The Nation Newspaper

Tag: school

  • School lifts Lagos quiz trophy

    School lifts Lagos quiz trophy

    The hardwork teachers and pupils of State Senior High School, Ikeja, put into their preparation for the Brighter Rewarding Future (BRF) Quiz Competition, Season VI, was rewarded with the star prize last week.

    The duo of 14-year old Habeeb Musa and 16-year old Mariam Lamidi displayed outstanding brilliance and were crowned champions of the senior secondary school category competition after defeating Mubarak Mohammed and Qudus Alabi, both 15 years old of Sanngo Senior Secondary School, Agege, by two points.

    Ismail Quadri and Tunde Olowu of Angus Memorial Senior High School, Somolu, came third in the competition.

    In the Junior Secondary School category, Festac Junior College, Festac Town, represented by 14-year-old Michael Abasi-Ifkere and 13-year-old Jimoh  Iyanu-Oluwa scored 20 points to emerge winners of the competition beating Government  Junior College, Ketu -Epe, represented by 13-year-old Patricia Imarhia  and 11-year-old Adetayo Adefarasin.

    The third place was won by Government Junior College, Ikorodu represented by Elizabeth Adekunle and Oluwatobi Ajetumobi.

    Community Nursery and Primary School, Ojo, represented by Rachael Ayodele  and Stella Ogugua,  emerged winners in the Primary Schools Category beating the pairs of Chisom Anyigor and Samuel Salami, both of Maidan Primary School, Kosofe, while Hussey Military Primary School, Yaba, represented by Khadri Adekanbi and Great Ofotokun, came third.

    In the Best Individual Mathematics Category, Master Mubarak Mohammed of Sango Senior Secondary School, Agege, won, beating Martins Ogundele also of Sango Senior Secondary School, Agege and Master Habeeb Musa of State Senior High School, Ikeja, to the second and third places respectively.

    In the Special School Category, Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home, Bariga, represented by 17-year-old Jadesola Mogaji and 15-year-old Taiwo Omotosho, beat the duo of Solomon Omere and Eke Aleshi of the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria and Adaobi Nwobi and Raiwi Uche of National Orthopaedic School, Igbobi, to the second and third positions respectively.

    Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, in her remarks, explained that the contest was organised to help develop the minds of the pupils to make them competent, effective, responsible and promote healthy rivalry among them.

     

    “The competition also aim at creating a healthy rivalry among school children in primary, junior and senior secondary schools in both public and private schools across the state and I am happy to report that the competition has indeed gained ground and has become so popular such that the level of awareness among the students and pupil is awesome,” she said.

    Mrs Oladunjoye added that the competition has brought to the fore areas where teachers need to focus on in the curriculum to improve the performance of the pupils.

    She praised Governor Babatunde Fashola for his consistent support for the education sector and the teachers for a job well done in tutoring their students, especially the special needs children who participated in the competition for the first time.

     

  • LBS alumni lifts school

    LBS alumni lifts school

    The era of four or five pupils   sitting on a three-seater bench with only half of their buttocks has ended at Lekki Community High School, Lekki, thanks to the 150 desks and chairs donation  by the alumni of the Lagos Business School (LBS) Advanced Management Programme (AMP) last week.

    The Set 26 of the AMP also provided 10 sets of teachers’ furniture, all of which are worth over N3 million to the school.

    The 41-member set embarked on the project after graduating last year to give back to the society. The school has the Onilekki of Lekki, Oba Liasim Olumuyiwa Ogunbekun, to thank for being the first beneficiary of the AMP 26 largesse because it was he  who nominated the school when he got wind of the set discussing likely projects to implement.

    The President of the group, Mr Abidemi Sonoiki, said the group formed their charity on November 22, last year during their first reunion.  The committee, saddled with  the project, raised the funds within two months.

    Represented by the Vice President, Mrs Funmi Omo, Sonoiki said the AMP26 Charity Project has adopted the school and would meet other needs as well.

    He said: “Sequel to the rigorous needs assessment carried out to ascertain areas where help is most needed in the school, chairs and tables for both students and teachers, ICT room, library, science laboratory, completion of the school hall with a capacity for 200 students, home economic laboratory were discovered to be most needed.

    “Our commitment is to work towards a three to five-year plan to mobilise resources within and outside our group towards delivering the other needs identified thereby closing the gap wherever it exists. It is our hope that we will begin to see improved performance in West African Senior School Certificate Examination.”

    The Principal, Mr Abayomi Olusanya, thanked the AMP26 for adopting the school.

    “Barely two months ago, the alumni came to Lekki to look for a school to adopt. The Kabiyesi overheard them and told them about this school, so they came and adopted the school. We thank you for this and promise that the school will not disappoint in the WASSCE,” he said.

    On his part, the Tutor General/Permanent secretary Education District III, Mr Olaniyi Yinka, represented by Mr Raji Mudasiri, expressed gratitude to the group for living up to their promise.  He said many people come to the education district saying they want to adopt schools, but never showed up after seeing the schools that need assistance.

    “So, when this NGO responded in two months I was surprised. It is a good thing that people now realise that government cannot do it alone. They have tried to provide the basic needs of the school and pupils.  But we welcome NGOs to assist in other areas,” he added.

    Speaking on behalf of the pupils, the Assistant Senior Prefect, Miss Aderibigbe Adedamola, said they are all very happy.

    “It is like a miracle. When we first saw the chairs and tables, we were wondering if they were for us because we needed them very badly. When we asked and they confirmed that they was ours, we rejoiced. We are so grateful.

    “Four to five pupils used to sit on a chair and it was very inconvenient for us. Some of us stand in class, some of us sit with half our of our buttocks; some don’t even come to school at all because of lack of chairs and tables,” she said.

    Others at the event included Oba Ogunbekun, represented by his Personal Assistant, Prince Bamidele Ogunbekun; the Vice Chairman, Nigerian Union of Teachers, (NUT) Mr Ayeola Wasiu.

  • New structure brightens school

    New structure brightens school

    Hope has brightened for pupils and teachers of Hope Nursery and Primary School, Ikoyi, with the inauguration of a seven-classroom block constructed by the wives of Lagos State officials.

    Executive Secretary of Ikoyi Obalende Local Council Development Agency (LCDA) Ms Toyin Caxton-Martins, said at the event that pupils of Corona School located next door would have been envious had the fence between both schools not been concretised.

    The structure, which has four toilets, in addition to a borehole and renovation of a two-classroom block, cost the Council of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) N24,751,480.  This does not include the cost of the high-class furniture produced by Halibut and donated by the MTN Foundation to the school.

    The school’s Head Teacher, Mrs Shakirat Habibu, said the new structure is like the icing on the cake for the school, which has recently received an avalanche of support from foundations and philanthropists.  The donations include toilets constructed by some corps members, a library from the Zacchaeus Ozumba Memorial Libraries (ZODML), an Art and Music Resource Centre from the Marinho Foundation, and play ground equipment from an unknown source.

    Mrs Habibu was overjoyed about the school’s good fortune, describing COWLSO/MTNF’s gift as the best of all.

    “I am so excited. I am so happy because this is the first time of doing something like this in my school. I really appreciate Dame Abimbola Fashola for her moral and financial support concerning the school. I really appreciate her because she is a lover of education. Whatever I ask her to do for the school she always welcomes me and do it,” she said.

    Mrs Fashola also praised Mrs Habibu for been proactive and persuasive in attracting the intervention to the school because the initial plan was to build only toilets.

    “When we got to this school, she showed the building committee the dilapidated seven-classroom block.  Mrs Habibu, you have really been a leader because you have been able to speak out for your school.  After renovating the school, she also asked for white boards.  I told her we do not have the money, but when we came, we learnt that someone else gave the school white boards.  This shows that we should learn to ask; it does not matter if they say no; but you must speak out,” she said.

    Mrs Fashola said under her dispensation as chairman, COWLSO decided to intervene in the education sector to improve public schools that would not be immediately reached by the State Universal Basic Education Board.  She said the body gets funding for its projects from the fees it raises from organising its annual National Women’s Conference, which was started by Mrs Oluremi Tinubu.

    Thanking MTNF for partnering with COWLSO, she said she was delighted when the foundation offered to furnish two schools.  She also praised the foundation for providing furniture she would not have been able to afford considering that it was produced by an exclusive furniture firm.

    “I thank the management of MTN Nigeria for partnering with us to support the commitment of our state government in providing a conducive learning and teaching environment for our leaders from the basic education level,” she said.

    MTN Foundation Executive Secretary, Nonny Ugboma, said Lagos State has benefited from the foundation’s initiatives because of Mrs Fashola’s determination to make the state better.

    “The Foundation is glad to be part of this initiative, especially in partnering with the First Lady of Lagos State, who has always been supportive of MTNF’s initiatives. Lagos State has benefitted from a number of MTNF initiatives like the Medical Support Project, wherein the Foundation donated Dialysis and Mammography machines to two General Hospitals, Community Health Screenings, Voluntary, Counselling and Testing Centres, Sickle Cell Screenings and Counselling, among other initiatives.  Anytime the foundation calls for a bid, Mrs Fashola makes sure the relevant agencies respond,” she said.

     

  • Church renovates school clinic

    Church renovates school clinic

    The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Israel Assembly Area, has renovated a clinic at the Agidingbi Senior Secondary School in Ikeja, Lagos. The Pastor-in-charge of RCCG Israel Assembly Zone, Pastor Dapo Awosika, inaugurated the upgraded clinic in the school last week.

    He said the project was a result of the church’s policy to focus on Corporate Social Responsibility programmes in order to be more relevant to its host communities.

    “One of the cardinal visions of the church is not to only minister to the spiritual needs of members, but minister to their welfare and social needs,” he said.

    Working with this mandate from the RCCG Headquarters, Awosika said the Israel Assembly Area decided to refurbish the sick bays of the schools in its immediate environment.

    He said though Agidingbi Grammar School had a dedicated room for the sick bay, it was not in use.  To transform it, he said, the church refurbished the room taking care of electrical and plumbing works after which it was furnished with clinical equipment and medical consumables.

    Awosika hoped that the clinic would help to meet the medical needs of students and members of staff during school hours.

    Reacting to the gesture, the school principal, Bakare Olufemi thanked the church for upgrading the clinic from it deserted condition.

    He assured the church that it had fulfilled its CSR in the right place, and promised that the school would maintain the equipment and make use of the clinic.

    The Tutor General/Permanent Secretary, Mrs Iyabo Osifeso, however, urged the church not to relent in giving back to the society.

    She said the government has really tried in putting things in place, but cannot do all alone since there are over 600 public schools in Lagos being offered free education.

    “If you have 10 loaves of bread you would actually cut it into bits and pieces for all your children to be able to get,” she said.

    Addressing the pupils, she advised them to improve on their learning outcomes because success is achieved through hardwork.

    The Senior Prefect of the school, Chidiebere Wisdom, promised that the pupils would make good use of the sick bay.

     

  • Saints at home, villains in school

    Saints at home, villains in school

    To teachers, many pupils have dual character.  But parents do not like to hear that their children who look like saints at home are something else in school. This flaw in character is more obvious when there is a lacuna between the home and the school, reports KOFOWOROLA BELO-OSAGIE.

    Years have passed since Mrs Bolaji Salau (not real name) was beaten by thugs because a pupil lied against her.  The truth has since been known, but the wounds have not healed despite the intervening years.   Last year, at a Parents’ Forum organised by the Lagos State Education District I to prepare Senior Secondary School (SS3) pupils for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), Mrs Salau shared her story, starting like this: “Parents, don’t always believe what your children tell you; they lie a lot.”

    The pupil in question had skipped school that day and gone to play  football. However, like it happens in such escapades, he was hit in the eye by a shot that left his face swollen.  He needed to explain the swollen face at home so he came up with the story that Mrs Salau beat him.  His parents were enraged and they followed him to school the next day, with thugs in tow.  On sighting the teacher, the thugs did what they had been paid for.  It was after the dust settled that they found out the truth: the boy had not been in school the previous day.

    Many school administrators and teachers complain that parents believe their children are angels who can do no harm.  On the contrary, Vice Chancellor (VC) of Bells University of Technology (BELLSTECH) in Ota, Ogun State, Prof Isaac Adeyemi says many children have dual character.

    “The challenges we are facing should not be left in the hands of those of us who manage them.  So parents have key roles to play.  Most parents don’t know their children.  They (students) live dual lives.  At home, they are like angels; outside, they do what they like.  That is why we need cooperation between parents and the school,” he said.

    Otunba Dele Olapeju, Principal of King’s College can identify with that as a parent.  He told The Nation that he was shocked to see another side of his son on the social media.

    He said: “Take myself as an example.  My son is in Babcock; and he wanted me to send money to him.  I looked at his Facebook photographs.  I saw two of those photographs as showing him as wild and wane – you know some of these cosmic and horror types of pictures.  And I said ‘I will not send money to you until you go and delete those photographs from your Facebook’, and he did.  That is the extent to which a son of a principal is another person in school. ”

    Mr Emmanuel Adedayo Ojo, Proprietor of Jextoban Secondary School in Ketu, Lagos, said parents must make efforts to know their wards.  He explained that many children have dual character because of peer pressure.

    “Parents must know their children.  Many children have double personalities.  At home, they may look like angels.  In school, maybe because of peer pressure, they are totally different.  If parents are not very close to their children, they may not know who they are rearing.  So it is important for parents to know their children and be ready to follow them up,” he said.

    Lack of parental supervision damages children in the long run, making them to turn to vices, says Dr Dokun Adedeji, who runs a non-governmental organisation that rehabilitates drug addicts.  He was the keynote speaker at a seminar organised by the Bells University Parents Forum on drug abuse. Adedeji said 90 per cent of teenagers that do drugs are aged 15-29, when most are still under their parents.

    He shared a story of how a rich couple’s only son was lured into drugs at the age of 11 by an older relative who was staying with them.  The parents only detected years later after the boy had been expelled from secondary school.

    He urged parents to be friends with their children in order to know when things go wrong.

    “Parents, I plead with you to be friends with your children.  You better be alert to things happening in their lives,” he said.

    He said parents must be alert to changes in their children’s behaviour such as withdrawal, locking rooms.  He said children doing drugs can deceive their parents by covering up their deeds.

    “Marijuana leaves are used to cook jollof rice, garnish noodles, brew drinks or cook soup and they will look like vegetables,” he said.

    Adedeji added that children could be driven to do drugs or other vices because of unmet needs at home.

    “Many times, children give signs of unmet needs through rascality.  When they are unsatisfied, they can do wrong to get their parents’ attention,” he said.

    Mrs Veronica Akhaine, senior boarding house mistress at The Apostolic Secondary School in Anthony, Lagos said children have unmet needs when parents do not spend adequate time with them.

    “The first and foremost thing that comes to my mind is that parents should give their children time. Many of our parents, these days, do not have time for their children. By the special grace of God I have worked for over 10 years as a hostel officer and interact with parents on a daily basis.  I have discovered that so many parents do not have time for their children and because of that those children have developed a way of living dual lives, yet parents can come to school and almost fight you swearing, ‘my child can never do this’, but we in the school and hostel we see them better and we know the children better.”

    Mr James Akpan (not real name) found out recently that he did not really know his son.  He was angry with the school for suspending his son, a Primary Two pupil, for two weeks for fighting.  This was especially so when he learnt that his opponent got a lighter sentence.

    Recounting the shock the man received when he got to the school, his friend (name withheld) told The Nation:

    “The teacher took him to the class and asked the boy’s classmates to tell Akpan about his son.  That was how he learnt that his son was unruly and usually distrupted the class.  He left the school ashamed,” he said.

    Rather than cover up when their children do wrong, Dr Temitope Akpelishi, Medical Director, Bells Varsity Health Centre said parents should seek help.

    “Parents, please do not cover up your children.  A parent withdrew his child because he had been caught taking marijuana four times.  If that child is taken to a new school but not fully rehabilitated, the problem will reoccur,” she said.

    Dr Fatiregun Olamijulo, of the Federal-Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Yaba, Lagos Mainland also said living in denial helps neither parents nor the children.

    Narrating a story, he said:  “Many of us live in denial.  About six months ago, two professors brought their last born who had low blood pressure, which is a symptom of drug use.  He denied using drugs.  His mother too denied and said the boy was a choir leader in the church.

    “Parents, stop living in denial; be there for your children.  They need some mentoring.  When it fails at home, they come to school and find mentors – the big boys and girls.”

    Adedeji added that If parents provide a firm foundation for their children,  they would be able to overcome the challenges youths face.

    “The ability of students to withstand peer pressure depends on the foundation you lay.  You cannot take away the internet, phones from them but you can give them a firm foundation,” he said.

    Mrs Titilayo Odutola, proprietress of Rockleft School in Surulere, Lagos said building such foundation takes careful nurturing.

    “If you don’t take time to nurture your future today, then tomorrow there is going to be a lot of problem because these children are the leaders of tomorrow.  We don’t have a choice. We keep complaining about Nigeria; we can make Nigeria what we want, through grooming the children.  Through nurturing them the way we want them to be tomorrow. Like the saying goes, once a child is broken, then that child is broken; it will take the grace of God to bring back that child to life,” she said.

    After doing all they can, Mrs Akhaine said parents should also pray for their children.

    “I think parents need to go along with prayers because parenting is a task from heaven, and it’s only God that can help parents.”

     

  • Lions Club donates to school

    I must tell you; today is one of the happiest days in my life.  Before now we have many of our toilets abandoned because of lack of water, but with this gesture, all the toilets and laboratories will be put to use.”

    These were the words of the Principal of Oregun Senior High School, Ikeja Lagos, Mrs Toyin Kuti when the Lagos Oregun Lions Club District 404B-2 inaugurated a water project it donated to the school last week.

    The visibly excited principal was practically on her knees in appreciation of the club’s gesture which she said would pave way for cleaner and better environment for the students.

    The inauguration of the water project was conducted by the District Governor, Alhaji Abdul Ganiy Abiodun Adediji, who said the gesture was done out of the club’s interest in helping communities.

    “We are volunteers, friends, brothers and spirited Nigerians that put our resources together to help those who cannot help themselves in the communities,” he said.

    He said though the school is owned by the government, it cannot do it all alone.

    “It is part of our cooperation and partnership with Lagos State and other states of the federation to provide water because the government cannot do it alone.  Though it is the responsibility of the government to provide water for this school, but then we cannot leave it for them alone.  They cannot do it; that is why we are helping to provide water for these students so that the environment and toilets will be neat and they will have water to drink,” he said.

    The 1st Vice President of the Club, Lion Kehinde Shogunle, said the water project will ease students’ and teachers’ hardship in getting water for use while in the school.

    “The essence of this project is to ease the students’ hardship in going to get water outside the school for their uses. It will also help the cleaners in their work to keep the toilets clean and make their laboratories functional,” he said.

     

  • Insecurity keeps nomad kids from school

    Insecurity keeps nomad kids from school

    Their ordeal is not as documented as that of thousands of people killed or forced from their homes by Boko Haram insurgents. Yet, across the nation, especially in the North, children of migrant folks are finding it increasingly difficult to go to school for fear of being cut down in communal clashes. GRACE OBIKE reports on the challenges of nomadic women and their kids

    A calabash of fura de nono, a rich, fresh milk delicacy, is still offered the guest with the same enthusiasm and hospitality of the forebears. The Fulani relish their culture; what is in short supply is peace. Unfortunately, their story is not as documented as the ravages of Boko Haram insurgents, who have carved out large swathes of territory in the region’s eastern flank.

    Thousands have been cut down by the sect’s fighters, many more forced to flee their homes and seek refuge wherever they can find it. Survivors’ sources of livelihood have crashed, as has the education of their children.

    Crisis is hurting Boko Haram targets. Fulani herders and local farmers, who are often at loggerheads, are also suffering. For both communities, their means of sustenance is dwindling. Their children have difficulties going to school.

    Fulani women, who spoke the reporter in Nasarawa State and the Federal Capital Territory, said they found it difficult sending their children to school owing to the frequent crises.

    The National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) has offered nomdic folks a great opportunity to educate themselves but insecurity is hurting the plan.

    Sixty-year-old Hauwa Usman in Gwako Fulani community in the FCT, said she gave birth to 14 children, 11 of them dead. This has

    “Right now,” she said, “all we seek as Fulani women, is peace; the numerous crises that always erupt affect us so much and have put so much fear in us. All we hear these days is that person was killed, that person  killed, cows stolen and people driven from their homes. Can anyone live in peace in such a situation?

    “The biggest problem we have  at the moment is the lack of peace; we are so scared and cannot even send our children to school even if we wanted to because we are afraid of them being killed. All we ask for is that the government assist us in achieving peace and end all the fears in our minds.”

    Zulia Abdullahi, 15, who resides in the community should be in school. But she is not. Rather she is already married and had a child, who died a few weeks after birth. At that tender age, she is already bearing the pain of bereaved older mothers. Like most nomadic young mothers, Zulia left her husband’s home five months into her pregnancy and returned to her parent’s home in Tudun Fulani to deliver her first child. She was expected to leave the child with her parents at the age of two.

    Like most of her peers, Zulia was practically forced to marry another nomad living in the opposite part of town called Kabusa. She could not refuse the union even though she would have loved to because she wanted an opportunity to go to school like a few of her neighbours.  But her parents never allowed her to go to school, wanting her to marry the man they chose for her. She said she felt it was her duty as a good daughter to marry whoever her parents choose for her.

    “If something where to happen to my husband or marriage, I will then be free to choose who to marry, whether in the bush or city; it will then be my decision. I had always wanted to go to schoolý, I still do but now I am married and will have to give up the dream because, as a married woman, I am not allowed to leave the house other than to go sell fura or travel. By the grace of God, when I have children again since my baby just died, I will ensure they acquire as much education as their intelligence can take, since I can never be the civil servant that I always wanted to be, not being educated. I will ensure that my husband allow our children to acquire enough education because I know that they will be capable of taking care of me better in my old age.”

    Although Zulia would have loved to live her dream of being a civil servant, she is not condemning her early marriage because, according to her, nomadic girls older than 15 are treated differently.

    “I’m not unhappy to marry when I did, because in our culture, if a girl at 15 is still in her parents’ house and unmarried, people will call her wicked and say that no one is coming to marry her because of her wicked ways, they will make fun of her wherever she goes and she will always have to hide her face in shame. We marry very early, which is not really good. Even if I had not been willing to marry when I did, the fear of what people will say would force me into marriage. When a girl is 12, the parents will start discussing marriage with her, but at that age, the girl is not yet wise but will be made to marry all the same. The husband is the one that comes and asks your parents for your hand in marriage and as a girl, you have no input in it, which is not a good way to live because it is what a person desires that gives him peace of mind.”

    Zulia’s mother, Hajara Yusufu, 45,  had always wanted to be a medical doctor.  It is a secret she never shared with anyone. She claimed  that her older children have never been to school while her youngest child and grandchildren whom she has tried to enroll in a nearby nomadic school are afraid of returning to the school because of the crises between Fulani herdsmen and farmers which has caused so much havoc.

    Her greatest wish is the return of peace so that they can return to school and live out her dream. She said she dreamed of telling people that they are her children. However, she was quick to say that the decision of whether they go to school or not is not hers to take but her husband’s.

    She said: “I see people in huge cars and nice houses whenever I go into the city all the time to sell my fura de nono and sometimes wish that I were born in a different situation.  I would have loved to be a doctor, I admire them anytime I go to the hospital and see them.”

    On her part, 70-year-old Halima who resides in Chumanga hamlet, a quiet settlement in Wamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, has never been to school even though she would have loved to. Surrounded by several children and grand children, her greatest regret is that she never had the opportunity to be educated.

    She told The Nation: “My greatest regret in life is not attaining any form of education because if I had, I would probably be in a big city and beautiful house, relaxing instead of living and dying in this bush.”

    She said all has done all her life has been to be ready to gather the children and move from place to place whenever her husband said so. She said that she has walked all over the North Central on foot and alongside her children and presently young grandchildren. Her greatest fear however is the thought of another migration because her feet hurt with arthritis and it will not be an easy journey for her, but with a show of strength, she still said, “Well if the husband today decides that we ought to move, I will simply pack up and obey because it is not my place to question my husband. He decides what happens in the family”.

    Bilkisu Musa is not interested in sending her children to school even though she did not attend any school herself. She is not interested in having her children obtain any form of education.

    Said she, “I don’t have any interest in going to school neither do I want my children to go. The country is now very dangerous and I prefer knowing that my children are close. I want them to learn the traditional nomadic ways and live our normal life in peace.”

    Investigations by The Nation revealed that the most prevalent thing in the Fulani nomadic community is infant mortality. It was gathered that the women have been thought to accept the death of their children as the will of God.

    Bilkisu whose two children, out of seven, are dead, said, “When we get pregnant, we don’t go to any hospital, attend ante-natal or take any drug; it is not part of our culture. You stay at home and when the time comes to have your baby, you close your curtain and deliver your child on your own without help from anyone. That is our culture. When you see that any bush Fulani is taken to a hospital, then you must know that the condition is critical.”

    Even though the NCNE has been established by a decree to cater for the educational needs of the socially excluded, educationally disadvantaged and migrant groups in Nigeria, available records show that only 519,018 children of nomads are currently in school. It was also discovered that out of 10.4 million migrant groups in the country comprising pastoral, migrant fisher folks and migrant farmers, about 3.6 million are children of school age. The participation of the nomads in existing education programme is very low as the literacy rate ranges between 0.02% to 2.0% at the early age of implementing the Nomadic Education Programme but so far, the number of nomadic schools around the country has risen from 329 at the inception of the programme in 1990 to 3,445 as at December 2013, with pupils enrolment, rising from 18,831 at inception to 519,018 by the above date.

    The October 2014 edition of the nomadic education bulletin quoted the Executive secretary NCNE, Prof. Rasheed Aderinoye  as saying that “the situation is worst for the nomadic girl-child in northern Nigeria, who is often marginalised and at a disadvantaged position in the family due to cultural factors and religious misinterpretation. The nomadic girl-child in northern Nigeria is doubly disadvantaged, given her sex, age and ethnicity. The girl-child is surrounded with culture and social settings that neither recognizses nor appreciates the value of girl education. The socio-cultural context of her existence not only encourages social exclusion and gender discrimination but brings to bear the effects of institutionalized patriarchal practices hidden under religion and culture to perpetuate injustice and unfair distribution of opportunities.”

    State Secretary, Miyyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, (MACBAN) Nasarawa chapter, Alhaji Mohammed Hussaini explained that the major reason for Nomadic Fulani’s slow pace in education is insecurity that has plagued them for years. He said that if peace is restored, the Nomadic Fulani will send his child to school.

    “If there is peace today in the whole country, Fulanis will go to school. I am a nomadic Fulani and my father sent me to school since 1976 and today I have attained so many degrees. Yes, our girls drop out of school early to marry but the government cannot put in place any legislation to stop it because our religion permits us to marry our girls early; religion sometimes can overcome the constitution; we have people that send their daughters to school, we have thousands of female nomadic Fulani graduates in Nigeria. Making a girl child stay in school or marry is an individual decision by the parents and they cannot be forced upon by the constitution, how can you force someone to do what he doesn’t want? You cannot force me to do such a thing because I can take you to court because of the democratic system of government that we presently have.”

    He also said, “In some parts of Kaduna right now, most of the nomadic Fulani have migrated to the western part of the country, to Ghana and other countries to keep their cows from being stolen…Nomadic schools were closed down or burnt to the ground by the Ombatse group; so were several settlements.”

    As The Nation made to leave the Gwako community, after several bows of Fura de Nono, 60-year-old Hauwa, full of excitement, thrust a N20 note into the reporter’s hand, insisting that she take it for fare back to town.

  • Academy helps school

    Academy helps school

    If the management of Anglican Primary School, Ogudu, Ojota had known, they would not have gone to banks or societies to seek help to renovate a part of the school that had become dilapidated but go to Poise Graduate Finishing Academy, Ilupeju from the onset.

    Students of Stream 27 of the Poise Acedemy recently discovered the school and renovated the portion that had gone bad, floored four classrooms and painted it as part of their graduate project.

    Speaking at the inauguration of the project, the Head Teacher of the school, Mrs Faitimehin Yemi thanked the students for the “marvelous work” they did.

    “l never believed this kind of a thing can happen in this school. Government schools need people to come to their aid. We have been soliciting all around even went to banks and different societies in Lagos, but unfortunately no one came to our aid.

    “We are very excited about this gift that has been presented to us today.  Immediately the NGO declared their intention of wanting to help us renovate the school block, I told my assistant head Teacher to get across to the School Board Management Committee (SBMC) Chairman to be part of the programme, or to go to PTF but it was going to take time.  So we decided to go through SBMC because without the permission of the SBMC chairman there is nothing that can be done,” she said.

    She said she has been in the school for five years and hoped that one day the state of the school would change.

    “When I came today and saw the painting, I was grateful that my school is this neat, l cannot express how happy l am. This shows that Nigeria is moving forward in as much as some people can come together and do this kind of a thing,” she added.

    She noted that the children in the school are from less privileged homes and need help.

    “The government knows people are suffering but they cannot say it out and you have come to the aid of these ones. The children were happy when l came out of the car and they were saying ‘come and see’. Thank you for putting a smile on their faces.  I am very grateful and in fact, God will bless you for what you have done at Anglican primary school,” she said.

     

  • Ogunjobi urges Oshoala to return to school

    Ogunjobi urges Oshoala to return to school

    Former Secretary-General of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and erstwhile chairman of the body’s technical committee, Taiwo Ogunjobi, has urged newly crowned African Women Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, to return to high school for her to be academically equipped for the future.

    The chairman, Prime Football Club, said he was shocked to find out that the Rivers Angels goal-poacher is a Secondary School (SS2) drop-out. “I was shocked the day I heard Asisat Oshoala is a Secondary School drop-out despite her level of intelligence,” the Pillar of Sports in the State of Osun said.

    Ogunjobi, while giving Oshoala fatherly advice, said now that her ovation is loud, she should return to school and further her education.

    He said: “Education is important, football is temporary and if you don’t leave football, football will leave you one day. I played football to the highest level (Green Eagles) but education was what I fell back on after my active football career.

    “We live in a society where the ability of an individual to be successful depends largely on their education. I am using this medium to appeal to Asisat Oshoala to return to school so as to get her future properly secured.”

    Oshoala, whose dream was to become a lawyer, incurred the wrath of her parents when she dropped out of school to pursue a football career.

    Ogunjobi, a former Sole Administrator of Shooting Stars Sports Club of Ibadan, congratulated Oshoala for emerging as the African Women Player and Young Player of the Year 2014.

  • CAC inaugurates school

    The Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Worldwide has inaugurated the Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU) International School (JIS).

    The school, which is located on the JABU campus in Ikeji-Arakeji, Osun Sate, was inaugurated by the Chairman, JABU Board of Trustees and President of Christ Apostolic Church Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun.

    Pastor Akinosun congratulated the JABU Management for the successful completion of the school despite all the challenges and discouragement encountered in the course of construction. He also praised them for their determination to invest in the lives of future generations.

    The JABU Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council, Prof Anthony Imevbore; Deputy Chairman of the Governing Council, Pastor C.S. Fasuyi; General Secretary, C.A.C. Worldwide Pastor Emmanuel Mapur and other important dignitaries were in attendance.

    The Vice-Chancellor, Prof Sola Fajana and Registrar, Wale Aderibigbe, a lawyer, were full of  appreciation to the C.A.C. Authorities, whose support has been tremendous to the University.

    The JABU International School officially commenced academic activities on November 10, last year with admission into JSS1 – JSS 2 and SS1 – SS2 Classes.