Why Lagos govt partners See-Joy Foundation ― SUBEB

Director, Public Communications, See-Joy Foundation, Gbadebo Akinyemi; President, Gabriel Kanayo; keynote speaker and senior lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Dr Ogechi Adeola and Director, Co- curricula Development, Lagos SUBEB, Olugbenga Abiola, at a news conference organised by See-Joy Foundation towards its forthcoming school children award event, in Lagos.

The Lagos State government has explained the reasons it is partnering with the See-Joy Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, which is concerned, among others with imparting knowledge and skills to children from poor homes and underserved communities.

It says the foundation’s vision and contributions so far to the education development in the state, particularly at the basic level for indigent but brilliant students are simply addressing some of the concerns of the state government.

The Director of Co- Curriculum Development, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board(LASUBEB), Mr Olugbenga Abiola, gave the explanation at a news conference on Tuesday in Ikeja ahead of the forthcoming Children’s Day celebration where the foundation has planned to reward no fewer than 28 students from public schools across geopolitical zones in the country.

Mr Abiola said the state government is passionate and committed to ensure that no child of school going age in Lagos State irrespective of parents’ social status, tribe and religion backgrounds is left behind from accessing quality education.

He said that was why the state’s SUBEB came up with a Zero Project to mop up out of school children from the streets, noting that the state government is always ready to partner with any organisation just like the See-Joy Foundation and institution and individual that is contributing to impart quality knowledge and skills on the young ones.

Speaking earlier, the President of See-Joy Foundation, Pastor Prosper Kanayo, said the foundation had been on for over 20 years and had sponsored education of more than 400 children from poor homes in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania, some from primary to tertiary level and some others at a particular level of education they were unable to fund their education again.
He said there were just many of such children in the society begging for attention, adding that the foundation targets up to one million of such children across Africa to cater for.

He said this year’s awards and in various categories such as for Courage and Audacity, Innovation and Creativity, Excellence and Potentials, among others would be the second edition by the foundation.

He said the sole objective of the awards as part of the intervention efforts of the foundation is to identify and encourage the culture of hardwork, diligence, creativity, self-values and excellence among students of public schools as they move on with their academic pursuits.

In her own contribution at the conference, an associate professor at the Lagos Business School(LBS), Dr Ogechi Adeola, said truly Nigeria needs to give more priority to children education so that they could grow to become responsible citizens.
He said any country that neglects its young population would certainly suffer grave consequences for such action now and in future.

She, however, lamented that it is not encouraging that Nigeria is far from attaining almost all the UN’s Sustainability
Development Goals, particularly that of 1 to 7 that concern about poverty, hunger, children education, child and maternal health, safe water, and so forth.

She said the country would need to be more serious towards achieving them at the stipulated deadlines.