The National President of Fiditi Grammar School Old Students Association, Professor Adesola Ogunniyi, in this interview by SAM NWAOKO speaks on a number of issues around education in Nigeria and the 70th anniversary celebration of his alma mater.
Some people believe the secondary education sector in Nigeria nose-dived after government’s takeover of schools established by missions, in the 1970s. What do you feel about public schools today?
I think the standards are not what they used to be. When we were in Fiditi Grammar School, we had the opportunity to live in boarding houses and also had the opportunity to mingle with people from other parts of the country. But now, boarding facility has been largely eliminated in many community schools, so people come from home. The tendency in places like Fiditi is that most people will go to Lagos to look for employment, so most of the pupils tend to live with their grandmothers, their older parents who probably would not be able to do much in terms of giving them the educational support that they need.
The other thing is that in terms of the electricity problem in Nigeria, it would be difficult for students to study at home in the evening. So, I think the standards are falling. When we compare the results now to what we used to have in Fiditi Grammar School, I think changes have been noticed in the standard of education in general. However, I also think that in terms of results, the fortunes are mixed. You have positive and negative take-aways.
It is also the contention of some people that these schools no longer have the capacity and wherewithal to train and guide their students to become the kind of success people like you have turned out to be today. Does that bother you sir?
It does but we can see that, as they say, from the black pot we can see white pap coming out. I mean, for instance, one of the students of Fiditi Grammar School came out as the second best student in mathematics throughout the country, which speaks volumes in terms of standard of training. So we cannot put a blanket term that things are poor generally, I think there are some areas where there have been some improvements and there are some areas in which things have gone south.
One of the objectives of Fiditi Grammar School Old Students Association is interested in finding ways to revaluate the government policy on boarding in secondary schools. How far have you gone with this and how would you rate the success you have achieved with this so far, or what are the limiting factors?
There are many factors that have made that very not very successful at the moment. First of all, the catchment area of most schools has been changed to not too far from the locality, and so it is difficult for people from farther places like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja to want to come to school in Fiditi. Also, the boarding facilities that were there years back have gone decrepit. So to find resources to put this back will be a challenge. And, to have effective boarding houses now, the students have to pay a lot more. If the school fees is higher than N50,000, I think parents would complain; yet to have high quality standard in boarding houses you need to provide meals, you need to take care of the staff; you need to provide water, electricity and security. And those things don’t come cheap these days. So, they are things that will go against any success with boarding facilities for secondary schools in communities at the moment.
One of the old students of the school is providing a youth empowerment centre. Such projects, in some cases tend to limit what government could do for schools because they have prominent old students. How do you think that there would not be a gap between what old students do for their alma mater and the actual role of government for schools?
The focus of our 70th anniversary is youth empowerment because we felt that a number of our students leave school and may not have the opportunity or facilities to proceed further. And so, many of them are left to wander around and might not get jobs. So, we felt that if we can improve vocational skills in students who left school and cannot move to tertiary institutions, or even those who even fell by the wayside, rather than leaving them to become miscreants, if we keep them engaged in decent vocation, they would be able to earn decent living and live well. So, the plan then was to introduce bricklaying, carpentry, fashion design, catering, IT as vocational skills that youths can acquire. This came by way of motion by Alhaji Busari who was the president our Old Students Association, in 2017. That motion led to our asking that we would want this kind of vocational skill to be developed and that it would be nice if it is attached to the name of Dr Bode Olajumoke in appreciation of his contributions to the school. He was the President of the association for about 22 years and he has continued to show a lot of commitment to the school. He retired as a permanent secretary from the federal civil service and his interest in Fiditi has never wavered and he continues to show interest. He was a senator in Ondo State and he did so well that time. Philanthropy seems to be his watchword – do the best for the society and give as much as you can. He was fascinated when this idea came up and he supported the old students by building an interesting institution called BOYEF – Bode Olajumoke Youth Empowerment Foundation Centre. It will be affiliated to the Open University and skill centre in Fiditi. And so, Fiditi will now be prominent in terms of vocational skills, study centre and secondary school education. That is how the Bode Olajumoke Youth Empowerment Foundation called BOYEF came about and we are proud that Senator Olajumoke supported us all through. It is the flagship programme of the 70th anniversary.
What are some of the other things the Fiditi Grammar School Old Students Association has been able to do under your leadership as the President?
I became president in 2018 and every year, the various sets have done marvellous things in Fiditi Grammar School. We rehabilitated all the laboratories; we donated white boards, we reconditioned the assembly hall; and we improved teaching facilities by providing books for the libraries and by providing desks and tables for students. Overall, the old students have been very positive in ensuring that the quality of education is maintained and in addition, some sets actually engaged teachers to teach some subjects and they pay the stipends of these teachers. It’s an annual thing and it’s almost like a competition among the sets – a healthy one graciously. One of our old students, as part of our 70th anniversary is installing solar light all round the school so that the school will be lit at night. These are things we are proud of and we owe it to the cooperation of students and their sense of giving back to the system and ensuring that there is improvement in the quality of education overall.
Class sets tend to isolate themselves and do projects which might be different from the most pressing needs of the school. As the national president, what would you say is the mist dire need of the school?
I think we have met most of the needs of the school, not all. However, I think if we have electricity, which is a challenge nationwide, that would help. We have to use electricity generators. We bought solar power but the batteries have a lifespan. So, these things are challenging. We have provided water through boreholes, we have rehabilitated toilets and made the place conducive for education – some sets have done that. But I think electricity would be something; then computers for IT.
You were in the school nearly 60 years. What was it like for you as an individual and as a member of a group or gang back in the days?
Well, boys will be boys and girls will be girls. We were adolescents at that time and everybody went to what we called ‘jungle’. We would go out of the school compound to nearby farms and get some fruits for free for which we are grateful to all the Fiditi farmers because they never punished us for this. We all did a bit of truancy but there was a lot of discipline. We had some teachers who maintained discipline.
You couldn’t just go the way you wanted and the Principal was very strict – Mr. Ojelabi, who later became a deacon and then a chief. He was quite strict with discipline and he didn’t care expelling students who went above the law and who thought they were bigger than the law.
However, I was a Prefect from Form 2 because I was the school organist. That insulated me from any of those acts because I had to behave. I was in charge of music, so I had to conduct music lessons and all that. That kept me in check along with the home background. Your parents would always tell you to not go there and spoil the name of the family and that always kept us in check. My nickname was “Sholly Kid” from my name Adesola, and it was because I was very small at that time.
The student population and facilities might not be the same today compared to what it was back in your days. Back then you had well manicured lawns, aesthetic features that made the school inviting. Look at the school back then and now, in which areas do you think schools need twitching?
When we were in school, we had the main field divided into portions for classrooms. It was part of weekly activities to cut and trim the lawns and people took it as a challenge to have the lowest possible grass in their own portion. It was like a competition and so. The school was very clean and all that. We had morning portions when you swept the compound. But now, children come from home and by the time they come in the morning, go to the assembly and from there to their classes, some of those things are no longer there. Times have changed. Now, there are a few dilapidated buildings that have been abandoned but thank God that the Open University has been given a few of them to use and they are changing the outlook of the campus. But these are things that have reduced the beauty of the campus compared to when we were there. If something can be done to bring back full boarding, that will really be good. It will entail increasing the catchment and a lot of government subsidy in terms of what parents have to pay because if it is too heavy, they wouldn’t be able to afford it and that will defeat the purpose.
What are the highlights of your 70th anniversary programmes?
The programme is tightly packed; we’ve been working on this for two years. The programme will run from 16 February to the 18th. On the 16th, we are going to start with the final of the school’s debate. There had been some preliminary testing and assessment and competition, but the final will be on the 16th. Then, there will be a Jumat service. In the evening on that Friday, there will be a football competition. There will be preliminary rounds with neighbouring schools and the finals will take place in the evening of that day. Day Two is the main day. We will have the anniversary lecture entitled: “State of Education in Nigeria” to be delivered by Professor Kunle Adeyemi, the Chairman of the Polytechnic Board of Governors. He is an old student. That would be followed by recognitions and awards for old students who distinguished themselves. We also have one current student who won the national prize in mathematics. She will also be honoured on that day. We also have special dignitaries who would be honoured including, possibly, the governor of Oyo State. The next phase would be the opening of BOYEF, which is the flagship programme of the 70th anniversary. It will take place at the BOYEF building. Then we would have a luncheon party and social events. Students will be given free meals and guests would be entertained. It’s a real big gala. On Sunday we will have an interdenominational thanksgiving service at the school hall. It would be conducted by an old student, a Bishop in the Methodist Church, Bishop Solomon Adegbite. Thereafter we will have the school anthem to draw the curtain on the events. However, the celebration is all year round till February 2025.
As the president, how do you harness the old students, what do you tell them?
Fortunately, we have a very strong old students association. It is called Fiditi Grammar School Old Students Association (FIGSOSA) and we have state and set branches. Members of each set are in the planning committee of the anniversary and they know what is outstanding and what we need to do. We will continue working to keep the momentum going so as not to lose any of the benefits we have had are any of the big scores we’ve made so as to keep the progress going.
We have a Board of Trustees (BoT) that ensures that things are properly done. It is headed by Dr Tunde Oloko, a member of the first set of the school. His vice chairman of the BoT is Professor John Oluokun, who is also the head of the Study Centre for the Open University. That is the synergy we are trying to bring about. We also have individuals like Prince Lola Omojowolo, who retired as a Permanent Secretary in Oyo State and then became a member of the Federal Civil Service Commission in Abuja where he retired. He was one of our teachers at that time. We always love him. We have to mention Professor Popoola, a former Dean, Faculty of Law at Ife and Professor Alao, a former Dean of Education also at Ife. There are over 30 professors among us that I know of. In terms of the military service, Major-General Ogunkoya of the Nigerian Army was the Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Segun Egbedina, retired as a Rear Admiral in the Nigerian Navy. Major Tella retired from the Army but has become a pastor. One of us recently retired as a Deputy Inspector-General of Police. He is Lanre Bankole who was the Head of Interpol. They interact very well with FIGSOSA and provide necessary support.
With the government takeover of schools in mind, if you are to suggest to government ways through which they can make running of schools more effective, what will you tell the government?
I think they must increase budgetary allocation to education in general. For instance, the Oyo State government promised to give schools grants to run facilities. At one time parents were paying a nominal amount but they stopped that. The schools were using this money like internally-generated revenue to meet some of their basic needs. Now they don’t have that and this has created a problem. For instance, only students of Fiditi Grammar School have been paying for security in the school. We have been paying the guards in the last three years and we will continue to do so because we have a few things at stake, like the BOYEF and all that. So, government must increase allocation to schools and ensure that they keep employing quality teachers.
On the other hand, old students must keep supporting government because we can’t leave government to do it all. Communities must also provide their own support. That is the only way. It is a collective effort for us to get the best for our children and we are hoping that we will get to see this happen.
and then