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A king who came to serve

Mr Oladapo Akande, Co-founder and Editor in Chief of EduTimes Africa, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ile , Osun State and Sir Gbolahan Olayomi, founder and CEO of Wowbii Interactive.

Sir Gbolahan Olayomi, founder and CEO of Wowbii Interactive, the foremost EdTech company as Africa’s premier manufacturer of flat panel displays has set an agenda to transform how Africa learns and works in the company of Oladapo Akande, Co-founder and Editor in Chief of EduTimes Africa – a magazine on a mission to showcase the best of Africa’s efforts in the education sector – when he paid a courtesy visit to His Royal Majesty, Oba (Dr.) Adedokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila (Aroyinkeye 1), the founder and proprietor of Abolarin College.

Abolarin College, located in the scenic rolling hills of Oke-Ila Orangun, Osun State is reputed to be the only private secondary school in Nigeria where students do not pay one kobo as school fees. In fact, the number one criterion to gain admission is that the child must come from an indigent family.

With the intention of witnessing firsthand the revolutionary efforts of the selfless Royal Father to bring hope to those who would ordinarily remain disenfranchised from the educational system, the two visitors from Lagos were received by the Orangun of Oke-Ile himself and the Head of School, Mr Ezekiel Omidun, who was on hand to take them on a tour of the school.

Built on a large expanse of land that easily accommodates several football pitches, the school boasts of modern facilities throughout – such as solar power, two big generators, well-equipped physics, chemistry and biology laboratories, a school library, a very large and well-appointed dining hall, multiple classrooms, an all-purpose hall which also serves as the examination hall, a decent computer room and even a state of the art greenhouse where many of the vegetables that they eat are grown.

All students under the able guidance of designated staff involve in farming activities within the school’s extensive compound, as the school prides itself in growing most of what the students and staff eat. To the extent of even rearing its own livestock. Hard work and diligence are amongst the work ethics instilled in all pupils from day one and it has become a characteristic that distinguishes products of Abolarin College wherever they go.

As the founder, Oba (Dr ) Adedokun Abolarin likes to say, “there is no free lunch in life”. So though the children may not pay school fees at this school, where he is known to sometimes remove his royal regalia to adorn the teacher’s garb and teach himself, his insistence is that the students must later in life pay back by giving to society, becoming model citizens and by playing their own part in this laudable ambition of making their country Nigeria, a better place.

During the course of the visit, Olayomi and Akande were pleasantly surprised to meet SS3 students (still at school due to the NECO Exams) not just from Oke-Ila or from the Yoruba South West region but from Borno, Akwa Ibom, Delta and Eastern Nigeria.

The 9-year-old school which has a sizable population of 135 students has monthly outgoings of over N2 million to cover the cost of power, feeding, salaries and other expenses. Asked how he has been able to sustain this and the King answered that it has been purely by the help of God who has continuously raised individuals and organizations to support his noble project.

The Royal Father was then proud to inform that 51 of his former students are currently at different universities across the country, with 15 of them on full scholarship at Adeleke University. The first Abolarin College alumni to become university graduates will graduate next year. For the founder and for those who have run this journey with him thus far, what an utterly fulfilling day that will be.

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