By Adémólá Òrúnbon
A lawmaker representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Sen. Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, has distributed educational materials to over ten thousand students/pupils of his constituency, as part of efforts to complement the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s efforts in boosting education standard of the state.
Sen. Adeola, while presenting the educational materials to the students at Vantage Point, Acme Road, Ikeja, said education was the only weapon that could be used to tackle insecurity, restiveness and other social vices among the youths.
Sen. Adeola stated while presenting educational materials to secondary and primary schools in Lagos West as part of efforts to complement government efforts in advancement of education in the state.
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He said the action was geared towards providing necessary textbooks for students to come out in flying colour in their examinations, saying crime and social vices in the society today was as a result of lack of qualitative education.
The first phase of distribution witnessed 10,000 students/pupils, also 97 selected pupils in Senior secondary schools and 97 selected pupils in Junior Secondary schools while over 200 primary schools in the Lagos West senatorial district were benefited.
He also distributed 15,000 textbooks of mathematics and English, so as to boost learning skills of the students, while modern writing boards and school bags were also distributed at the first phase of the scheme.
Sen. Adeola promised that the second phase of distribution would be a robust one where those to be benefited would be more than that of the first phase, imploring those yet to be benefited to be patient and steadfast.
Sen. Adeola said he was fascinated and motivated to give a large quantity of educational materials to public schools because of his background as a product of such schools, saying that he was inspiring to give back to those public schools students.
“I was a member representing Alimosho twice sometime ago in the Lagos State House of Assembly when there was a debate on the floor concerning the rewards of the teachers, there is a bill in the state assembly concerning upgrading our teachers to the level of permanent secretary. We debated that the reward of the teachers should not be in heaven but on this earth.
“I am also one of the few advocates that recommended that teachers must be able to aspire to the level of permanent secretary, and if not for these teachers, we cannot be where we are and I cannot be a senator.
“I will not be able to speak on the floor of the senate, where we must be able to speak constructively.
“We must be convincing enough so that the senate will understand the important of our argument and the change we so desire.
“All these put together are the efforts of the teachers over us, and I am also thanking God for the teachers and my constituency educators for their efforts, if someone had told me that I would be a senator I would have asked, how I will achieve that?
“Behold, I am the one representing Lagos West Senatorial District with special recognition to my teachers,” he said.
Sen. Adeola appealed to students to judiciously make use of the material in order to expand their knowledge, saying his action was aimed at preparing students for the future challenges.
He said that he would facilitate the construction of classrooms, staff room and toilet facilities for ten Secondary Schools in the Lagos West, noting that he has donated a bus to Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) in the state to ease their movement.
The Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary District Six, Mrs. Oludara Okelola, commended the senator for the kind gesture, assured that the educational materials would be put to use for the development of educational sector, saying the textbooks would assist the students in attaining greatness.
She added that it was encouraging, so that no matter what as students, the beneficiaries can adequately follow what is being taught in the schools, adding that for whatever reason whose their parents could not afford the textbooks, they have the assurance of having the books free of charge.
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Said she, “In Lagos State, education has really gone a long way and we are going higher. Gov. Sanwo-Olu is doing much for education, for this year alone we have had many schools project commissioned.
“We have also seen many abandoned school projects revisited. Aside that, in the last year we have seen the budget for education increased so there is hope for Lagos,” she said.
The Lagos State Chairman of the NUT, Mr. Akintoye Hassan, also lauded Sen. Adeola for providing for the need of the masses, saying that it is one of the best initiatives I have seen in recent times, what we normally have is tuition free education and not the free education that we enjoyed in the then Western region.
“What free education means is tuition free school, free textbooks, and other educational materials even sometimes free food to encourage the students, infact, the gesture today is a landmark for education in Lagos state,” he said.
Two of the beneficiaries of the textbooks and other educational materials, Islamiyat, Adeyemi, from State Comprehensive Junior College, Agege and Olajide Adediran from Agindingbi Senior Grammar School, Agidingbi thanked Adeola for the support.