Support Government for Quality Education, Okowa Urges Nigerians

By Omon-Julius Onabu

Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, has urged well-meaning individuals and groups in the country to join hands with the government to make quality education more accessible to our people, especially our children and youths, because the requirements for delivering standard quality education demands that all hands should be on deck.

Okowa made the appeal during the inauguration of eight blocks of of classrooms, skill acquisition centre, science and ICT laboratories at St Columbas Grammar School, Agbor in Ika South Local Government Area of the state, noted that education remains the bedrock to development in any given society and must be given the serious attention it deserves.

The governor, who was represented by the Chairman, Ika South Local Government Area, Hon Sunny Tatabuzogwu, expressed appreciation for the commitment of the former students as well as the parents and teachers for their respective contribution to the survival and growth of the school.

He noted that education was basic to human capital development and essential in equipping the children and youths for future responsibilities as parents and leaders, noting that spate of insecurity in the country called for concerted effort, more than ever before, “to prepare our children for responsible citizenship, and there is no better way to do that than to give them sound education and training that will make self-reliant.”

He noted that one of the three new universities recently established by his administration is located in Agbor, said that the government decided to implement the policy of locating one technical college in each of the 25 local government areas of the state give youths in the state broader opportunity to acquire technical knowledge and skills that would enable become self-employed and employers of others.

While congratulating the students, he commended the Catholic Church in Nigeria for contributing to human capital development through the provision of standard quality education and urged men and women of means in the country “to emulate this most commendable gesture of the donor of these state-of-the-art facilities we are inaugurating today.”

Okowa said that such intervention would greatly complement the efforts of his administration in “providing functional critical infrastructure and facilities in our schools and colleges as well as establish new ones” in order to improve access to good quality education for the future leaders in the state and the naton at large.

In his welcome address, the chairman of the occasion and the pioneer Senior Prefect of the school in 1965, Mr Bath Ibegbulem, appealed to government official and policy makers or influencers to be mindful of the counsel or recommendation they give in fashioning government policies and programmes, especially in the education sector.

Ibegbulem lamented that the abrupt and forceful takeover of schools by the then military government had robbed St Columbas (formerly St Columbus and Gbenoba) Grammar school of its past glory.

He noted that the school had remained in deplorable condition until government returned missionary schools to the Catholic Dicese of Issele-Uku and the alumni association stepped up efforts to revive the school.

He thanked members of the school’s parent-teacher association “whose efforts and commitment encouraged the donor” of the new classroom blocks and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, Messrs Sunday Egede and David Ojei of Prince Ebeano Supermarket.

In his speech, the Director of Education, Catholic Diocese of Issele-Uku, Rev Fr. Anthony Banye, on behalf of the Bishop, Most Rev Michael O. Elue, also thanked Prince Ebeanor, saying that education is an invaluable asset to both individuals and the entire society.

“Education is an effective tool to promote transformation and development of individuals and the nation, from the point of ignorance to the state of enlightenment and self-awareness”, Fr Banye noted.

In his speech, Mr Chidi Kossi, while speaking on behalf of the Donor, Sunny Egede and David Ojei of Ebeano Supermarket, said that the gesture was in line with their objective to invest massively in “critical infrastructure that directly impact the lives of the people”.

Kossi, who noted that the donor was not counting the cost, said, “By this exemplary corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, we are leaving footprints on the sands of time, to be remembered long after we are all gone,vas a legacy and an emblem of our unflinching commitment both to development of human capital as well as national development.”

The principal of the school, Very Rev. Fr Joseph Ugboh, commended the “Old Boys of this great institution” for their immense contribution to the growth of the school, saying the greatly exceeded expectations.

A spokesman of the alumni association and legal aide to the deputy president of the Senate, Dennis O. Nwanokwai Esq., chronicled the intervention journey all began to salvage the school as the facilities had practically become an eyesore.

The school is fully equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including a large Computer/ICT Centre and library. The ICT lab is solar-powered, internet enabled, with 60 computers, smart-board and a projector, in addition to three large science labs (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) as well as three halls for woodwork, mechanical, electrical and electronics workshop.

The monarch of Agbor, HRM Dein Benjamin Ikenchukwu, who was represented by Obi Onyeagor, appealed to the Catholic Church to consider reducing the school fees to allow more students utilize the facilities available in the school.