Ladies and gentlemen, it has been my resolve to celebrate and aknowledge laudable causes and great people. As I shall by the grace of God not relegate myself to sycophancy, bigotry or ethnic jingoism.
On this day of 1991, 25 years ago nine states were created by the then Head of state, Generallismo Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida. The nine states celebrating their 25th anniversary today are: Edo, Kebbi, Anambra, Enugu, Taraba, Kogi, Jigawa, Delta and Osun.
Despite my proximity to some states, I decide to celebrate this silver jubilee with the only state I felt worthy of celebration.
The golden governor Ogbeni has unleashed passion and enthusiasm in the educational sector of his state by investing heavely and hugely. He has set a standard for those that would be graduates in ten years and beyond, certainly they would be the product of his impeccable and unparalleled investment.
This reminds me of the saying from a mentor Sheikh Rashid Almaktoum as thus ” If we fail to educate young people develop their skills and generate the spirit of excellence and creativity in them, we will never, under any circumstances have a successful development process “.
I therefore call on our leaders, particularly northern governors and specifically kaduna state governor to emulate this worthy cause and stop the projects that are only going to earn him name and praises from beneficiaries and hailing hailers but not positively have effects on the masses.
Setting up befitting infrastructures, equipping the schools with the necessary teaching aids, recruiting competent and qualified teachers and taking good care of their welfare are absolutely and unarguably the best and the better ways of arresting the decay we are witnessing.
Feeding and free education are also undoubtedly and unarguably good for the masses, but not when you have no good structures, not when you don’t have equipments, not when you don’t pay teachers handsomely and not when some of your teachers are not better than the students while some ought to be in secondary schools or FCEs.
All these must be addressed before the duo of feeding and free education become necessary, for us to at least have a breed of students that can be able to copy answers correctly and pass WAEC.
And I challenge any praise singer or sycophant to show me a single public school near any of these in the glorified and mighty kaduna state.
Finally, 25 years is like a long time but the life’s merciless routine makes them go by in a jiffy.
To hold up strongly through the highs and lows of this rut is definitely not easy. Here’s to a love, that was truly meant to be forever.
Happy 25th anniversary Osun.
God bless Nigeria.
Mubarak Umar.
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