Parading three national award winners from its fold, the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), climbed higher in standards as it splashed fantastic prizes at its 2016 Merit Awards Ceremony held at the SUBEB Multi-Purpose Hall in Maryland, Ikeja, on Wednesday, December 14, 2016.
The Executive Chairman of Lagos SUBEB, Dr. Ganiyu Oluremi Sopeyin, who won the National SUBEB Chairman award for the year, led a nine year old girl, Favour Phillips and her male counterpart, Joshua Awoshikunde, both of whom won the 2016/2017 National Literary competition, to join the Best Head Teacher in the State, Mrs. Oloyede Kudirat Oluseyi and fifty four (54) other award winners to celebrate a marvelous appreciation of outstanding pupils, teachers, staffers and officials of the board.
Inside a highly improved, well decorated, well organized and air conditioned SUBEB hall, the board honoured excellence, hardwork, diligence, loyalty, commitment and dedication to duty exhibited by various categories of teaching and non-teaching staff of the board in 2016/2017 academic year.
The four-hour event, which was scheduled to kick off by 10:00a.m, eventually flagged off by 11:30a.m as colleagues, family members, officials and stake-holders in the academic community from all over Lagos state and beyond gathered to recognize and appreciate fifty four (54) outstanding individuals and nine (9) institutions.
Dr. Sopeyin and his fellow board members with the organizing committee had upped the scale of the award by beefing up the status of the multipurpose hall, venue of the ceremony, by beautifying it and also adding value to the presentations and the entire programming.
The hall was well decorated in colours, in lighting, in seat arrangements, in quality of the live band, the performance of the two moderators of the event, the air conditioning of the venue, power supply and conduct of the invited guests.
As early as 9a.m, the invited pupils, teachers and guests had started arriving the venue. Members of the board (SUBEB), organizing committee members, the six Tutor Generals/Permanent Secretaries, who were eventually represented by their appointees, and the Chairman of the occasion, a vibrant, lively and eloquent official from Ecobank, were seated by 11a.m.
Other dignitaries from the teaching family, notably the NUT chairman, past chairmen/chairpersons in SUBEB, various honourable members from the legislature and executive arms of government involved in education matters came in intermittently to take their seats.
The atmosphere was electrifying as the stage was decked with different kinds of wrapped gifts/prizes in various shapes and sizes.
Like a victorious army, joy radiated everywhere for all the award winners, who came with pride for their achievements in service and the acknowledgment of the state for their efforts.
Most of the time, the well comported music band and audience expressed their desire to see action as the band teased the guests with tantalizing tunes as warm up for the event.
The two humour merchants, who mastered the ceremony, set the ball rolling after the opening prayers.
Mr Shue Jafiya, a handsome and eloquent banker, chaired the occasion and doubled as the leader of the team of thirty two (32) donors/sponsors of the awards.
The teaser and appetizer was the presentation by Miss Favour Phillip, the nine year old pupil of Darocha Pry School, Agege, who won the National Literacy competition for this year. In a dazzling performance, the girl presented the winning essay she wrote titled ,“If I were to be the President of Nigeria.”
For nearly twenty minutes, this girl spoke in impeccable English rolling out an avalanche of advanced points to buttress her position. She received a thunderous ovation for the performance.
The same went for Master Joshua Awoshikunde of Methodist Pry School, Oshodi, who won in the male category on the same subject. Both Favour and Joshua became instant hero/heroine and got promise of sponsorship to further their education as well as cash gifts.
It was now time for the major speeches from the Executive Chairman of SUBEB as well as the one from the Chairman of the occasion. Then, the speech of the first lady of Lagos State, who sent a representative, and later the speech of the Deputy Governor of the state, who also sent a representative, followed.
Dr. Sopeyin told the audience that the reward for hardwork, dedication and high productivity are the hallmarks of every organization that cherishes the input of its workforce.
He said this axiom finds solace in the colourful award ceremony for those exceptionally diligent and devoted member of staff, who have sacrificed immensely to ensure that the board’s objectives as manager of basic education in Lagos State are achieved, and added that these staffers are uncommon workers, who deserve recognition and rewards.
Without doubt, he said teachers deserve commendation for these achievements just as they deserve applause for the success of the various educational programmes embarked upon by the state government and public spirited non-government organisations.
He remarked that the teaching skills in the work force had improved through training and retraining of teachers such that more than 3000 teachers were retrained recently to update their knowledge on innovative teaching techniques in line with contemporary times.
Mr. Jafiya who represented the Managing Director of Ecobank, regretted the absence of his boss who was attending the Board meeting of the bank same day. He spoke glowingly on the relationship between Ecobank and SUBEB, saying it is more of partnership in the progress of the state education.
Like an orator, he spoke on the various contributions of his bank towards improving the standard of public primary schools in the state and named the schools located in the five divisions of the state including Ikorodu, where the bank intervened in infrastructural development. Their interactions include blocks of classroom building and equipment. He promised that Ecobank will soon intervene in SUBEB’s infrastructure at the Maryland headquarters as well.
Citing the bank’s contributions, he said, “We have been involved in many of SUBEB activities as part of the annual Ecobank day; we have renovated and reconstructed a block of classroom and donated writing materials to C and S Primary School in Ikorodu.
We have reconstructed, renovated and donated ICT centre to Randle Junior High school, Apapa; we also donated writing materials to eleven (11) Primary schools in 2014 all within Lagos, and donated writing materials to Ogbede Oda Primary School in Surulere in 2015.
Our relationship is not historical; our relationship and partnership existed yesterday, still exist today and will transcend into the future.
In Epe grammar school, we are working on the renovation of a block of classroom and provision of an ICT centre to be completed before the end of the year.
For SUBEB, we are in discussion with them for us to support how we can uplift parts of the infrastructure at the Maryland headquarters.
For five (5) years, we have been involved in the provision of the star prize for the best school teacher in Lagos State. To us as partners of this agency and partners to all the teachers, we shall continue to support your progress activities”.
Mr. Jafiya, whose address and that of SUBEB Chairman drew great applauses, praised the organizers of the event, especially Dr. Sopeyin, and reiterated the commitment of his bank to sustain over three decades of their partnership with the state.
The mother of the day, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, presented an address, which was read by the wife of the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mrs. Funmilayo Ojo. The first lady said she was obviously elated by the event and noted that one can conveniently say that the face of education at the basic and junior levels has not been the same since the birth of SUBEB.
She thanked officials and members of SUBEB for their patriotic efforts, adding that it was in furtherance of this that SUBEB instituted this annual award for teachers, pupils, academic and non-academic staff in recognition of their performances.
She agreed that the awards have been gingering and motivating all the concerned to work harder; hence, she congratulated this year’s winners and those behind their success.
Mr. Adesina Odeyemi represented the Deputy Governor of the State, (Dr.) Mrs. Idiat Adebule, who was the Chief Host of the Award but was unavoidably absent due to state duties. Without any prepared speech by the Deputy Governor, who oversees the Education Ministry, Mr. Odeyemi who is the Permanent Secretary in the Education Ministry, spoke brilliantly, praising the good works of Dr. Sopeyin and SUBEB and x-raying the activities of the Education Ministry to promote education at all levels as well as the Governor’s interest in sustaining excellent standard in learning across the tiers of institutions.
Like other speakers, she praised the award winners and urged others not to envy them but to emulate their examples of hardwork.
It was a day Agege zone of the education district stole the show as the most important awards came from that sector in numbers and in quality.
It was also a day every awardee was appreciated in line with Professor Jerry Gana’s age long slogan – if you are a driver, drive well, a cleaner, clean well, a governor, gover well, a president, preside well.
Names of the award winners were called out with dignity and eminent personalities were invited to present the awards. They included the chairman of the occasion, the SUBEB chairman, the representatives of the first and second ladies of the state, basses present, Special Assistants/Advisers to the Governor, present and past officials of SUBEB, the Publisher of Oriwu Sun, Chief Monzor Olowosago etc.
Amidst explosive tunes from the live band and scintillating jokes by the two comperes, the award ceremony rolled on beautifully. From the best office attendant to the Best teachers, from the best school to the best senior and junior staff etc, it was a glorious moment which built up to a frenzy atmosphere when it came to the Best Head Teacher. The hall rocked like earthquake and like a volcano. The winner of this category will take away a brand new car and unspecified amount of money in cash.
From Agege local government primary school came this winner, Mrs. Oloyede Kudirat who in her potable stature, simple outlook wearing a white hijab, was besieged by an excited audience as the whole guests in the all ushered her to the down floor for the car presentation.
It was the climax of the splendid job planned by SUBEB and executed by a sixteen (16) man organizing committee led by Barrister Gbolahan Shodeyi.
Mrs. Abosede Adelaja, Secretary of the Board, captured the all-round joy and was appreciative of everyone who attended this event in her vote of thanks during which spoke on how the organizing committee could not get the required resources until the eleventh hour; hence, she thanked profusely Ecobank and the other 31 donors/sponsors of the award ceremony for their benevolence.
