Did Nigerian Obama wannabe eventually win his party primaries?

Byytch!!! Roving stark mad bytch!!!!

Ref Igietseme:

Are we also listing Nigerian professors abroad, many of whom have no name recognition even in their own states? In that case, we know where the thing tilts to

Onyeka Onwenu
Imo state

Igwe Achebe, Anambra state

Humphrey Nwosu (greatest ever INEC Chair)

Ileke-IdI:

Lagos has lots of famous ppl, and it's developing.

Anambra has a lot of famous ppl, why is it not developing as rapid as Lagos?

Take away the headstart Lagos had as the capital of Nigeria for more than 50 years then you will see what remains of its rump. If Anambra was Nigeria's capital, it will develop differently. We all see what Abuja has become in a space of less than two decades

Chyz

Add Dr. Kanayo Nwanze to the Delta list
Former DG of Africa Rice Centre and now the DG of the International Fund for Agric. Development (IFAD).

SEFAGO:

@PhysicsRND

those are recognizable names if you have lived in nigeria. However you are correct- we should check what they have done

Someone included Kanayo O Kanayo  

So just put all the Nillywood movie stars since nollywood is dominated by igbos

Anyone who considers Nollywood famous/great must then know Kanayo. FACT.

PhysicsRND:


? What does the supposed lack of notoriety of Yorubas outside of Yorubaland have to do with my simple request?


Just shut up if you can't type without making a fool of yourself.

Mr. swear words. Only a rascal will exchange words with another rascal. Am no rascal.

PhysicsRND:

Please say what some of these people have done or go back and edit your lists to summarize what they have achieved because while you may know them they might not be as great and famous to those outside of your state as you might assume and people can't go and look up all 20 or so people on each list.

The Igbo ones are definitely famous outside their states as many live outside Igboland. Cannot say the same for the Yoruba ones who are constantly ensconced in Yorubaland

For eg., Kanu Nwankwo needs no introduction in a Yoruba village

Abia:

Michael Okpara
Aguiyi Ironsi
Jaja Nwachukwu
Alvan Ikokwu
Ndubuisi Ekekwe (they call him brain box of Nigeria)
Ngozi Okonjo Iweala
Kanu Nwankwo
Kalu Idika Kalu
Amadi Ikwecheghi (ex Chief of Naval Staff)
Ebitu Ukiwe
Obisia Nwankpa (Boxer)
Dr. Asisi Asobie (most famous ASUU president)

Chris Ukpabi (CEO/Chairman of Fluor Mills of Nigeria PLC, Apapa)

Basket Mouth (Bright)
Bright Chimezie

Stay tuned

Jarus:

@Ramon,
Let me take Ogun and let's compare. Draw up your Top 10 from Anambra and I'll do Top 10 from Ogun and people will judge which list is more intimidating.

My first ten from up:

Nnamdi Azikiwe

Odumegwu Ojukwu

Chinua Achebe

Emeka Anyaoku

Cardinal Arinze

Alex Ekwueme

Chuba Okadigbo

Dora Akunyili

Oby Ezekwesili

Chimamanda Adichie

P square

Philip Emeagwali

Power Mike (Best African Wrestler)

Chinyelu Onwura (Labour Party MP, UK)

Chuka Umunna (Labour party MP, UK)

Charles Soludo


Cosmas Maduka (Coscharis)

Cletus Ibeto

Mikel Obi

Nwafor Orizu (Nigeria's 1st senate presido)

Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu (1st African multi millionaire)

Chike Obi

Kenneth Dike (1st Nigerian VC of a university UI)

Ben Enweonwu

Pius Okigbo

Jerome Udoji

Cyprian Ekwensi

Osita Osadebe

Oliver de Coque

Augustine Ilodibe (Ekene DiliChukwu)

Samuel Okoye (First African Radioastronomist)

Bede Okigbo (Ex DDG of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan)

There are just too many of them to list

PhysicsRND:

lol, I'll post a pretty good Edo state list in a while that should surprise some people who think my state only produces ashawos to export to Italy. Thanks for your concern but I got this.

As for Delta state they do have some people, like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, her writer son who wrote that acclaimed novel. Also, Oviemo Ovadje and Andrew Evwaraye (http://www.udayton.edu/artssciences/profiles/evwaraye_andrew.php)

Okonjo was Delta now married in Abia. Her children are Abians. Stop claiming them for Delta

Jarus:

No state in Nigeria compares to Anambra in terms of human resources

Make a list and let us compare

Jarus:

In any case, Ogun is easily the numero uno producer of great/famous personalities in Nigeria.
OGUN: 2 Presidents(Obj, Shonekan), 1 VP(Diya), 1 almost-president(Abiola)
KATSINA: 2 Presidents(Buhari, Umoru Yar'adua), 1 VP(Shehu Yar'adua)
NIGER: 2 presidents(IBB, Abdussalam).

Now let's hear what Eku bear and his rascally sidekicks have to say about this: Tinubu fights Mimiko=rascality

Dis Guy:

A random survey conducted by the North-west zone of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has led to dire projections that the ruling party may lose six out of the seven states in the zone.

According to party insiders who spoke with THISDAY yesterday, the projection is that PDP risks losing in Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina and Kano. The only state considered safe is Jigawa.

The North-west is seen as the biggest voting bloc in the country, although no single party has won in all the states in general elections since 1999.

Currently, PDP controls all states but Kano in the zone, but the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), founded by Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, who is also its presidential candidate, is said to be the first choice among the people who are said to be passionate about a Northerner regaining power at the centre.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/pdp-fears-losing-in-6-north-west-states/86409/

Perception is different than reality. Wait until after the election. Moreover, as long as no be [b]THIEF RASCAL [/b]Tinubu's family party, it is still okay by me.

One cannot help but wonder why the Yoruba rascals of nairaland do not see anything bad in Tinubu handpicking people, including his family members, into elective positions. I wonder what Wole Soyinka will have to say about such blatant topsy turvy politics.

eku_bear:

It isn't ACN alone that is looking to take away PDP states. . . in fact, likely the greatest loss will come elsewhere

Matters less as long as Tinubu and his ACN are nowhere near majority. Moreover most of the non-PDP members will gravitate BACK toward the PDP no sooner than they are elected. So, head or tail, ACN loses.

ACN primaries, a sham, by Durosinmi-Etti, chieftain
Alhaji Dapo Durosinmi-Etti, lawyer and astute politician, has a name that rings a bell in Lagos politics.
In his days in the defunct United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP), he ran a campaign that was considered unique, going by its organisation, depth and well thought-out messages.
Durosinmi-Etti, currently is an Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader and convener “Continuity 2011”, a group mobilising a second term for Governor Babatunde Fashola.He however laments what he calls the unhealthy politics within the ACN.
He also speaks on the schemings against Governor Fashola, his senatorial ambition, INEC’s silence and more. REMI ADEFULU presents the excerpts
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
•Durosinmi-Etti
Photo: Sun News Publishing

More Stories on this Section

Senatorial ambition
Let me just say that a lot of people have been wondering about what is going on after the primaries in the ACN which we all belong to. Initially, I didn’t set out to contest for the primaries on the platform of ACN because I have always had my reservations about the transparency of the process and it came to pass. What eventually emerged after the endorsement of the governor is beyond belief.

Apart from the fact that due process was not followed, what transpired was a brazen rape of democracy. People voted and yet the votes were not counted. They exploited the people. Those who left last, left very late the following morning. The votes were not counted, only for names to emerge in newspapers as winners, and in this is a party that prides itself as democratic.

It is a shame that we have that kind of sham process, and I am not a defender of that kind of party. That is why I am taking the battle back to them. Those who emerged are not the choice of the people, and it will be a tragedy of our time to field such people. The analogy I am drawing is this – if you are not allowed to go into the university through JAMB, which I take as the primaries, you can go in through direct entry. If you are not going to the platform to represent the people from any party, then I can go somewhere else to reach out to the electorate, because the electorate know those who are deserving of their votes. That is why I am taking up the platform of a party, yet to be determined, but you can be sure that I will be one of the contestants when the time comes for the election of the Lagos Central Senatorial District.

Implication for Fashola
I have always maintained that as far as we are concerned, we want a platform for Fashola to come back. Thank goodness that came to pass, but what we gained through the front door, somebody wants to take away through the backdoor, and that is not going to happen because the scheming is quite clear to any discerning mind, that they are trying to weave a snare around Fashola, so that when he comes back, he wouldn’t be able to perform as he did in the last few years. Obviously, if you don’t have a co-operative legislature, it will be very difficult to govern. It might even lead to his impeachment given the way we do things in this country. All these have to stop because if we allow the party to pick candidates for him, he will be a puppet. The plan is clear, their designs are quite obvious to everybody and that the electorate is alert to this irresponsible behaviour. A time must come when the people must learn to say no.

Govenor’s disposition
I am not bothered about what the governor thinks. We are out to support the governor not because he is the governor, but because of the work he is doing. I want to say that I am not bothered by whatever attitude he is putting up because we are not in consultation.But I am sure that nobody will know that people are fighting for him and not be happy. Democracy is about the voice of the people. If we want him, and we make it so obvious to him, it is okay. He has taken a platform, we cannot tell him to disembark. But we are scared that they are building a snare around him.

We will take another platform to give him the support. Some legislators are already decamping from ACN due to this obvious injustice. If they believe it is the old shenanigans they are going to deploy, it is not going to work this time around, because nothing works without the people. I am only afraid there won’t be anarchy at the end of the day, because Lagos State is the cynosure of good governance.

Lagos Central threat
I wouldn’t know whether indigenes of Lagos have decided not to support Fashola running on ACN ticket because the elections are not here yet. We hear voices of dissent, yes, very loud. That is what is giving us the courage to say we want to represent those voices. You may say I am from the Island by my roots, but I represent a senatorial district now. I know that it is a matter of time, give us a few more days, things will start unfolding and you will know the people’s voice is coming.

Solution
There is no problem except self-induced headache. The primaries was a sham and everybody knows that. Let them retrace their steps before it is too late. We have not even heard INEC pronouncement on the primaries. Whether it is going to stand their test, we don’t know, and we can’t subject ourselves to the whims and caprices of a few individuals. They placed an advert in the papers that no one is above the law. That is an ACN propaganda. We thank goodness that we have enough educated people who are now interested in what is going on. That is why the changes are coming. Things are changing. If you think you can just bribe people, you will be shocked this time around.

INEC’s position
Well, we expect by now that INEC would have come out with a position. By not coming out, they are compounding the problem because we have time table for everything. I am sure and I am aware that several petitions have been written on the matter. Even there was an admission in the newspaper, where the chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, confirmed that the party imposed candidates. If that is the case, it is a tragedy that I am in ACN at all. Why then did they pretend they conducted primaries? I am stunned. If it is true, coming from somebody of Chief Akande’s caliber. It is a terrible shame because it shows the level of exposure and knowledge that he has.

Senate agenda
My agenda for the Senate is to represent my people maturely, with informed representation, proper liaison with the people reflecting the wishes of my constituents. Representation means some people put you there. This is where we are having problems in ACN. Our representatives believe you have to be loyal to a person whom they perceive put them there. People are there to represent the people.

Things are falling apart already? Make deals with Tinubu at your own RISK

eku_bear:

Will be interesting to see how effective the PDP presidency is when it controls less than half of states, and likely loses control of the senate and house.

I dey laugh o!

Nigeria is not USA. Even Tinubu, and certainly Tinubu's wife, will be licking Jonathan's arse after the election and how will PDP lose control of the House? How many Yorubas are in the house?

eku_bear:

And yet, when it is all said and done, the PDP is likely to lose substantial amounts of territory this election to the ACN and CPC.

When all is said and done, PDPand not ACN, will produce the president in the coming election. ACN has failed a priori.

Jonathan Assures Anambra As Oil Producing State, Confirms Obi
http://www.ukpakareports.com/news.php?type_id=2&news_id=1519

Nigeria finds oil and gas in commercial quantities in Anambra

http://www.gasandoil.com/goc/discover/dix33666.htm

Why would anyone but a joker want to be the presidential candidate of a flip-flopping failing party? The fact that Ribadu and Tinubu are now friends speaks volume of the corruption in their party. Even Buhari knew better and gave them 100 yards. Also, the fact that failing ACN appointed candidates instead of electing them makes it a no go area for decent non-Rascals . I heard Tinubu RASCALLY appointed his own wife to go to the senate. That one na RASCAL family party.

Non-Yorubas may go into ACN to provide some space to enable them win local or state elections in their states and then move back to their original parties when they succeed.

Mark my word, ACN will be dead outside of Yorubaland after the elections have been won and lost. Tinubu is too rascally for any decent person to associate with.

Abagworo:

The only exception is Rivers State.Thanks to Amaechi's Government

Are you blind? Did you not read this in one of my posts below?

1000 Kids Learn Under Trees In Ogoni Community
Wednesday, 14 January 2009, 11:23 am
Press Release: Akanimo Sampson

In Ekiti, pupils also learned under trees possibly until recently (who knows could still be going on there)


One of the greatest sins that man can commit against God is to give glory that belongs to Him to mortals. King Herod had made a speech to the men of Tyre and Sidon, concluding with an assurance that he would pass by their offence and receive them into his favour again. He had power to keep alive and put to death. The people that had a dependence upon him, and had benefit by his favour, applauded him. They gave a shout; saying; “It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.”

King Herod took these praises to himself, pleased himself with them, and prided himself in them; and this was his sin against God for which angel of the Lord smote him and he was eaten of worms above ground, and gave up the ghost instantly!

Today, in Ekiti and indeed among some politicians in the Southwest of Nigeria, a replica of the story of King Herod is being witnessed.

Erected at Fajuyi area of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital is a billboard that gives glory to one man for the emergence of Dr. Kayode Fayemi of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as governor of the State. “Thank you Tinubu,” is the message displayed on the billboard. And who will blame a people for showing gratitude to one man, who is solely responsible for the judicial victory that brought Fayemi to power? After all, those who got the Ilorin victory are not oblivious of where the victory came from and cannot possibly be thanking God, whom they knew had no hands in it.

Apparently because the victory did not come from God too, its beneficiaries appear to be confused as to what to do with it. First it was the announcement of free education in Ekiti, a state where government had made public schools not only free but even more attractive than private schools. This was immediately followed by the reversal of appointments of Permanent Secretaries and removal of portrait of former governor, Engr Segun Oni from the Governor’s Office.

To put the records straight, as at Friday, October 15, 2010 that Engr. Segun Oni’s government was terminated via that men-induced judicial victory, only students of boarding schools in Ekiti State were paying N10.500 for feeding (per term) while no fee was paid in other schools (both primary and secondary). Apart from non-payment of tuition fees, free textbooks were provided while WAEC and NECO fees were paid by the government. Free VSAT connected laptops were distributed to students of boarding schools while pupils of primary schools in Ekiti State have been enjoying free egg and cocoa drink twice in a week, under the School Feeding Programme.

Furthermore, Ekiti State had been taken away from the comity of States where students of public schools receive lectures under the tree, inside dilapidated classrooms or carry chairs and desks to the school. This problem was solved with the construction of thousands of classrooms, including storey buildings in the schools and provision of school furniture adjudged as the best in Nigeria.

As at the time Fayemi was assuming office, education was not only free in Ekiti State but functional as parents were already withdrawing their wards from private schools and bringing them to public schools. It thus amounts to playing to the gallery for the people to be promised free education that they already have.

Removal of Engr. Oni’s portrait and Fayemi’s statement that he (Oni) was never governor is another issue that has taken center-stage in the last few days. In the opinion of Fayemi, who is apparently still basking in the euphoria of the Tinubu-induced judicial-electoral victory, Ekiti State had no governor for the three and half years Engr. Oni spent in office.

Whether giving order that all the portraits of Engr. Oni be removed should be the first assignment on the priority list of Fayemi’s government is not an issue I want to belabour myself with. Rather, I am amused with the glee with which common sense is being allowed to be eroded by the liquid of vendetta.

As posited by one Oluwagbenga Ogunbe, a USA based Oye-Ekiti indigene, who posted his comment on Isokan Ekiti, a Yahoo Group; the portrait of Engr. Oni may have been removed, but what about the bigger pictures? What about the many bills that were signed into law in which such laws have started to take effect? What about appropriation spending and supplementary budgets that was approved by the House of Assembly? What about the over 3,000 students who benefitted from scholarship schemes? Will these students be asked for a refund or will those who have already been pencilled down for awards have these awards forfeited?

Appointments and promotion of civil servants, including Permanent secretaries were approved by Engr. Oni, are these to be reversed? Are the 4,000 civil servants recruited by the Oni-led government to be asked to return to the labour market? Should those prisoners that Engr. Oni granted amnesty be asked to return to prison?

Most importantly, it was Engr. Oni that inaugurated the State House of Assembly and if Fayemi is saying that there was no governor in Ekiti between May 29, 2007 and October 15, 2010, it then goes to say that there was no House of Assembly in Ekiti State as at today. It will then be necessary that Fayemi should inaugurate the House of Assembly with the implication that tenure of the members would begin from the date of inauguration.

Again, the Head Of Service (HOS), Mr. Femi Adewunmi who announced the appointments so far made by Fayemi was appointed by Engr. Oni, meaning that those appointments and subsequent ones to be made by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) cannot be anything but a nullity if the person, who appointed the HOS was never governor.

Honestly, I think Fayemi ought to have gone beyond removal of Engr. Oni’s portrait. He should have taken a step further by returning all the over 500 kilometres of roads constructed by the Oni’s government to the state that they were before 2007.

Furthermore, all the Obas that were enthroned by the Oni’s government can also be dethroned so that he can embark on fresh selection process.

May be too, all the over 3,000 blocks of classrooms, Government House Guest Chalets, Secretariat buildings and other buildings built by the Engr. Oni’s government should be demolished. The over N1.5 billion equipment being installed at the State owned radio and television stations can also be removed so that the broadcast station can return to the state that it was in 2007.

In just one week that the judgment of men was foisted on Ekiti, policy summersault, removal of portraits and illegal freezing of local governments accounts, attack on innocent Ekiti indigenes perceived as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), invasion of Ekiti by Lagosians have been the lot of the State.

In Ekiti, the reality is that men have passed their own judgment, which implies that all that is needed to win an election through the judiciary is for a loser to destroy electoral materials by whatever means, including setting INEC office ablaze. The beneficiaries of the judgment have not stopped giving glory to the man, who made it possible. But there is yet one other judgment that will come soon, which is that of God. When it does, no one, except Himself will take the glory.

Olayinka, a journalist writes from Ado-Ekiti.

http://thewillnigeria.com/opinion/6390-EKITI-BETWEEN-MEN-AND-GOD.html

More tales from Lagos

From: Punch Published on: Friday, February 04, 2011

By Olunike Asaolu


Pupils in the crowded classroom, with those in front sitting

Schools still lack common basic amenities like chairs and tables in the heart of Lagos, the State of Excellence. Olunike Asaolu reports the pathetic condition of pupils of Ilogbo Junior High School, who do not only sit on the floor, but lack access to potable water. Break time was over and it was time for another series of lessons to begin that Wednesday afternoon when our correspondent arrived at Ilogbo Junior High School in Ebute-Meta (West) District Four, Sabo Yaba, Lagos. Blessing ran frantically ahead of her mates to get a sitting position on bare floor in her classroom to continue the day’s school work. She does that everyday. Struggling for a sitting space in her class is a routine because her parents cannot afford the N3, 000 required to buy her a chair and desk. She is one of the 100 pupils in a classroom designed for 30 pupils. So everyday, she sits on the floor with her books on her laps.

The school does not have enough classrooms and there are no chairs for pupils to sit on. The few pupils that have chairs and tables brought them from home. Sometimes, they sit under the trees to learn but when they do, there are no boards to write on because the boards in the school are fixed to the walls of their classrooms.

To compound their problems, the few available classrooms vibrate constituting danger to the pupils. “The building is always vibrating and there are cracks on the walls. So there is no way we can receive lessons there. The only functional block with six classrooms is now being used by all the pupils,’’ one of the pupils told our correspondent.

During rainy season, the school is flooded, discouraging pupils from going to school. “When it rains, our school premises are always flooded. I want to appeal to government to come to the aid of the school. Government should also give us good water. The borehole we have here is bad, the water is brownish and salty,” another pupil, simply identified as Ahmed, said.

Right from the entrance of the school, it is obvious that the school is suffering from neglect. Established in 1981, the school is in a water-logged area and in an environment unsuitable for learning. It is very close to the Carter Bridge, which harbours tanker drivers, mechanics and other unfriendly elements. The school looks abandoned and neglected by government.

There are just three buildings in the school out of which a block of three classrooms has been abandoned, because the building which was inaugurated on May 17, 1999 has become a threat to the pupils. A class that should conveniently accommodate between 25 and 30 pupils is where 80 and more are struggling to have quality education.

The problems of the school include dilapidated buildings, uncompleted drainage by the local government, which causes flood, and insensitivity of the community. The status of the school, with a population of about 700 pupils, shows that there is urgent need to accelerate renovation process in order to make teaching and learning pleasant for both teachers and their pupils.

When our correspondent visited the school on Wednesday, the pupils lamented the danger they were being exposed to and they called on government to come to their aid. Pupils, who spoke with our correspondent, including Blessing, Ahmed, Josephine and Rasheed, blamed government for the neglect of their school.

Blessing said, “The school authorities evacuated all the pupils on the instructions of an engineer, who came from the State Universal Basic Education Board to inspect all the buildings in the school. With this situation, a class that should accommodate 30 pupils now has about 80 or more.

“For instance, JSS 1, which had four arms has been compressed to three arms, JSS 2 was supposed to be three arms, it has two arms, and the three arms of JSS3 are using part of the administrative building.”

Another pupil who pleaded anonymity said there was lack of basic facilities.

“Our major problem is lack of facilities. For instance, some of our classmates sit on bare floor because they don’t have furniture. In my class, we are 85, just 25 of us have tables and chairs, others sit on the floor,” he said.

When asked why he had furniture and his mates did not have, he said, “I have furniture because my father bought it for me. Pupils sit on the floor because their parents have not got tables and chairs for them. Though I pity their condition, there is nothing one can do except if government provides for them.”

A member of the school’s Parents’ Forum, Mr. Rasheed Akamo, who spoke with our correspondent, blamed the plight of the school on parents and government’s insensitivity.

He said, “It is a pity that children are learning under such condition. When we realised that we could not continue to wait for government, we called parents’ meeting but just a few of us responded. And the only project we could do was the renovation of some parts of the collapsed fence, which we did in December, 2010.

“We are now trying to help the school to hasten the local government to complete the drainage it abandoned years ago. This has done a lot of damage to the school, when it rains, the whole premises is flooded.

“The uncompleted drainage has also created an unhealthy situation for the pupils. It has really exposed them to a lot of diseases. The community is also not helping at all. It is as if the people there don’t know the value of education. They have turned the school to a refuse dumping ground. Most of the time, people have their bath there, defecate, and dump refuse everywhere, not minding the health of these children.

“The school still has enough land to accommodate more facilities. I am appealing to government to quickly come to the aid of the school, because the situation is above what the school can handle all alone.”

One of the people that work in front of the school gate, who simply identified himself as Felix, said the issue of security should be taken seriously. “Because parts of the school fence have collapsed, the children are not safe, even this environment is not safe for children. Security of the children should be what people should be concerned with.

“Then another thing I have noticed is that nobody is ready to assist. The kind of parents we have here are people who don’t care at all. I have a niece in the school and she told me that for the past three years, most of these pupils have been sitting on the floor to receive lessons and write exams, and their parents know about this but they don’t care.

“I think it is time parents were forced to be responsible. Any parent who is not ready to be actively involved in the education of their children should be punished, which means there should be a law to back this up.”

Neither the principal nor any of the teachers was ready to talk to our correspondent for fear of persecution.

But the Tutor-General, Education District Four, Sabo Yaba, Mr. Ayo Obajinmi, in a telephone interview with our correspondent, said government was already aware of the situation of the school, adding that plans were underway to get the school back on its feet.

“From the report we got from the school, we are already aware of the situation of the school, and we are working on it. Government has compiled list of schools that will get basic facilities. The school is one of the four schools we are giving priority. Before the end of this month (February), we will give them furniture. Then other facilities will be provided as well,” he said.

Then on the issue of insecurity in the school, Obajimi said, “Security is general in our schools, and we are doing all things possible to ensure that our pupils are safe.”

http://www.ekiti.com/ekitinews/default.php?news_Code=Odd

Roofless classrooms dot nation where lawmaker earns N15m per month
By OLUGBILE SEGUN and OLUNIKE ASAOLU
Friday, 17 Dec 2010

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Roofless classrooms dot nation where lawmaker earns N15m per month

Pupils and stakeholders in the education sector in this report by OLUGBILE SEGUN and OLUNIKE ASAOLU flay the huge wage being enjoyed by members of the National Assembly and call on government to cut lawmakers’ salaries and deploy the excess to the funding of the education sector. If you are planning for tomorrow, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a life time, educate people, so goes a Chinese proverb. But this adage is meaningless to Nigerian leaders as most of their policies and actions are against education and by extension, the nation’s future. Rather than giving quality education to the masses, they award huge salaries and allowances to themselves. Consequently, education suffers while most public schools are in a shambles.

Due to inadequate funding, most public schools in the country have been reduced to mere antiquities. For instance, a first time visitor to African Church Primary Schools 1 and 2, Iju-Isaga, Lagos, will mistake the schools for a war -torn community. Three of the four blocks of classroom in the school are in a dysfunctional state. One is totally roofless. Another one is in a decrepit state, while the roof of the third one housing the office of the head teacher of School 2, is rusty and leaky. The only hut-like block with four classrooms considered functional is now being used by all the 725 pupils of the two schools.

When it rains, bowls are kept in different places in the class to prevent flooding. The pupils are huddled together not because of cold, but because of lack of space. A chair that is meant for two pupils now sits six. The school toilet is old and sinking. Consequently, the pupils defecate at any place they consider hidden enough. The teachers are forced to befriend people living around the school in order to use their toilets. The school has no library. It does not also have a science laboratory. Because of its closeness to Iju-Isaga garage, the pupils are exposed to hoodlums, who have converted the school premises to Indian-hemp smoking joint.

When our correspondent visited the school on Tuesday, the pupils lamented the danger they were being exposed to and they called on government to come to their aid. Some of the pupils who spoke with our correspondent including Joy Thomas, Kehinde Ganiyu, Emeka Moneke and Suleiman Suliat blamed government for the neglect of the school.

“When it rains, we put buckets in spots where the roof is leaking. We are many in our class and we sit tight together. Our teachers are good but the government is bad. They are not taking good care of us,” Suliat, whose mother sells things by the roadside said.

Experts claim it will take between N3m and N5m to roof a block of four classrooms depending on the type of roofing sheets used and the quality of other materials.

None of the teachers including the two head teachers was ready to talk to our correspondent for fear of persecution. One of them, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, explained that the school was not the only one in that condition in Lagos.

“My brother, I’ve been in this profession for over 13 years and this is not my first posting, most public schools in Lagos and in fact in Nigeria in general, are in bad shape. Our leaders are interested in playing politics with education while they send their own children to schools in foreign countries. They award huge salaries to themselves while we teachers that make them are being treated with disdain. Look at this school. Is this how a school is supposed to be? Our leaders are wicked or is it sensible for a lawmaker to be earning as much as N15m per month in a country where we have this type of a school that even as a teacher, I cannot enrol my child?” the teacher asked.

Also, a visit to Alimosho Senior Grammar School by our correspondents on Tuesday revealed that lip service is just being paid to funding of education in Nigeria.

At the school, inadequate classrooms and a failed classroom complex had forced the school management to relocate its SS2 pupils to State High School. Some of the teachers have also been forced to create a makeshift office under a tree in the school compound.

When our correspondents visited the school on Tuesday, some of the pupils were seeing writing their end of term test in a crowded room. The teachers refused to talk to our correspondents while the head teacher was said to be attending the inter-house sports of the junior arm of the school. The state of the school, with a population of about 1,800 students and 79 teachers, shows that there is urgent need to accelerate renovation process in order to make teaching and learning pleasant for both pupils and their teachers. A class that should conveniently accommodate between 25 and 30 pupils is where 90 to 120 pupils are struggling to have a place.

According to some pupils of the school that spoke with our correspondents, the school is lacking in basic facilities.

One SS2 pupil who pleaded anonymity said, “Obviously, one of the problems of the school is dilapidated buildings and inadequate classrooms. The two-storey building that was built some years ago has been a threat to us. The building is always vibrating and shaking and there are cracks on the walls. The last experience we had there before we were evacuated was like a bombshell.

“Later, the school authorities stopped pupils from receiving lectures there, we were all packed into a block of classrooms, which is the only functional block we have in the school, but when the classrooms were overcrowded and congested, the SSS 2 pupils were moved to the other school beside us,” the pupil said.

From findings, our correspondents learnt that the steps that were taken by the Parents’ Forum to renovate some classrooms in the school were thwarted.

“When we saw the situation in the school, we felt for both pupils and teachers. Although, we were informed that the state government would soon solve this problem, we felt we needed to do something. We then decided to contribute N1, 000 each for the renovation of some classrooms that were uncompleted.

“We had hardly contributed N25, 000 when a petition was sent to the state government and we were stopped and told that it was the responsibility of the state government to renovate its school. But up till now, government has not done anything about it,” a parent, Mr. Jide Ajijola, said.

But the issue of decay in school is not limited to Lagos State alone, as facilities in most schools across the country are inadequate, teaching aids are behind in time, lecture rooms are pitiable, staff rooms are inadequate, laboratories and libraries are non-existent.

From Lagos to Ibadan, Ilorin to Maiduguri, Katsina to Oron and Port Harcourt to Osogbo, conditions of public schools are almost the same.

A lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Oyo State, Dr. Soji Aremu, said that if part of the huge salary being paid members of the National assembly had been devoted to education, most of the visible decay would have been eliminated.

http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201012178223846

Pupils learned under tree in Lagos

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2010/04/28/badagry-council-builds-14-classroom-blocks/

Big shame to Ileke Idi

Classes under trees in a Kumasi school, Ghana

http://mobile.ghanaweb.com/wap/comment.article.php?ID=126640