Full text of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s speech to Oyo State House of Assembly in Ibadan on Wednesday, 16th January, 1980. This is the speech in which Chief Awolowo listed his main achievements as Premier of Western Region of Nigeria from January, 1952, to December, 1959.
THOSE who foolishly and recklessly maintain that, compared with the other parts of the country, the primary education given in the five UPN-controlled States is lacking in quality will do themselves a lot of good by looking to pages 25 and 27 of the annual report of the West African Examination Council for the year ended 31st march, 1977. At page 25 the results for GCE (Advanced Level) Examination held in November – December, 1976, showed that the Western States have 6,492 passes which are 48.8 per cent of those who sat for the examination from those States; the Eastern States have 2,500 passes which are 37.9 per cent of those who sat; whilst the northern States have 1,251 passes, that is 41 per cent of those who sat. At page 27 the results of GCE (Ordinary Level) Examinations held in May – June, 1975, may be tabulated as follows:
Division 1: Passes Percentage of
Distinction those who sat
Western States 72 0.2
Eastern States 51 0.1
Northern States 37 0.25
Division I
Western States 1,151 2.6
Eastern States 1,087 3.1
Northern States 462 2.8
Division II
Western States 3,545 8.0
Eastern States 3,381 10.5
Northern States 969 5.7
Division III
Western States 13,494 28.6
Eastern States 9,060 27.6
Northern States 3,834 22.4
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It is crystal clear from these figures that the products of the Free Universal Primary Education, are indisputably in the lead in all the GCE (Ordinary Level) and GCE (Advanced Level) Examinations held in 1975 and 1976 respectively.
Alhaji Shagari, in the face of these and other facts at his disposal, should no longer drag his feet on the question of free education at all levels on the pretext that he wants something better than what obtains in the UPN-controlled States. From the percentages of passes, there is no doubt that there is considerable room for improvement in all the states. But more so in the Northern States where the total number of candidates who passed these examinations are comparatively very, very low indeed.
The educational gap between the Western States and the Northern States is too wide for comfort. And it would be criminal for anyone who has the power and -the means to close it, to allow it to widen further. It cannot be closed by trying to halt the forward march of the Western or Eastern States as someone had suggested some three or so years ago. For one thing, this is an impossible proposition.
For another, such an attempt would be certain to provoke an emotional reaction of frightful proportions among those affected. The gap can only, therefore, be closed by embarking now, throughout the country, on Free and Compulsory Primary Education, Free and Compulsory Secondary Education, and Free Education at Post- Secondary levels. If we do this now, the existing educational gap will be permanently closed in fifteen to twenty years’ time.
In closing, I wholeheartedly congratulate our five Governors – Ajasin, Onabanjo, Jakande, Ige, and AlIi, and with them I associate the names of Abubakar Rimi, Governor of Kano State, and Abdulkadir Balarabe, Governor of Kaduna State – for blazing these new beneficial educational trails of free education at all levels.
Obstacles there must be in the path of every pilgrim or pioneer in search and pursuit of noble and humane objectives. I have no doubt that when they do appear, as they are bound to, we shall, with Almighty God on our side, overcome them, even more gloriously than the pioneers of twenty years ago had done in their time.
Obafemi Awolowo
and then