‘Ajimobi, Afolabi, Tegbe, Adeduntan, 22 others, emerge Oyo heroes, mentors’

GOVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state; his wife, Florence Ajimobi; Chancellor of the First Technical University, Ibadan, Chief Tunde Afolabi; Managing Director, First Bank of Nigeria, Dr Adesola Adeduntan; Oyo gubernatorial aspirant, Mr Joseph Tegbe; Project Director, Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State, Mr Yanju Adegbite, and 21 others have been recognised by OYOMESI as positive role models for pupils, teachers and parents in Oyo state.

Special Adviser to Ajimobi on Education, Science and Technology, Dr Bisi Akin-Alabi who disclosed this to Tribune Online, on Monday, said the 27 persons selected were outstanding individuals that pupils and students in the state’s schools should take as their Heroes and Mentors.

She stressed the importance of pupils having heroes and mentors that they look up to help shape their approach to life while adding that the state will soon launch a compendium of heroes which will contain a lot of facts about Oyo state and her distinguished personalities.

Others who made the list of heroes and mentors of Oyo state citizens are Founder, First Primus Limited, Otunba Seni Adetu; former deputy governor of Lagos, Mrs Sarah Sosan; a cleric, prophet Timothy Ojotisa; Commissioner of Finance, Oyo State, Mr Abimbola Adekanmbi; Nigerian-American professional basketball player, Al-Farouq Aminu; Pro-Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Professor Oladapo Afolabi and a senior education specialist, Dr Olatunde Adekola.

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Also selected for their accomplishment in their various fields are Professor Dough Buttrey; Mr Olajide Babatunde, Mrs Rose Oyedele; Professor Kingston Nyamapfene; Prince Afolabi Andu; Dr David Ige; Mr Abimbola Ogunbanjo; Dr Kayode Olagunju, Ms Ronke Azeez; Juliet Ume-Onyido; Mr Kit Esuruoso; Yemisi Jenkins; and Aderoju Omowon.

“We will launch a compendium of heroes where we have a lot of facts about Oyo state. Students must learn how government works and why the government is arranged the way it is. We are poised to bring about an attitudinal change in pupils, educators and parents, the Oyo State government.

“We have already started to write a policy to back up all that we are doing, the governor has called for policies to back up all the initiatives he has launched during his tenure. We will back it up with policies and probably write into a law so that we can continue as a benchmark.

“The target is to change the landscape in the education sector to prepare our students for a competitive future so that they will not be left behind in the global movement that is ongoing. We should ensure that we remain first.

“The governor is determined to leave a legacy in education. Education is the true raw material for development, there is no region that can develop beyond the threshold of its education provision.

“We have human, intellectual capacity and we’ll like to leverage on that so that Oyo becomes a hub for producing knowledgeable, competent and civil citizens. The objective of OYOMESI Character Education is to effect an attitudinal change in members of the school community: Pupils, Teachers and parents. We also intend to support the vision of the state to raise competent civil citizens,” Akin-Alabi said.