For the last four years, the people of Osun West Senatorial District have benefited from free health and free qualitative summer coaching across the 110 wards that make up the senatorial district via the ALAAFIA DOTUN foundation.
The foundation was set up by Omooba Dotun Babayemi who started as a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and contributed all he had to ensure that students in Osun West Senatorial District do not lag behind educationally, among other philanthropic steps.
The foundation organises annual free summer classes for students of both public and private schools in the senatorial district after seeking and obtaining approval from the Ministry of Education for the last four years.
In July and August 2018, Omooba Babayemi again organised the free coaching classes where thousands of students benefitted.
The story changed when he refused to go with political dictators and tyrants planning to marginalise Osun West Senatorial District in the last governorship election. Amidst persecution and threats, in September 2018, he left the APC for the Action Democratic Party (ADP) and now Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).
In the early part of 2019, he sought the approval of the Ministry of Education for the 2019 edition of the free summer classes and an approval was given via a letter dated 24th July 2019 and signed by one O.O Adeyeye on behalf of the permanent secretary, Festus Olajide.
The classes commenced in all the 28 centres with an average of 300 students registered in each of the schools. To our surprise, another letter dated 6th August 2019 came from the office of the permanent secretary, Osun State Ministry of Education, terminating the prior approval based on what the government called “logistic issues”.
With this after thought, these innocent children, mostly from poor family backgrounds across Osun West Senatorial District, have been denied this opportunity of free qualitative education for six weeks.
The questions that readily come to the mind of any right thinking member of the society are, did the ALAAFIA DOTUN foundation request other resources like teachers, instructional materials and writing materials from the state government?
Is the foundation planning to use all schools in Osun West Senatorial District?
Again, why is it that all the selected schools for this year’s edition were affected by what the government of the day termed “logistics”?
The state government should remember that education is important to the development of any society, and, as such, stop playing blind politics with the future of innocent children in Osun West Senatorial District.
S.Ogundeji
Lagos
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