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Deepening Quality Education with 140-bed Hostel
In this report, Oluchi Chibuzor writes that the inauguration of a 140-bed hostel at Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, donated recently by an old boy, Mr Ayodeji Fadoju, points to the fact that privately driven intervention can complement the government’s lags in the education sector across the country
“It’s easier to take than to give. It’s nobler to give than to take. The thrill of taking lasts a day. The thrill of giving lasts a lifetime,” said Joan Marques.
This perhaps prompted an old school boy, after graduating in 1988 from his alma mater, to donate a 140-bed hostel named after his mom, who clocked 75 years recently.
The single-storey dormitory named Kikelomo Hall was donated to the school by Mr Ayodeji Fadoju of the 1988 set. For him, the willingness to give back to the school was inked in his heart during a visit to the school five years ago when he observed that the basic infrastructure was in a bad state.
Explaining the rationale behind his gesture, he recalled a visit.
“When Baptist Academy decided to have a hostel, as a real estate professional, I decided to reciprocate the huge mental resources endowment deposited in me by the school,” stated Fadoju. “So one day, we visited the school. The state of the hostel was as bad as being in prison, so I had it in the back of my mind that one day I would do this project. It took me five years to complete this as I did not decide to start it.”
Fadoju felt compelled to donate the dormitory to the missionary school because the building formerly erected on the site was an old bungalow that did not befit the school.
“One of the reasons for embarking on this project is not because the donor has excess funds, but because I believe it is only the responsibility of the government or the mission to look after the generations that will take Nigeria to a better place,” he added.
Commenting on why old students must embrace interventions at their alma mater, he said his gesture should encourage similar projects across the education sector.
“So we designed this hostel accommodation for about 140 students fully equipped because our thinking is that as soon as we are able to provide a comfortable and convenient sleeping environment for students, the impact on the quality of learning will improve,” Fadoju explained. “We are using this means to encourage other old students that have passed through one institution or another not only to wait on the government but see what they can do. We cannot wait for the government to do everything, and we must all put that at the back of our minds to contribute our quotas either financially, morally or even time to plans that are dear to our hearts.”
However, considering the vast academic and secular success that old boys have recorded since leaving their alma mater, Fadoju believed that the country should consider linking students to industry to deepen their entrepreneurship skills while in school.
President of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, Rev. Israel Akanji, described the donor as a shining example while expressing the mission’s gratitude to Fadoju and his family for the initiative.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who inaugurated the project, urged other Nigerians to imitate Fadoju.
“The edifice, which was named after the donor’s mother, represented a befitting intervention, which alumni associations could use to support their alma mater and provide platforms for academic advancement,” said the governor. “I feel highly encouraged to come and identify with this noble cause when I saw the pictures of this beautifully designed edifice.”
The Lagos governor added, “This is a landmark intervention from an old student to boost education access at his alma mater. This is a clear example for every one of us, as interventions such as this can be identified by Old Students’ Associations across our schools to change the lives of students.”
The governor noted that school enrollment under his administration increased due to the provision of over 300,000 units of composite furniture for pupils’ convenience.
He said 55 fully equipped laboratories and 45 furnished libraries were built for students across the State-owned schools.
“Our direct intervention in education has been far-reaching. We have touched the entire ecosystem in education; this has helped us in organically raising the quality and standards of education,” Sanwo-Olu said.
