Lagos Mainland residents lament absence of Senior Secondary School

AS public and private schools in Lagos State on Tuesday, January 4 resumed for the 2021/2022 academic session, the residents of Otumara community have appealed to the State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo to give priority to the construction of the approved Senior Secondary School in the Lagos Mainland Local Government.

It will be recalled that consequent to the absence of Senior Secondary School in the Ebute-Meta area of the Lagos Mainland Local Government, the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu had, in 2019, approved the construction of blocks of senior secondary schools in the district.

However, two years after the governor’s assent, the State’s Ministry of Education and other concerned agencies and parastatals of the government have been foot-dragging on the commencement of the project which had seen students from the district journeying to attend senior secondary Schools in Surulere Local Government for the completion of their secondary education.

While calling to action representative of the district at the House of Representatives, Hon Jide Jimoh and others such as Commissioner for Environment, Hon Tunji Bello; Commissioner for Finance, Hon Rabiu Olowo; chairman, House Committee on Education at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon Ajani Owolabi; chairperson, Lagos Mainland Local Government, Hon Rashidat Omolola Essien as well as councillors, the traditional ruler of the community, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye lamented the neglect, while he urged eminent politicians and technocrats from the district to lend their voices to the yearning of the people for the actualisation of the project.

Highlighting the impact of the neglect on the students, Chief Kalejaiye, said: “Our children are at the receiving end of this neglect. Apart from their daily tortuous walk from the Lagos Mainland to Surulere Local Government, where they are posted to for the completion of their senior secondary education, many of them end up embracing cultism and other social vices.

“These children are too young and fragile both physically and mentally to be able to withstand the pressure of journeying to a far distance for secondary education.

“Negative occurrences like auto accidents could happen to them in the process. We have seen cases where many of these students smoke and ingest dangerous substances, an act that leads to many of them discontinuing their secondary education because of the damaging impact of the hard substance on their mental health.

“Recently, social media platforms were inflamed with reports on atrocities committed by secondary school students. We have seen and heard cases of bullying, drug abuse and addiction and in some cases, death,” he stated.

Speaking further he noted: “As a community head and a parent, I am saddened by this development. Out of our inaction, we cannot be wasting away the future of our children, which is why I am appealing to all our elected representatives in government and other stakeholders to do the needful and save our children from self-inflicted destruction.

“Part of the way to achieving this is to ensure that they acquire secondary education within their district of residence. With this, parents could easily monitor their wards, keeping tabs on their academic performances and journey to and fro school.”

While appreciating the chairperson of Lagos Mainland Local Government, Hon Rashidat Omolola Essien, the chairperson of the Lagos Mainland Local Government, Secretary, CDC, Prudence Abass, urged her to see to the construction of the senior secondary school before June, 2022 which marks her first anniversary in office.

“Like other elected representatives from the district, I am urging our mother, Honourable Essien to ensure that the abandoned Senior Secondary School project is resuscitated and completed before the month of June, 2022 when she will mark her first year in office.”

“We cannot allow some interests to railroad the future of our children. This project, if completed, will imprint the chairperson in the hearts of residents in the district,” she declared.

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