GYRATION, CELEBRATION, RENDITION MAKE SIDE ATTRACTIONS AT THE CASTING OF NEW ABARANJE SECONDARY SCHOOL'S GERMAN FOUNDATION

'IT IS A FOUNDATION FOR THE LIGHT OF LIFE IN ABARANJE' -- Kehinde Joseph

Story by Razaq A. Jimoh and Toyo C. Ngem

In trail of the developmental stages in the ongoing first ever Abaranje Public Secondary School, Civics Weekly magazine was at the site on Sunday, September 21, to witness the casting of its 'German' foundation. It was an interesting and eventful sight all through the day as celebration, gyration and rendition of panegyrics for the sole financial, Hon Kehinde Joseph made the lively side attraction to the ongoing construction works.

Hon Joseph is the member of Lagos State House of Assembly representing Alimosho Constituency 02. As the sole sponsor of the huge project, about the first of its kind ever in any State Constituency Delineation across Nigeria, he described it as a "gift of the light of life" to his constituency.

During an interaction with Civics Weekly magazine, published just a couple of days back, the Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account was quoted to have said that "works goes on at the site everyday". There could be no doubt that the casting of the DBC on the Sunday was just in tune with the pace of work. It was not for any cause of evading any trouble of the conventional Omo Onile's arbitrary touting at such construction site. Interestingly and as a matter of fact, it was the community leaders as the face of Omo Oniles that rather hosted Hon Joseph and his team to the elation mood of the day.

In company with him were the former Executive Vice Chairman of Egbe-Idimu LCDA, Hon Mutiu Adebiyi (aka Asobora) and a former Executive Secretary of Igando/Ikotun LCDA and currently a Senior Legislative Assistant to the Speaker, House of Representatives of the National Assembly, Hon Wale Azeez. Joining them from the Diasporan camp to make it bigger was Mr. William Adeniyi Akintula from Dublin.

Mr. Akintula, who could not stop wondering that a Nigerian state legislator could perform such wonder, had to make a generous cash gift to all the construction workers at the site. And trust the Gausi syndrome to trail that, all those standby onlookers not connected with works and cement loaders for the private suppliers were quick to hang on his neck for their shares of the pie. He was nevertheless at convenience to meet up with the generosity in the light of his joy.

The casting works, which began early in the day did not finish until late into past 7pm. And soon that works began, not a few enlightened community leaders came around to inspect the works' standardisation. The interesting part of that was their wowing amazement when they were to discover that the standard of works they were seeing was not even a government sponsored one.

The Contractor, simply identified as 'Shokas', was on site to explain to all who cared to know that the foundation would be sitting on 24 Pillar beams. This, to those who could understand the building jargon, means the foundation would be at rest to carry loads up to two stories above the ground floor. "This is a true gift from the heart", a neighbourhood resident to the site, Mr. Ojelade Arena, wowed to that. The verity of this cannot be farfetched by those privileged to see the steel base set for the casting. This magazine thus here testifies to this with what we met on Saturday, the previous day. See below

Coming to the site at about noon was the State architectural designer, who had come to inspect and evaluate the prospect of the standing ESPIN block for Primary School to go down in order to give way for the school's laboratory building to rise up. He was indeed regarded as the part of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's interest in the project scheduled to be delivered in December.

YOU MAY WISH TO SEE LIFE CLIP OF THE SITE Speaking to everyone on sight, Hon Kehinde Joseph revealed that no less than a total sum of N35Million had just been sunk into that foundation alone. "I'm saying this not as a plaint or pride, but for the expression of joy that I'm committing all that and the much more to be spent on it as an investment on the light of life for a series of generations yet unborn into the community of Abaranje/Okerube", he said.

Shedding more light on this, he said further: "What if I have chosen to invest this money on the hospitality of hotel business. Of course, it is an investment I have made. But to what extent would I be able to derive a life sustaining joy from that in few years ahead? The implied statement with this is that I have chosen to invest in the eternity of happiness as better than the ephemeral glory of a short time. Every 650 pupils that graduate from this school every year is the multiple fold of my joy -- not every year as such, but everyday of my life I remember making it possible for them to have the education at the convenience of their home neigbhourhood".

The two-term running member of the Lagos House of Assembly said work would resume on that newly casted foundation the following (being today, Monday) with all the upright steels to hold the pillars. About 4pm today when this magazine visited the site, it was clear that Hon Kehinde Joseph holds a swathe of bankable words by any means of him pronouncing them. SEE PHOTOS OF THE SITE TAKEN TODAY BELOW. THE RACE TO DECEMBER DEADLINE IS STEADY.