BusinessDay 22 Oct 2017

Sunday 22 October 2017
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KAYODE OKUNUBI
Okunubi writes from Oregun, Lagos
Health specialists endorse
walking as a tremendous
way to exercise and keep
fit.This is unarguably the easiest
form of exercise. Personally, I
always feel good at the end of
the day because of the regular
walks I take.
Research has shown that a
simple walk reduces the risk
of heart disease and stroke. It
also improves the management
of health conditions such as
hypertension (high blood
pressure), high cholesterol, joint
and muscular pain or stiffness,
and diabetes but as a result of
my health condition as a sickle
cell patient, I do not get involved
in strenuous exercises to keep
fit so I would prefer to simply go
for a walk.
So when I received an
invitation from MultiChoice to
be part of the Dowen College
Sickle Cell Walk, I was so excited
because besides keeping fit, the
walk would be an avenue to
increase awareness around the
sickle cell disorder in Nigeria
ADESEGUN OGUNDEJI
Ogundeji is Deputy Director, Public Affairs,
Lagos State Ministry of Education, Alausa,
Ikeja, Lagos
According to famous American
scientist, George Washington
Carver, ‘education is the
key to unlock the golden door of
freedom’. Really, education is critical
to the growth and development of any
society. It empowers the individual
with necessary knowledge and set
of skills to actualize potential and
maximize opportunities in life. It is for
this reason that governments across
the world devote a good chunk of
available resources to the development
of the educational sector.
In Nigeria, Lagos is unarguably
the State with the highest number
of public schools, students and
teachers. It has consistently been
churning out the highest number of
candidates for public examinations
in Nigeria since 1967. As a melting
point with a bourgeoning population
in excess of 20 million, provision of
qualitative education in Lagos State
has been a daunting task.
The current administration in
the state clearly understands that
the task of making Lagos State
“the model of excellence in the
provision of education in Africa”
requires meticulous attention. To
this end, the sum of 92.4 billion
naira, representing 11.37 percent
was allocated to education sector in
the State budget for 2017.
Government has directed the
policy toward ensuring equal
educational opportunity in the
State, encourage parents who
might otherwise neglect their
children’s education to send their
children to school and making
education affordable for everyone.
So, within the half- time of the
Walking for sickle cell awareness
and get the government and
corporate bodies to fund the
Bone Marrow Transplant Center
in as this medical breakthrough
now gives lasting hope for the
treatment of the sickle cell
disorder around the world.
The sickle cell disorder is a
medical condition that many in
Nigeria find difficult to discuss.
To some Nigerians whose loved
ones are battling with this
disorder, discussions and issues
surrounding the disorder are
seen as an anathema. But no
matter how much we try to
avoid these discussions, the
sickle cell disorder is here with
us andincreased awareness is
needed to ameliorate or totally
eradicate the scourge in Nigeria.
On the slated date for the
Dowen College Sickle Cell
Walk, we all assembled at Muri
Okunola Park in Victoria Island.
Before we commenced the 23
kilometer walk to Dowen College
in Lekki, the Chairman of the
Sickle Cell Foundation, Nigeria,
Prof. OluAkinyanju commended
MultiChoice and other corporate
bodies who came out to support
the walk.
According to Prof. Akinyanju
the sickle cell disorder is one of
the major ailments afflicting
black persons globally with over
150,000 (One Hundred and Fifty
Thousand) children born each
year with the sickle cell anaemia
while 25 percent of Nigeria’s
population are sickle cell carriers.
Prof. Akinyanju while
explaining that the Foundation is
planning to build a Bone Marrow
Transplant Center here in Lagos
so as to reduce the cost of patients
travelling abroad to have a bone
marrow transplant operation,
urged the government and
corporate bodies to support the
fight against sickle cell disorder
in the country.
When you participate in
charity walks, you can spread
your compassion for vital causes
and raise money to help change
the world and the Dowen College
Sickle Cell walk; entitled; “Walk
for Love” made me realize that
am not alone in my struggle
for good health and a better
life and indeed the three-hour
walk to Dowen College in Lekki
was fun. As we walked, we
discussed, we shared ideas on
issues concerning the disorder
and everyone was happy
because while people walked
for cancer, HIV/AIDS, malaria
among others, we also had the
joy of walking for a cause that
affected us directly or indirectly.
When we finally reached the
finish line i.e. Dowen College,
the Principle of the college, Mrs.
Olawumi Togonu-Bickersteth, in
her vote of thanks commended
all who participated in the walk.
According to her, the walk
was part of the school’s 20th
anniversary celebration and in
the school’s effort to celebrate
two decades of impacting
knowledge to young ones in
the community, there was
the need to create awareness
around the sickle cell disorder.
She said, “This is another way of
providing quality teaching. This
On Lagos’ new lease of life for education
administration’s tenure, the wheels
of what is mutating to be a historic
education revolution in Lagos
were rolled off with aggressive
rehabilitation of public schools
throughout the length and breadth
of the state. Several hundreds of
classroom blocks have been built
and renovated while thousands of
students and teachers furniture
supplied to various primary and
secondary schools.
In line with the commitment of
the present administration to expand
access to knowledge for Lagosians,
the State’ science laboratories
are now better equipped and the
enthusiasm of students to be science
inclined has become very high with
a lot of success recorded. Equally, the
state government has completed the
renovation and upgrade of public
libraries in eighteen secondary
schools across the State with top
class facilities. Lagos Digital Library,
an online repository of education
content, is ready and will as well be
launched in February, 2017.
The Lagos state government
appreciates that as much as physical
infrastructure is important, adequate
and quality teachers in schools
are as important. Thus, as part of
measures to bridge the gap in the
teacher/pupil ratio in the state, the
government recruited one thousand,
three hundred (1,300) teachers for
primary schools while another 1000
teachers were recruited for public
secondary schools in 2016. Similarly,
government has been paying
attention to teachers’ welfare.
Also, since April 2017, Code
Lagos centres have been launched
in primary, secondary and tertiary
institutions (private and public)
across the State, as well as in all
public libraries and ICT spaces.
The ultimate goal is for one million
students in the state to have access
to the coding system by the year
2019.
Cheeringly, the dividend of the
state’s investment in education is
paying off. For instance, Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode was declared
the “Teachers Most Friendly
Governor” by the Nigeria Union
of Teachers during the celebration
of the last World Teachers’ Day
in Abuja. The same day, President
Muhammadu Buhari rewarded
the hardwork, high performance
and high productivity of three
Lagos State School teachers and
administrator with the “President’s
Teachers and Schools Excellence
Award”. Nominees of the State
clinched three out of the nine
categories of award available to
contestants from 36 States of the
Federation and the Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja.
The awardees, Mrs. Lufadeju
Dolapo Olufunke received the
Best School Award on behalf of
Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ikeja.
The “Best School Administrator
Award” (Senior Secondary School
category) went to Mrs. Oluderu
Bilikisu Oluwaseyi of Magbon
Alade Senior Grammar School while
Mrs. Adelegan Moronike Sarat of
Civil Service Junior Model College,
Igbogbo was selected as the First
Runner up, Best Administrator of
the Year 2017.
Earlier, five students of Lagos
State public secondary schools
had excelled at the Y2017 National
Robot Olympiad and qualified to
represent Nigeria at the World
Robot Olympiad to be held in Costa
Rica. It is worthy of note that Lagos
State has been representing Nigeria
in this competition since 2015.
On September 22nd, 2017,
Oluwasegun Durojaiye of Lagos
State Model College, Igbokuta
qualified to represent the South-
West Zone at the National Finals of
the NNPC Science Quiz Competition
and Atabo Ufedejo of Model College,
Kankon emerged one of the best
students at the national finals of the
2017 Oluwole Awokoya Chemistry
Competition held in Kaduna from
17th to 22nd September, 2017.
Lagos State took the first position
in the National Free Choice (Senior)
Project presented by the students
of Government Technical College,
Agidingbi at the 2017 National
Junior Engineers, Technicians and
Scientists (JETS) competition in
March, 2017. The State won 10
trophies and 10 medals at the event
and 7 of the trophies won went to
State public schools students.
Also, Seven Students/Teachers
from the State Public Schools were
awarded medals and Certificates
at the 2017 edition of National
Mathematics and Science Olympiad
award ceremony organized by the
National Mathematical Centre, Abuja.
The Key Performance Indices of
the Education Sector is not limited
to competition awards as the State
has made tremendous progress in
external examinations since Y2015.
The result of the States performance
at the 2017 WASSCE is put at 66%
pass in at least 5 subjects including
English and Mathematics, compared
to the 50.41% in 2016, 37.27% in 2015
and 21.22% in 2014.
The question that comes to
programme is a pre-event to our
20th anniversary and geared
toward raising funds for the
Sickle Cell Foundation, Nigeria.
We are working towards giving
our support to the Bone Marrow
Transplant Centre in Lagos”
Mrs. Togonu-Bickersteth,
while applauding the support
of MultiChoice for using the
DStv platform in increasing
awareness on the sickle cell
disorder, also appealed to
corporate organizations and
philanthropists to support the
initiative to bring a cure closer
to sickle cell disorder patients.
I am delighted that I was
part of this walk project. With
just over 600 participants who
were involved in the walk, the
whole exercise may seem like
a drop of water in the ocean
but with corporate bodies like
MultiChoice supporting this
cause, it is a good indication that
awareness on sickle disorder
would increase and the fight
against the disorder in Nigeria
has fully commenced.
mind from the above is this: Is
there a nexus among these various
achievements? The answer, of
course, is yes! Teachers’ training
and staff welfare have been given
priority attention with teachers’
salary being consistently paid
regularly on the 23rd day of every
month.
It is also on record that all eligible
teachers since 2015 to date have
been promoted as at when due
while 2,320 (Two Thousand Three
Hundred And Twenty) Officers
were trained between May, 2016-
17 and many more has been done
thereafter.
Car loans were awarded to 425
beneficiaries to the tune of N30,
302, 252.75k, N30Million Housing
Loan was approved for 55 (fifty five)
beneficiaries in the teaching service
and 4601 pensioners on the payroll
of the Teachers Establishment and
Pensions Office were paid regularly.
To further encourage service
delivery, Education Merit Award
is organized annually in honour
of outstanding performers in the
various categories of Award in the
Education Sector of Lagos State.
More than 100 Education Merit
Awards are given out with the
Star prize being a brand new car
awarded to the Best Teacher in
both the Primary Secondary School
Categories.
Apart from improved teachers’
welfare, the state government’s
huge investment in education
infrastructure contributed
immensely to the improved status of
education in the State. Fortunately,
the state government isn’t resting on
its oars as it is poised to do more in
the months ahead.
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