The Adeboruwa of Igbogbo Kingdom in Igbogbo/Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Ikorodu Division, Oba Semiudeen Kasali, on Tuesday, March 3, 2020, paid an unscheduled visit to Oreyo Grammar School during which he toured both the junior and senior sections of the school.
He was accompanied on the tour by a large entourage which included members of the Adeborura-in council and several other imminent dignitaries.
The tour, which was an emotional moment that once again called for a sober reflection on the current state of public schools across Ikorodu division, enabled the monarch and his chiefs to have a firsthand knowledge of the extent of challenges facing the school in terms of infrastructure.
Despite the efforts made by staff of the school to prevent their August visitors from seeing the bad condition of the classrooms by hurriedly asking students to come out and receive them, some of the students were seen making gestures to this reporter and his colleagues to come and take a look at some of their classes to see the condition under which they are receiving lessons.
The principal was said to be away at a meeting in Alausa when the Adeboruwa toured the school.
Among the challenges discovered by Oba Kasali and his entourage were dilapidated structures, overcrowded classrooms, damaged roof and shortage of desks and chairs.
The Balogun of Igbogbo, Chief Jelili Oduntan, addressing the staff of the school on behalf of Oba Kasali queried them on why students were being made to receive lessons in an atmosphere not conducive for learning.
He requested to know the efforts made by the school management so far in calling the attention of necessary authorities to the situation.
However, none of the teachers present including the Vice Principal, could respond to Chief Oduntan’s query as it was believed that they were afraid that whatever they say might implicate them.
In an interview with Oriwu Sun on the premises of the school, Oba Kasali, who initially was short of words due to the magnitude of decadence he found in the school, stated that what he saw in the school is proof that government alone cannot correct the enormous challenges facing education.
He then called on the privileged individuals, corporate bodies and groups to come to the aid of the governed and assist the government in developing the educational sector in the state.
“I don’t want to qualify what I have seen, but I think that we still have a very long way to go. What I have seen here is a demonstration of the fact that we must all put our hands on deck to make education of our students worthwhile,” a disappointed royal father said while reflecting on the situation he witnessed at Oreyo Grammar School.
“I have observed here that government alone cannot do it because what I have seen here today is what we have in our schools across Lagos State.
“The fund available to government is not enough to do all that the citizenry are asking for and that’s why I am appealing to our people within our society to come to the aid of our students. Let them come here if they want to do birthday and donate in commemoration of their birthdays and other celebrations”, he appealed.
They can donate chairs, tables and books for the library. Their celebrations should not be about jamboree or eating alone. We want them to visit schools to donate facilities like chairs, table and other facilities.
“The roofs are leaking. They are about to collapse and are begging for our attentions. We are approaching raining season and the roofs are not there. We want people to come to our aid by fixing them”, Oba Kasali appealed.
“If we allow rain to commence without fixing the roof, what we will spend will be much higher compared to fixing it now.
“I want to appeal to all of us and I will also continue to appeal to the government because as an institution, it behooves on them to see to it that structures are proper shape.
“We will continue to appeal for collaboration between the government and our people to see to how our students can have a better education.”
The monarch, who stated that he has been able to see the worrisome of many public schools across Ikorodu division, added that his observations are going to be communicated to the State government for appropriate actions.
“I have seen it all (referring to the state of both Oreyo Senior and Junior Schools) and the first thing that we are going to do is to communicate with the government on our observations. Definitely, I am going to liasing with the appropriate authority through the line of communication opened for us to bring up such an issue.
“We are going to explore the communication channel and we believe that with the present commitment of the government and attention that they have promised to give to education, they will remedy the situation here so that emergency will not declared on education.
“I know that the government of today, under the administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, will act on it and this school will definitely be a beneficiary of whatever arrangement that they have made for improvement of education in the state,”