TO say I was surprised by the report that Ekiti came first in NECO examination results this year is an understatement. Realising that the state had also come first in the same examination last year adds to the shock. Seriously speaking, I did not expect it from Ekiti – and, I dare to add, not many expected such a feat from Ekiti under Gov. Ayo Fayose. Why? Because of stereotypes which, most time, are misleading! Fayose is seen by many, especially those who stay afar off to pass uninformed judgments, as a “street kid” and associating thuggery with him fits more than the feats achieved by Ekiti in a field as complicated and specialised as education; fittingly so when we consider that “stomach infrastructure” has come to define the politics and person of the Ekiti governor. The NECO and other feats recorded under Fayose, “an ordinary HND holder” as his detractors would say, and not under acclaimed academics and top-flight professionals who had been past governors of the state, confirm the saying that the hood does not necessarily make the monk. It also points us in the direction that there could be more to Fayose than what is generally peddled about him by his opponents. In the days of old, Ekiti was the undisputed leader in the education sector of the country, such that when the master of political oratory, the late premier of the Western Region, SL Akintola, squared up to another political juggernaut of yore, KO Mbadiwe, he made this pun on Mbadiwe’s name: “If you turn to books, Ekiti will read you!” “Iwe” in Yoruba means “books” and “Mbadiwe” means “I could turn into books”! Ekiti is reputed to have produced more university professors than any other state in the country but according to reports, by the time Fayose came to office in 2003, the sector was in shambles. That was evident in the abysmal performance of the state’s candidates in public examinations conducted by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO); among others. Ekiti ranked 34th and 35th , out of the 36 states of the country, in WAEC and NECO respectively. Fayose quickly called the first Education Summit in the state, which was chaired by eminent lawyer, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) and the results started rolling in. By the time Fayose left office in 2006, Ekiti had moved to eighth and seventh in WAEC and NECO respectively in the entire federation and was the leader in the South-West geopolitical zone.
Regrettably, however, succeeding governments could not keep up the pace, not to talk of improving on it. Fayose came back to office after eight years in 2014 with the state back in the backwaters of education. In 2013, for instance, only 29 percent of the candidates presented for WAEC examinations had five credit passes, including Mathematics and English Language. In 2014, only 25 percent passed the same examinations. Fayose again organised another Education Summit; he has not only halted the slide but has also taken education in Ekiti to lofty heights. For WAEC in 2015, the state’s performance was 36.5 percent (11th best in the federation); in 2016, 42 percent pass (11th out of the 36 states); in 2017, 73.86 percent. For NECO in 2014, 58 percent pass; 74.5 percent pass in 20-15, ranking 10th in the country. The icing on the cake came in 2016 when Ekiti recorded 96.48 percent pass to come first in Nigeria. To confirm that this performance was not a fluke, it repeated the feat this year, recording 85 percent pass to retain last year’s trophy.
Ekiti State has also recorded commendable feats in the following competitions, coming first: Genius Illumina International Competition in 2016; National Junior Water Price
Competition held in Sokoto in 2016; the 2016 edition of Inter-State STAN National Quiz Competition; overall Best Science Student in the 2016 STAN-organised competition; the JETS Inter-State Science Quiz Competition 2017; the ANCOPPS-organised Southwest Debate Competition for secondary school students in February 2017 held in Akure, Ondo State; and the Young Nigerian Scientists Presidential Award 2017. I know how rigorous, tasking, demanding, and prestigious some of these competitions are because, by God’s grace, my daughters, while at Doregos Private Academy, Ipaja, Lagos participated in the competitions. One came first in the STAN competition held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state in 2013 while another made the team of young scientists and inventors that represented Nigeria in the United States in 2015.
As the Yoruba would say, “t’egan ko; b’omo eni ba dara ka wi”; Fayose’s administration deserves commendation for these feats. An analyst conversant with the Ekiti situation offered this explanation: “Right attitude sometimes gets the best out of people. Rather than the threat of sacking teachers, Fayose put his deputy, who is from the sector, in charge of Education. The government introduced training of teachers, brought in education supervisors, instituted reward system in core subjects, and the payment of rural allowances to teachers. All these motivated everyone to do more”. The views above also tally with those of one of my avid and long-standing readers, Deacon Dapo Omotoso, himself from Ekiti. Deacon Omotoso’s is published below.
FEEDBACK
Re: Ekiti 2018: Fayose shows his hand
I read your article on the above topic in the Sunday Tribune of September 17, 2017 and found it interesting. In it, you made the following incontrovertible assertions: That Professor Kolapo Olusola is a child of destiny; that he is not ordinary; that he is having all the lines falling in nice places for him; that those eyeing what Providence appears to have dropped on his (Olusola’s) lap on a platter should take heart; that those knocking heads with him should take heed. In order to enliven the hearts of the other PDP aspirants for the gubernatorial race, you also said that the coast is not clear yet since there will still be primaries; and that Olusola at the moment is just an aspirant. Like Olusola, Fayose is also a child of destiny. This is what Chief Olusegun Osoba , an astute politician, has seen in Fayose to make him warn APC not to take Fayose for granted in the Ekiti State gubernatorial election of 2018. Unfortunately for the APC; the party has failed to live up to its campaign promises of 2015 at the national level. Anyone who is well versed in reading the political barometer of Nigeria accurately can rightly predict that the APC will lose its position as the ruling party in 2019. It is this prediction that will render the efforts of the numerous gubernatorial aspirants on the platform of APC absolutely unrewarding in the 2018 Ekiti State gubernatorial election. Before Fayose showed the hand of Olusola, many people in Ekiti State had prayed fervently for God’s grace to lead the electorate in voting for a man after His heart as the Governor of Ekiti State in 2018. That prayer has now been answered even before the election! I am not a firm adherent to any political party. However, I believe in the development of Ekiti State and will support anyone whose belief about our State is in consonance with mine. Since the past three years, I have noted with admiration the sterling qualities of Professor Kolapo Olusola as the Deputy Governor of Ekiti State. He is a servant-leader. There is no Deputy Governor of the State that had, since 1999, practically elevated the standard of education in the State as he has done. And the whole world knows Ekiti State as the fountain of knowledge. As an academician, Olusola is not pedantic but has a listening ear. When the campaign for 2018 begins in Ekiti State, the world will hear more from the electorate on why Olusola should succeed Fayose as governor of Ekiti State. Other aspirants for the gubernatorial race should not have their eggs in one basket. Instead, they should also think of the legislative positions which will be vacant in 2019. For instance, Ekiti State has nine slots in the National Assembly – three Senators and six Representatives. Those who work hard and are prepared to represent us well should not waste their time and other resources on a race they are not destined to win.
—Deacon Dapo Omotoso, Ado-Ekiti
I really thank God for your down-to -earth writings on this page.”Mimiko, Akeredolu: Who is fooling who?” (Sunday, September 10th) and many others. Your write-ups are divinely encapsulated. I see the wisdom of God each time you unwrap a portion. The Lord grant you the grace to keep up the good job!
—Olugbenga Moru
LAST WORD: I say resounding “Amen” to Olugbenga Moru’s prayers. Thanks, dear brother. Prayers such as yours and commendations from appreciative readers more than adequately compensate for the knocks and tirades I also receive full blast from those on the receiving end of what one of them called my “caustic pen”. Interestingly, the Mimiko/Akeredolu article drew the ire of my brother, Kayode Akinmade, erstwhile Commissioner for Information to Mimiko. God bless Kay, as I call him, and my God honour him even as he has honoured me. He complained he did not lie in his rebuttal of Akeredolu’s allegation that Mimiko left a debt of N220billion and that I should have called to verify from him before going to press. I confess it was deliberate. If I spoke to him, I probably would have dropped the idea and not be able to call for a probe of the finances of Ondo State so we can see where the rains started beating us. A probe will also allow the Mimiko administration opportunity to expose the politics that tied its hands and prevented it from reducing workers’ salary arrears from an embarrassing six or seven months to just one or two months before quitting. I also thought Kay spoke as a politician and one on the line of duty – and when politicians do, truth is often the first casualty. But Kay swore on his honour that he spoke as a child of God – and I believe him. Before he went into politics, I knew him. I am happy to hear he has not been tainted or polluted by the murky waters of politics. Greet Madam, my dear brother!
NEXT WEEK: Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode is working! And Lagos is moving forward!! Eko o ni ba’je o!!!
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