WELCOME ADDRESS BY THE CHAIRMAN, ONIGBONGBO LOCAL COUNCIL DEVELOPMENT AREA, MR IDOWU OSUOLALE OBASA ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCHING OF THE PRIMARY SCHOOLS REFORM PROGRAMME AND INAUGURATION OF THE ONIGBONGBO EDUCATION FOUNDATION.27^TH MARCH, 2009.

I wish on behalf of onigbongbo L.C.D.A and the good people of Onigbongbo especially the over 5000 primary school pupils; welcome you to our L.C.D.A. and to this occasion.

We would like to see today’s event as a foundation laying ceremony –a day on which we are laying the foundation stone for the structure which will provide the much needed ACCESS to QUALITY PRIMARY EDUCATION that has eluded the Children of the poor and very poor in our country in the past three decades (coinciding with the period of Military adventurism in our polity.)

The importance of quality primary education can be most easily appreciated if we consider that of all the wonderful programmes for which Obafemi Awolowo is remembered today, the one that has touched the greatest number of lives, the one tat has been most loudly celebrated in many more countries than others, the one that has produced more professionals who have supported more families, is papa Awo’s Education Programme.

Such is the importance of quality foundation education that it also qualifies as one of the eight Millennium Development goals.

With the overall situation of our public primary schools today, no one who is not very poor would willingly send his/her child to the public primary schools.(i.e. Government owned schools).

It would be understatement to say that as this moment, the average public primary school can compete with average private primary school. Yet the average private school will charge school fees that far beyond the reach of the average parent, because they are essentially business organizations that must report a profit.

What we have found is that those middle class parents who are unable to pay the private school fees on due date are also reluctant to take their children to public schools because nothing can be more embarrassing to a middle class parent than to have to withdraw his/her child fro a private school and take him/her to a public school.

This wouldn’t be so if the public schools were of the same or even of a higher quality than the private schools. If this were so, we would find children of both the rich and poor in the public primary schools and it would then not be an embarrassment for anyone to send his/her child there.

What the reluctant yet incapable parents do now is to lock their children up in the home without allowing neighbours to know they are owe school fees. This can go on for as long as they are searching for money to pay the fees. Yet, the public primary schools are under populated.

The answer to all this, in our opinion, is to return the public primary schools to their old glory, to so improve them in form and content, in structure and curriculum that they can match or even surpass the private primary school in quality.

Your Excellency, distinguished guests we are persuaded that this is possible.

In considering the problem, we knew we had to:

a. Improve the standard of the public primary schools to the point where they match or excel that of the private schools.

b. Mobilize the populace to rekindle their interest in the public primary school system.

We needed infrastructural improvements, motivational and incentives schemes for teachers. We needed to market our schools. We needed massive fund raising.

It was also clear to us that we needed extra-governmental support and because we knew that the faith of the public in government is only gradually being strengthened, we needed a structure that will interface between government and public. This is what led to the establishment of ONIGBONGBO EDUCATION FOUNDATION.

Two years ago, we initiated a research into this problem. Research finding revealed that the following relevant differences between the publicly-run and the privately-run primary schools.

i. The infrastructure in and the general physical environment of the private schools is more conducive to learning.

ii. There are teaching aids in the private schools.

iii. Private school teachers are more committed, albeit less qualified.

iv. Management is more focused and committed in private schools.

v. There is an atmosphere of purpose, commitment and well being in private schools.

vi. A sizeable portion of the investment in public schools goes to the payment of salaries to teachers who have spent countless years on the job. This makes the public schools top heave and limit government’s ability to provide other facilities.

vii. The private primary schools admit pupils at a far lower age (sometimes 18 months) than the public schools. This has become prevalent because a lot of working mothers would rather register their 18 month olds in school than in a day care centre they do not trust.

THE FOUNDATION

The Onigbongbo Education Foundation is an attempt to inject new life into a system that is in crisis. It must ab initio, be established on a foundation of transparency and accountability. This is the only way community-spirited individuals and corporations can willingly and enthusiastically support the effort with their hard-earned money and resources. This is also the only way in which international funding organizations can support it.

Therefore this foundation will be managed by a BOARD OF TRUSTEES. Members of which will all be accomplished private individuals of impeccable character. This board will:

a. Mobilise non-governmental financial and other support for the primary schools.

b. Encourage public appreciation of the public primary schools

c. Encourage greater enrolment and regular attendance.

d. Identify and consider the specific needs of each school and determine an order of priority for providing the required facilities.

e. Approve the release of foundation fund to each school for the provision of the approved facilities and demand reports from the schools confirming that such facilities are truly installed. This does not stop direct spending by the LCDA in any of the schools. The funds to be handled by the foundation are those mobilized by the foundation.

f. Fashion out programmes of fund raising from time to time and generally raise funds for the realization of the objectives.

g. Monitor the performance of teachers and other staff connected with the schools to ensure that they align with the objectives of the programme.

h. Obtain professional assurances regularly on the schools curriculum with a view to ensuring that the academic content of the reform programme is achieved.

i. Fashion out a programme of motivation and recognition for teachers to enhance their commitment to the programme. This will have termly and annual components.

j. Establish a culture of accountability and transparency in the handling of funds by presenting a financial report for public consumption every calendar year.

k. Establish a network of support for the programme both locally and internationally from which the programme can draw goodwill and support from time to time.

The Board will have nine voting members with two non-voting members who will be the Education Secretary of the Local Education Authority and the Head of Education Department in the local government who will be the secretary. Beyond this, the local government will have absolutely no hand in the running of the fund. Indeed the local government will have the status of a donor, like other organizations although the foundation will keep full accounts which are open to scrutiny by the legislative council of the LCDA and which must be published yearly in at least one national newspaper.

The purpose of this is to emphasis the importance of transparency and accountability.

Further, the contributions to this fund do not have to be in cash. It is even better if donors pledge specific items. To this end, a list of the most important requirements will be provided so that donors can decide which, amongst them, they wish to donate. The fund will maintain a bank account to be operated by three signatories. The Board of Trustees will serve for initial period of three calendar years.

Your Excellency, distinguished guest, the immediate programme based upon our findings is outlined below albeit it is subject to change as situation demands:

1. Physical Structure: We plan to renovate, as resources permit, the existing school buildings. New buildings or very extensive renovations may be beyond budget at this point.

2. Sanitation Infrastructure: The level of sanitation in most of the public school is horrendous. We plan to build a minimum of eight toilet stalls in each school and sink a borehole to service the toilets and provide potable water because you cannot speak about sanitation without clean water.

3. Motivational and Incentive Schemes for Teachers: This is one of the most important items. We will do this in partnership with the L.G.E.A and the SUBEB. It will include capacity building, special prizes for outstanding performers and other programmes that will enhance commitment and performance.

4. School Clinics: Every school in Onigbongbo will have a school clinic properly stocked and staffed.

5. School Furniture: We will add to what we know SUBEB and L.G.E.A are already doing by providing school desk/benches and teacher furniture.

6. Computer Laboratory with Internet Connectivity: We are expecting 400 Pentium IV computers from the world Computer Exchange, USA. This will allow us put fifteen computers in each school, network them and connect them to the internet.

We have demonstrated our intention by providing a computer laboratory here in Bola Memorial Primary School.

7. Power Supply: Most of our schools have no power supply. Obviously if we are placing computers in those schools, we must solve the power supply problem. All the school will be supplied with three-phase prepaid meters, then connected to PHCN and provided with a small generator to power the borehole and the computer laboratory.

8. Schools Night Guard: Our observations over the years have been that hoodlums have free access to the school premises during the night and commit all sorts of atrocities including theft/destruction of valuable property. Given the cost of the equipment and other items that will now be in the schools, we have to strengthen security in those schools.

9. Scholarship: Our L.C.D.A will award secondary school scholarships to five graduating pupils who score the five highest marks in the Common Entrance Examinations organized by the Lagos State Government. We would have loved to make this one pupil per school but for the inadequacy of funds.

10. School Buses: We believe that the provision of school buses is one of the services that will enhance the appeal of the public primary schools. We approached a number of private sector partners and were fortunate to have two 66-seater buses donated by Golden Chance Limited.

11. Shoes and Uniforms: To mark the start of this programme, we are providing for every pupil in Onigbongbo L.C.D.A two pairs of school uniforms and one pair of school shoes made by FAMAD.

12. Exercise Books: We are providing for each pupil, one dozen (12) Exercise books each with the photograph of each particular school on the front cover.

13. Pre-Kindergarten: The private primary schools admit pupils from age two or even younger and now the public primary schools have encouraged to copy this.

However, there have been the problems of

a.  The appropriate furniture

b.  The appropriate teaching aids

c. The appropriate toys

d.  The aunties to tend to the babies

We plan to provide these in all the schools. This is probably one of the two most important things at this point because if we can encourage parents to start with us and we do not disappoint them, there  would be no need to take their children to private school but if they have to take their two year old to private school, there is no likelihood that they will transfer them to public school when they reach primary school age.

Your excellency,we do not presume to have the right answer to the questions of content and curriculum and method of instruction but our LCDA is willing to invest in a slow and steady training of teachers in the Montessori method because we have it is good.

Clearly, we have given ourselves a daunting challenge but we believe it can be met if we have the support of all.

At this point, I wish to introduce the DISTINGUISHED HUMANITARIAN AWARD  and its recipient to the world.

The government of Onigbongbo L.C.D.A. recognizes that government incapable of solving all the problems of society. Often society itself throws up an individual or organization that will become a symbol of progress, an inspiration to others, a leader of repute.

People such as Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Obafemi Awolowo and Mother Theresa.

When such people are thrown up, they usually have such a tremendous impact on their immediate society that it becomes difficult not to recognize them as exceptional and their deeds as significant and inspiring.

We believe that by publicly recognizing such efforts, we inspire others. In fact,such recognitions are of little benefit to those honoured beyond the fact they inspire them to do more and inspire others to emulate them.

This is why the Onigbongbo LCDA has instituted the ONIGBONGBO HUMANITARIAN AWARD which will recognize the one individual or organization outside government that has impacted most positively on the lives of the residents of Onigbongbo L.C.D.A in one calender year. This is the manden edition of the award and we at Onigbongbo LCDA exective committee consider that the person who quite easily qualifies for this award is PASTOR SAM ADEYEMI.

Pastor Adeyemi and the organization he leads – DAYSTAR CHRISTIAN CENTRE, are an inspiration to us all.

The Daystar Christian Centre, a few years ago,changed the entire landscape of Oregun High School by providing that school with a modern school hall, a block of science laboratories, a tarred road, a new gatehouse, a new school wall, a borehole and a number of classroom blocks.It is doubtful that any government could have done all of that within one school compound. Daystar went ahead over the years and did the following:

- Traffic lights at Oregun

- New classroom block at Wasinmi Primary School, Maryland

- Donation of generator to Primary Health Centre, Oregun

- Borehole at Olusosun Primary School

- Entire school compound of five huge buildings within the Military Cantonment, Maryland.

This  last one is so gigantic that that when our Exco visited the site, we were humbled. This is at the site of one of the schools destroyed by the bomb blast of 2001.

Your Excellency, our LCDA has several churches that are bigger than Daystar Christian Centre. The only way the society has felt their impact is when their armed guards are clearing the reoads for their pasators to pass at Oregun bus stop.

Your Excellency, while some of the items on our 13 point agenda are actually ready today for handing over to the schools we wish to emphasize that the essence of today is much more than the distribution of computers, desks and shoes.

The essence is that we are blowing a whistle that we are now ready to reverse the degeneration that has plagued our public primary school system these past decades and we are inviting the whole world to help us in doing this.

We affirm that we are committed to this goal and we are willing to make all the necessary sacrifices.

Thank you and Gob bless.