Irabor, Ovia, Emefiele, Others Move to Revamp Ika Grammar School

*Poor attention to education compounding national challenges, says Okowa
Omon-Julius Onabu in Asaba

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor; the Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Jim Ovia, and the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, have taken steps to revamp the Ika Grammar School, Boji-Boji Owa, Ika North-east Local Government area of Delta State.

This was just as Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has expressed concern about the generally inadequate attention being given to education in Nigeria, saying the situation was partly responsible for the plethora of problems bedeviling the nation.

Okowa stressed the need for all stakeholders to give the issue of provision of quality education the urgent attention it deserves, in order to give youths the right orientation and restore sanity in the system.
The governor made the observation on Saturday as the special guest of honor at the fund-raising and groundbreaking for infrastructure projects at Ika Grammar School.

The event, organised by the Ika Grammar Old Boys Association, was attended by Irabor, Ovia and Emefiele.
Highlight of the event included the fundraising ceremony and the groundbreaking for the major building projects within the school premises performed by Okowa, who was assisted by the invited personages and old boys, including Irabor.

Okowa set the ball rolling by promising that the state government would take up the construction of one of the proposed school building projects.

Emefiele also promised to donate a dormitory block while Ovia announced a donation of N150 million.
“Ika Grammar School had earned a name long before I went to school and i believe that none of us would want to see the school go down to the extent that we can’t tell people that we attended the school,” the governor said.
Okowa charged the old students to donate generously to the development of the school and announced that the state government would carry out proper renovation of the administration block.

Governor Okowa noted that moral values in the country had been severely eroded due to decline in the level and quality of education, appealing to parents and other stakeholders to join hands with the government in order to tackle the educational challenges confronting the nation.

“We are not paying enough attention to education in this nation”, Okowa lamented, adding, “I believe that is part of the problems we have today in this country.

“This school gave birth to who you are today and it’s important that we pay special attention to it otherwise the lives of many children would have been spoilt or lost.

“There is need to improve infrastructure in the school because no matter how good your teachers are, if the ambience of the school is not appealing to the child he can never be comfortable to study,” he said.
The governor, who said a lot of responsibility fell to parents and missionary groups to arrest the eroding morality and the value system, observed that the trend in the society today was for an increasing number of youths to think that there are shortcuts to financial success, other than honest hard work.

He said it had become common knowledge that many youths in the state, including those in the state capital of Asaba and other areas within the Ika Nation, had taken defrauding of unsuspecting people via the Internet, otherwise known as ‘Yahoo-Yahoo” as a means of earning a living, apparently without any thought for decency and honesty.
Okowa said others had resorted to joining all manners of secret cults, a situation that has exacerbated the incidence of kidnapping, armed robbery and other social vices in the society today.

The Vice-Chancellor, University of Delta, Agbor, Prof. Stella Chiemeke, who was the guest speaker at occasion, delivered a paper entitled: “The 21st Century Imperative of Education”, saying the social, political and economic importance of quality education posed enormous challenge for the government, parents and schools.

The Bishop of Ika Diocese of the Anglican Church and spiritual father of the day, Rt. Rev Godfrey Ekpenisi, called on parents to brace up to the challenge of bringing their children under firm control as a decisive means of addressing the moral decadence in society.

He thanked the governor and the alumni association for their decision to collaborate towards restoring the school to its glorious days before the sudden takeover of missionary schools by the then federal military government, praying that God should reward their efforts with resounding success.

Earlier in a welcome address, the National President of Ika Grammar School Old Boys Association, Dr. Sam Ojogbo, thanked members for their commitment to the growth and development of their alma-mater, saying the consistent efforts by the Okowa administration at rescuing numerous schools across Delta from neglect and total decay was laudable.