all children.

    Zuru, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Mansur Ibrahim, said: “This initiative is a wonderful one which will surely support the children to learn, contribute and partake in all activities of the schools as equals.”

  • Nigeria’s education achieves only 50% of goal, says don

    Nigeria’s education achieves only 50% of goal, says don

    A lecturer in the Biochemistry Department of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Dr Jerry Orhue, has called for a review of the Nigerian curriculum for failing to achieve the purpose of education.

    Orhue made the call at the 2016 Speech making and Prize giving programme of Doregos Private Academy in Ipaja, Lagos State.

    Education delivery in most schools in Nigeria, according to Orhue, only achieves 50 per cent of its goal because of lack of transfer of skills.

    Speaking on the topic: “In Pursuit of an Impactful Culture of Creativity and Innovation in Education”,    Orhue said: “Contemporary education system in Nigeria has only focused on just 50 per cent of the goal of education.  Knowledge is good, and it is said that ‘knowledge is power’, but knowledge that cannot translate into solution to societal challenges is not only defective, but outright impotent.”

    Lack of skill, he said, was retarding national development and would continue until the education system is revitalised to breed citizens who can be creative and innovative.

    To rebuild the education system, he said teachers must be retrained and motivated through public recognition.

    Orhue also said the curriculum must encourage enquiry-based learning and science fairs.  He said doing so would give students the opportunity to seek solutions to challenges and test their solutions.

    By exposing the pupils to international programmes and collaborating with various organisations, Orhue said the system would produce better students.

    The school’s executive director, Mr Benardinho Doregos, said the school, in its 20 years of existence, has made efforts to groom pupils, who are creative and entrepreneurial through its science fairs and other programmes.

    Over 100 prizes were presented to pupils and teachers, who distinguished themselves in academics and other areas of school life at the event.  The star of the day was Bruce Omogbolahan, the school’s head boy, who carted away 56 awards for being the overall best while in SS2.  Other star prize winners are Folarin Pelumi, who got 32 awards (SS1), and Bello Abubakar, who got, 30 (JSS2).

    The school’s administrator, Mrs Olufunmi Ogunsi, in her speech, said the school excelled in various areas in the past year.  She congratulated the prize winners for their achievements.

    “I am very proud of our award winners today and they should be proud of themselves.  I, therefore, congratulate them as well as our parents, who are a veritable part of this process as they have contributed immensely to these achievements,” she said.

  • Photo: Soldiers teaching boys in Maiduguri

    Soldier teaching
    Two Nigerian soldiers deployed in North East teaching two young boys as part of their social responsibilities to host community.

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  • Expert decries low priority for health, education

    Expert decries low priority for health, education

    Mr Oluseun Onigbinde, a digital innovator and advocate of the open data movement, on Thursday, decried low priority accorded the education and health sectors by governments at different levels. He said the two sectors, together with defence and security, should get the larger part of the total budget because they directly affect the welfare of Nigerians.

    Speaking during a training session organised for health reporters by Development Communications Network (DEVCOMS), in Lagos, he called on the federal and state governments to bring to the front burner, matters that concern health and education, adding that beside security, these two sectors should have more government attention.

    According to him, at the moment the health budget at the federal and state levels, do not meet the statutory requirements provided in the 1991 Abuja declaration, which states that the health sector should get up to 15% of the total budget. Reviewing the Lagos State budget for the last four years, he pointed out that the budget for health has continued to witness a decline, which he said should not be the case.

    According to the budget figures, between 2015 and 2016, there was a sharp decline in the health budget from 9.1% in 2015 to 6.3% in 2016, although this present government increased the 2016 budget from what it was the previous year. Analysing the budget, Onigbinde drew the trainees’ attention to the fact that more than half the budget allocated to health goes into the remuneration of its workers, leaving the sector to struggle to meet other basic needs.

  • Education and ethically challenged role models

    Education and ethically challenged role models

    Let me start with a confession. In some of my previous contributions on education, I made some assumptions on the basis of my own experience as a child, a student, a teacher, and a parent and grandparent. Sadly, for me, I now realize that those assumptions may not be universally true. Indeed, it does appear that the cultural ethos of the moment has effectively invalidated those assumptions for many stakeholders in the educational enterprise. It is tragic!

    First, as a child, I was aware that my parents invested heavily both morally and financially in my education and left no ethically sound stone unturned for my success. My father was an activist parent in PTA meetings, serving as officers in several of them even after I had left those schools. With the little he had, he ensured that I had all school materials throughout the school year. He befriended the parents of my schoolmates to ensure that he knew what was going on. He was also in good relation with all my teachers and headmasters. At home, I had no other assignments during school days than to study. His watchful eyes followed my footsteps such that I had no place to hide for any juvenile mischief.

    Second, as a student, I just knew that the task that I needed to accomplish was to get a good education and that there must be no distraction. Therefore, I approached the task with all the energy that my little frame could muster during and after school hours. I knew that infractions such as cheating came with dire consequences; therefore, I avoided them like plague. In this, the community and its social and religious institutions deserve a lot of credit for reinforcing the message of hard work and moral norms that saw my generation through. It really takes a village.

    Third, I had teachers who dedicated their entire working life to the success of their students. They were well-prepared and well-motivated. Remarkably, many of my early education teachers had no formal teacher training. Yet they performed extremely well and instilled discipline and moral rectitude in their students. Sure, we thought that some of them were quite harsh. It was only later that we gave them the credit they deserved.

    Fourth, as a teacher, following the example of those who taught me, I knew well to take my job seriously. Having an excellent knowledge of the subject-matter, preparing good lesson notes, teaching with passion, and motivating children to learnare key to good learning outcomes. I did (and still do) all at the various levels that I taughtfrom elementary to university. Having satisfied myself of my input, I let the output take care of itself, believing that if my students did their part, they cannot fail any internal or external examination that was based on what I taught them. I have never been disappointed.

    Fifth, all loving parents and grandparents naturally want the best for their wards. Like our parents, we try to invest emotionally and materially in the future of our children both for selfish and altruistic reasons. After all, our destinies are linked with theirs. My assumption, born out of my own experience, is that to achieve their desire, parents seek to instill in their children the habit of hard work and discipline that they need to succeed in their studies and in their lives.

    In a previous piece on family involvement in education, I argued for the need to bet on our innocent children who we voluntarily bring into the world. I submitted that we bet on them when we create a future that is worthy of them and the country which they in turn can be proud to call theirs.

    I observed that we create that future by investing in their education from the cradle so that from the first time they open their eyes, they see a nation that cares and educates, just as they behold the love of an extended family of mother, father, siblings, uncles, aunties and grandparents who first welcome them with loving hands and cheerful faces.

    I reasoned that parents had to take effective ownership of family responsibility in the education of their children. And this has always been our tradition even in the pre-colonial days when our focus was on practical education for skills that were considered essential for a successful life—farming, trading, crafts, and family professions.

    The literature on parental involvement in education is convincing. There is copious evidence that when the family is actively involved in the education of their children, it has a positive influence on the achievement of the children not only in school but throughout life because it enables them not only to do well in examinations and earn good grades, but also to develop better social skills.

    Initiating and nurturing family involvement in the education of children is a double-lane approach by parents and schools because there is a lot at stake for both but certainly more for the parents. A school where accountability is taken seriously and where there are consequences for failure would leave no stone unturned in getting all hands on the deck for successful student outcomes.

    On the other hand, parents know that the future of their kids, and their own happiness and peace of mind are at stake. They therefore have a lot more reason to get involved. Careers are important, but as the elders remind us, the probability is very high that a child that is inadvertently left untrained and unskilled may end up destroying whatever legacy an illustrious career has succeeded in building. This is just as true of children that are spoilt on account of parental negligence.

    I still believe in all the foregoing and in the assumptions that have been the motivating force of my educational philosophy. The reader may then imagine my shock when it appears that my assumptions are not acceptable to many contemporary parents and teachers. Surely, they share the dream of successful children and students respectively. But they have a different approach to the realization of this dream.

    I have just got to know that the approach that many now favor, including parents and teachers, is the short-cut approach that has perilously impacted our development in all facets of our national life. It is the approach of cheating, also known as examination malpractice.

    Why is this appalling? Assume that,on their own, some students engage in examination malpractice.We would expect teachers and parents to rise up to the challenge, inflict serious punishment on the culprits to reform them and to serve as deterrent to others. But now, when parents and teachers are the culprits-in-chief, what is the hope?

    Parents and teachers are naturally seen as role models. Children look up to their parents and teachers as models or examples of decent character and moral values to be emulated. They are the closest to the child growing up. But instead of serving as positive models of character and moral values, many teachers and parents now not only just look aside in the face of immoral behavior on the part of their wards, they are alleged to actively encourage and sanction such behavior.

    In the matter of the unfortunate incidents of examination malpractice that bedevils our school system, principals and teachers are alleged to be in cahoots with parents who voluntarily pay the required fees for the purpose.Are these still role models?

    There is nothing mysterious regarding the consequence of examination malpractice for the future of the students, parents, and the nation. Many students with straight “A’s” in GCE are not able to move higher in the educational leader because they are unable to cope with the rigor of higher education. Those who make it also fraudulently through higher education end up back as teachers in the same school system that encouraged examination malpractice and the cycle continues. What you don’t have, you cannot give. And where knowledge is lacking, teachers and students resort to the easy way out. Meanwhile, the nation is the ultimate victim of these ethically challenged role models.

     

  • SUBEB trains education secretaries

    SUBEB trains education secretaries

    With the conclusion of a three-day retreat last week, Education Secretaries in the 20 Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs) of Lagos State are expected to perform better.

    The training, organised by the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) at the Dover Hotel, Lekki, exposed them to the latest trends in educational administration.

    Speaking on the theme: “Effective planning and management for improved basic education,”  the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Oluranti Adebule, charged the participants on the importance of being the government’s eyes at the grassroots.

    Dr Adebule, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Mrs Elizabeth Ariyo, implored them to live up to their responsibilities as caretakers of government properties in their care and carry out their duties diligently without fear or favour.

    She also warned them against recruiting workers through the backdoor, using the problem of inadequate teachers as an excuse.

    “The ministry is aware of the high number of non-teaching staff as against the teaching staff. We are working on it. It should not be an excuse for employing through the back door,” she said.

    Dr Adebule urged the participants to adhere to the recently passed circular that banned social, political, religious events from holding in schools. She said it was for both security reasons and to enhance the learning environment for its pupils.

    “We need to secure our schools and opening the schools for social activities exposes pupils unnecessarily. It is not limited to schools alone, but government properties. If such is seen in our schools now, it should be reported to the Ministry of education or send text to 08056024145,” she said.

    Also speaking at the event, Chairman, Lagos SUBEB, Dr Ganiyu Sopeyin charged the participants to ensure that teachers deliver qualitative education and the pupils learn in environments void of distraction.

    “Our education secretaries therefore, must be professionally equipped for the task of efficient management of Local Government Education Authorities and basic education delivery,” he said.

    One of the participants, the education secretary of Agege Local government, Mr Olalekan Majiyagbe said: “This will help education in the state improve. We will go back and ensure compliance at all levels.”

     

  • Education: Tambuwal chooses the best part

    The break of a new nationhood in Nigeria, gave birth to three distinct, divergent and strong models of development under a unique federal structure. The three tendencies, particularly after independence in 1960, propelled by very ambitious and visionary leaderships, led to the rapid development of each of the regions in the most dramatic and enduring way.

    The socio-economic and political vibrancy, particularly imbued by the buoyant economy, sustained by the famous groundnut pyramids in the North, the cocoa farms in the West and the palm produce in the East, not only gave rise to why many see the period as the golden era of the country, but bespeaks adequately of the place of leadership or lack of it in the affairs of man and his development in any milieu.

    But beyond the economic and political wizardry of that era, there was yet a clincher, which appeared to have made a difference among the competing areas, and still does now, even more than five decades, in those entities, which have now fragmented into different states. It was the phenomenon of education.

    Imbued by a singular vision, Obafemi Awolowo, then Premier of the Western Region, saw in it an opportunity for not only creating a major leap in the economic and social well-being of his people, but the fastest way to do so.

    Not that others did not see a similar vision, but the strategy adopted in pursuing the goal around it, appeared not as workable or fruitful. That mattered a lot. Thus, whilst the Michael Okpara’s East, adopted an approach where education was made available only to individuals who could afford it, sometimes at the most excruciating pains, or to community efforts available only to bright children, and Ahmadu Bello’s North appeared to have favoured the moralistic approach, through promoting religious education, Awolowo practically threw the doors open with his free education policy.

    The result! Phenomenal! Long before whole communities in the two other zones produced their first graduates, the West was already boasting of one in every family. Today, that trend has endured, even with the attempt by the others to catch up. The attendant picture in terms of the socio-economic and political development, bears ample testimony of the benefits of that vision, more than five decades after.

    It is against this backdrop that the current takings of Governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (AWT), can be situated. Like the biblical Solomon, who neither asked for money or riches, when God asked him to make a choice, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has not left anyone in doubt about his preference for his people while in office. He seems to sleep and wake education.

    Though it was a major item in during his campaign, he has since turned it into a major project, driven with a single-minded disposition since ever since.

    On December, 6 last year, after the State Executive Council (SEC), meeting, the Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Saidu Umar, announced the declaration of a State of Emergency on Education. A flurry of activities had emerged before and more have followed after to give impetus to this drive, an indication that the governor means business in making education the foundation of the state’s development architecture.

    From proposing a bill criminalising parents that refuse to send their child to school, to injecting 500 teachers into the educational workforce; from signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Teachers Institute (NTI) to train teachers in the state, to engaging in peer review mechanism, such as studying the Kano State girl-child transport programme and the Ondo State School free shuttle programme and to the setting aside of one per cent levy for every contract awarded in the state for funding education, the true picture of the governor’s vision and strategy is becoming more apparent by the day.

    Ostensibly to ensure that biting poverty pervading the country is not a barrier to this pet project, the governor, recently caused the free distribution of 8,000 Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) forms worth N44million to indigent students seeking admission into various tertiary institutions across the country. He has also commenced the building of a teacher’s village, while introducing a package of special incentives for teachers in rural areas, as well as ensuring prompt payment of the school fees of indigenes of the state studying in various institutions in Nigeria and abroad.

    However, the most practical step taken so far in this direction, came on December 30, 2015 when, during his budget presentation, the governor announced a whopping N34.458billion, almost 30 per cent of the total N174.391billion estimate profile  for education. The estimate, which is above the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recommendation, is not only an icing on the cake, but appears to have put paid to any form of doubt about the governor’s intention. It was also there that he announced a feeding programme for the pupils, to encourage that the classrooms are filled with pupils.

    Hear the reason: “My answer is simple: We have a lot to gain by addressing the challenges of the sector head-on. It is our firm conviction that when the people are educated, they’d definitely be better prepared to be self-sufficient. An economically independent society is the stepping-stone to combined productivity that leads to an economic growth of the nation as a whole….So declaring a state of emergency in the sector will enable us implement extra ordinary measures within a defined time-frame to achieve desired result. Our objective is to improve enrolment at all stages – basic, secondary and tertiary. We hope to improve quality of teachers by training and retraining, and recruitment of new ones. Any teacher whose capacity did not improve after the training will be reassigned to where his ability will be better needed within the civil service. The ultimate aim is to improve human capital capacity in the sector, eliminate inequality in access and radically improve numeracy and literacy.”

    The raison d’etre could not have been better expressed. But there is more to be argued in this direction. What better way to emphasise the knowledge economy argument than the state of Nigeria today, where the futility of reliance on natural resources is staring everybody in the face?

    With a simple stroke of fate, the giant has been cut down to size. It took the discovery of alternative to oil, the nation’s economic mainstay, to ensure this. Today, the collective fortunes of the country is not only oscillating dangerously, but its basic survival is practically threatened and hanging in the balance, leaving the future bleak.

    Yet, countries without as much as a fraction of Nigeria’s natural resources are witnessing growth and economic well-being in quantum proportion, the difference, of course, being the advantage of knowledge economy. Yes, how much does Microsoft or Facebook, an invention of just two individuals, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerbeg, make in a year? How many states in Nigeria would be combined to rake in such figures? Yet, so much is buried in the soil of every Nigerian state from Damaturu to Uyo and from Kafanchan to Abakaliki, or Iseyin.

    Why should Nigeria not be at the mercy of other people even with the huge natural resources when there is no basic knowledge or knowhow on how to tap and refine them into finished products? Even with the diversification that is being trumpeted currently, how far could it go without research and development, which can only come through the needed investment in education?

    That is where Tambuwal’s vision finds more expression in real terms. Besides, the current experience of insecurity in the country, owing to terrorism, high rate of crime and other social malaise, has provided another perspective to why the development of a robust and thriving educated populace is not only germane, but critical.

    Every single available fact, suggests that the prevalence of a massive and unacceptable cluster of the uneducated population, has remained the nursery through which this ugly and dangerous phenomenon has been fed and nurtured.

    The governor is certainly on a good journey. What remains is how far he would be willing and able to drive the agenda and how much energy and resilience he would be able, willing and ready to expend in climbing the hill in terms of the arduous nature of the road.   He has chosen the best part. The most important.

    • Igboanugo, a journalist, writes from Abuja.
  • ‘Education key to overcoming Nigeria’s challenges’

    ‘Education key to overcoming Nigeria’s challenges’

    The President, American University of Nigeria (AUN), Prof. Margee Ensign, has said that Nigeria must ensure education for all in other to overcome its challenges.

    Prof. Ensign noted that Nigeria was facing a new and complex challenge following the fall in the global price of oil.

    The AUN president said this on Monday at the 2016 pledge ceremony (matriculation) of 78 students held in Yola, capital of Adamawa State.

    She said: “I think education is the basis of everything. If you can educate young people – you Nigerians are so creative, so innovative, and so hungry for education.

    “Nigeria has many more resources. They have smart people. They just have to be dedicated to improving the society and think a little less about becoming rich.

    “Nigeria’s new president is determined to crush Boko Haram militarily. Meanwhile, other organizations such as the American University of Nigeria are trying to prevent young people from turning to violence.”

    She said that the institution would assist the new intake to confront new challenges.

    According to her, the institution is focused on the real world and its problems and how to find solutions to them.

    Prof. Ensign added that the institution was focused on creating a new and better future for the students.

    “Class of 2019, we are all here to guide you through your learning.  We are all here to make sure you have all of the educational resources you need in order to succeed, to be making sure you are exposed to new and sometimes uncomfortable ideas and environments, to introduce you to a new and complex and sometimes troubled world.

    “Beginnings are challenging, but of course this is what it means to grow, to learn, to change. To keep learning, one must try new things, confront new and sometimes disturbing ideas, assume new responsibilities,” she said.

    Prof. Ensign said that the institution through its Technology for All program had educated 4,000 children who have no access to education in Yola.

    “TELA, which we call Technology for All, is using a thousand tablet computers to reach 4,000 thousand kids with apps written by our students and another 18, 000 via radio. It is an experiment. The US government is funding this.

    “We are reaching 22, 000 kids. We have like seven months to improve their reading, literacy and numeracy by 50%. It is not a big win though but we think we can do it.  22, 000 kids, 700 sites here in Yola and about 600 students, faculty staff teaching. If we can show that in six months we can improve reading by 50% with 22,000 kids, why can’t you do it all over the country?

    “We have been doing some extraordinary- service at AUN-feeding hungry Nigerians—hundreds of thousands of them, giving women employable skills and income, giving thousands of boys and girls the opportunity to play and learn together in peace through sports, giving street children a meal a day and chance to learn to read, and some hope in Feed and Read. So pleased to tell you that the Irish government recently funded a project called Feed and Read for Girls,” she added.

     

  • Lagos reiterates commitment to education

    Lagos reiterates commitment to education

    •Soyinka advises youths on creativity

    LAGOS State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule has reiterated government’s commitment to provide conducive environment for school children.

    The state government, she said, would soon begin to implement new policies geared towards 360 degree education in public schools.

    She spoke in Lagos during the unveiling of theme for this year’s Vision of The Child competition.

    Mrs Adebule said: “We are proud to be associated with Vision of The Child (VOTC) and will continue to do so as long as it continues to provide children and youths the platform to express their understanding of the world they live in, their vision of what it should be; as well as their dreams and fantasies through painting and literary arts.’’

    She urged the pupils to ask questions, be receptive to ideas and to never believe they know it all.

    “The strategy is to provide teaching and learning environment conducive for total education of school children. The new model school building will provide space for visual arts and sciences, literary and media centre, including the introduction of technology for the senior students,” she said.

    She noted that the children’s creativity is indicative of a hope for a brighter future in Nigeria. She added that the state government is committed to the education of her pupils.

    Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka, while announcing the theme for this year’s edition, apologised for the gloominess of the previous years’ topics, noting: “We must search thoroughly for an understanding that life is not all sweetness and light, but there is ugliness and there is pain, all of which lead to responsibility.”

    He said childhood is an experience that should be idyllic – all sweetness and light, creativity, and enjoyment of care – because of its fleetingness and how quickly adulthood comes upon one. In his words, “that period of childhood is invaluable, it is sacred.”

    He however promised a racier theme for this edition of the VOTC to coincide with state’s upcoming 50th Anniversary celebration.

    He revealed the theme of the competition to be ‘Sisi Eko @ 50: Ageing gracefully? Or na so-so Pancake?’ He urged the children to enlarge their scope of imagination as broadly and deeply, and as internally and intrusively as they liked.

    At the event were veteran actor, Victor Olaotan; Chief Executive Officer, Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie; Consul-General, Federal Republic of Germany, Ingo Herbert; Lagos Black Heritage Festival Coordinator, Jahman Anikulapo; cultural attaché, French Consulate, Pierre Cherrau; former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Ondo State, Chief Tola Wewe, among others.

     

     

    VOTC and an exhibition displaying colourful paintings by other past winners.

    To register and participate, a payment of 500 naira should be made into the VOTC account (Account name: Lagos Black Heritage Festival – VOTC, Account Number: 0029500582) at any diamond bank branch. After this, prospective participants may proceed to log on to www.visionofthechild.com.ng and click on the ‘register’ icon. They should then input their details and attach their essay in PDF format. The teller number will be needed to verify the payment, after which they may submit. Registration closes on the 4th of March, 2016.

    As an alternative to the online method, after paying into the bank account, the children are to fill the attached form. Then they are to write their essay on the ruled sheet, and submit the completed form at the VOTC secretariat, Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos state. The competition is open to anyone between the ages of eight to twelve, in primary and secondary (public and private) schools in Lagos state, and who has an interest in Arts.

    This year’s edition of the competition is being sponsored by the Lagos state government, Wole Soyinka Foundation and Diamond Bank. It is an annual competition designed to promote reading culture, showcase writing skills among children and youths, promote artistic creativity, encourage interest in science studies, and more.