By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial District, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola says education is the only weapon that could be used to tackle insecurity, restiveness, crimes and other social vices that is affecting the country.
Senator Adeola stated this while presenting educational materials to primary and secondary schools in Lagos West as part of his plans to complement government efforts in advancement of education in the state.
The event, which had in attendance teachers and students across the Lagos West Senatorial District, was held recently at the Vantage Point, Acme Road, Ikeja. He said the action was geared towards providing textbooks for students to use and come out in flying colour in their examinations.
Adeola said crime and social vices in the society today was as a result of lack of qualitative education, pointing out that the action was to support the efforts of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in boosting the education sector.
According to him, the first phase of the distribution of educational materials, 97 senior secondary school, 97 junior secondary school and 200 primary schools are expected to benefit from the materials.
He explained that the second phase would come soon where another set of 97 senior secondary schools and 97 junior secondary schools as well as two hundred primary schools would be benefited.
Senator Adeola said he was motivated to give a large quantity of educational materials to public schools because of his background as a product of such schools.
“There was a bill in the state assembly concerning upgrading our teachers to the level of permanent secretary. We debated that the reward of teachers should not be in heaven but on earth. I am one of the few that recommended that teachers must be able to aspire to the level of permanent secretary,” he said.
“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 import of our argument and the change we so desire. All these put together are the efforts of the teachers over us.
“I also thank 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.
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 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 the Nigeria Union of Teachers 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 and 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.
The Lagos State Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr Akintoye Hassan, also lauded Adeola for providing for the need of the masses, stating 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.
The educational materials include 15,000 Mathematics textbooks and 15,000 English textbooks. Mathematical sets, school bags, marker boards and exercise books were distributed to students present at the ceremony.