NEW ABARANJE SECONDARY SCHOOL WILL TAKE 650 CHILDREN OUT OF STREETS AS GOV SANWO-OLU GIFT LABORATORY COMPONENT TO SUPPORT HON KEHINDE JOSEPH'S INITIATIVE'

Story by Razaq Adedeji Jimoh, Bankole Akinlaye and Ololade Barakat

IT has been estimated that the new and first secondary school to be built in Abaranje/Okerube will take 650 children out of streets annually in social value. This was disclosed on Thursday by the initiator and sole financial of the project, Hon Kehinde Olaide Joseph, representing Alimosho Constituency 02 in the Lagos State House of Assembly while fielding questions in an exclusive interview with Civics Weekly magazine.

His elation was also visible while revealing that the Executive Governor of the state, Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu had just made a gift of the laboratory facility components to the project, the approval of which was disclosed to him the previous day. This, according to him, would be the chunk of a first and major contribution he would be getting since the project commenced. "And it is timely because it has to go along with the construction process", he added.

It has become the tradition of the people of Alimosho Constituency 02 to look forward to a new gift of life imparting project from their representative at the Lagos State House of Assembly. This is because Hon Kehinde Joseph has made his own corridor of the annual statewide Constituency Stakeholders' Meeting (CSM) of the State Assembly to deliver surprises to his people. Last year, he came with a sweeping N50Milliin empowerment programme -- the first to begin his now acknowledged self-tasked ambitious project delivery every year. At this year's edition of the CSM, which incidentally made the decade long sustenance of the governance feedback mechanism, Hon Joseph dropped his plan to give Abaranje/Okerube people the most valuable social amenity they have been lacking in spite of the over 25years of stable democracy Nigeria has been blessed with since 1999. That gift is his plan to personally build the firs public secondary school in that Southwest part of his constituency's landmass.

Right at the CSM gathering and in a latter exclusive interview with Civics Weekly, he confirmed that the idea of that school project came as the ultimate beneficiary of his N75Million development fund planned for this year. And according to him, the project came out of his cultural "Need Assessment Survey (NAS) he conducted to invest the fund for the year 2025".

He said: "There is a routine I have taken to be my cultural way of service delivery. On Sunday morning, I go round to see things for myself. This is a way I conduct my Community Needs Assessment (CNA) and it has been my guide so far. That is why in most cases, when people bring their complaints, I tell them: 'don't worry, I know it, I've been there'. So, not only that I get reports, I go out to see things for myself so that l will be able to know where I can contribute my own quota.

"That was how the initiative of the Abaranje Secondary School came to me. Preparatory to the commissioning of the Abaranje road, I went to inspect things when I came to this primary school again -- the Okerube Primary School. Then it occured to me to query: where is the secondary school serving the outputs of this primary school? I realised that the nearest secondary school to this is the Government Technical College, Ikotun -- a distance close to 16 to 18 kilometers. And this is Lagos, I thought.

"I was now thinking; if you look at it very well, go to that Ikotun Roundabout around 4 or 5 or early in the morning, you will see lots of children -- out of school children; those pupils that just finished their primary school education and not going to secondary school. They are becoming a nuisance to the face of my Constituency. Then I decided to take steps towards a solution. I reached out to the local government and the Ministry of Education. They said it is not that they will not do it, but it will take time.

"Last year I did a N50Million empowerment programme. I was now thinking that this year, I want do N75Million. Then I began to itemise options opened to me. The first was that why can't I use that money to by buses that will be conveying them from Abaranje/Okerube to Ikotun or to Ijegun. I put all those ones into consideration until I asked myself: why can't I even build the school self? Meaning that instead of giving them fish to eat, why can't I teach them how to fish? Having concluded on the latter, I started the processes immediately -- a full due process at that".

Describing the project as the joy of his life today, he said he was happy to have started even though he would later realise that it was a giant project he was going into. His joy, as he put it, was because of the huge social benefit value in taking 650 children out of streets back to classrooms.

He said further: "Sir! When I started the job I thought it was a child's play. Though, they (the contractors) gave me the likely cost. The cost they even gave, I could say it was meant to lure me into starting it. Since I entered it, several millions of naira have gone into it, meaning that the end cost will surpass the estimated cost. But do you know one thing, sincerely speaking, it is making my joy that I started it. Because by the time I finish that project, which by God's grace we want to finish by December unfailingly; I'm planning to finish the job by November or latest December. By the time we finish it, we are going to take 650 children out of streets.

"Do you know what that means? It means I've been able to contribute to the lives of those pupils and that is my joy today. It is like one I did for those in higher institution today. I've done for the health aspect, where I gave people eye glasses -- over 1,000 glasses. I've done the one that has to do with teeth and some other things. I've given POS to many people and many, many more. I'm not even talking about giving parliatives to people, assisting people financially. But out of all these, my joy most is that school.

"That is why I can't wait for it to finish. That is where all my investment goes now. I make sure that they work there everyday. That is also why I've always pleaded with those people seeking one assistance or the other that is financial that they would have to bear with me for this period of the ongoing school project if I can't be able to help until after the school is delivered. And I believe with their prayers, your prayers, I will finish the school at the set time".

The Chairman of the House Committee on Public Account also explained how a timely intervention of the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had come in due time as the first support he would be getting. He indicated that his approval for construction of the laboratory component of the school was a huge burden the Governor had relieved him of. He explained how he had to beseech the Governor for this.

He said: "As I said earlier, the Ministry of Education has its own internal process for ensuring standard. I had been meeting up with all their requirements until they came to the mandatory building of the laboratory in the construction process.

"I want to use this opportunity to thank our Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu because he has been so helpful too. This is especially because after we started construction, the Ministry called my attention to something vital I didn't plan for. They called and said that the school is a secondary school; it must have laboratory whether being JSS or SSS. I said ab, this one is beyond me o! Then an idea came to me to reach out Mr. Governor. Just yesterday (Wednesday), they called me from the Ministry that the Governor has approved it. They said the Governor has approved that they should build the laboratory too. Amidst my joy to that, I told them it was not just about building it, I pleaded that it must also finish in time because by next session (January, he meant), I want the school to commence operations.

YOU MAY WANT TO HEAR HIM DIRECTLY IN THIS VIDEO CLIP "And for the school's learning infrastructre, I have it in my plans that by the time I finish the building, I call on my friends to donate the chairs and desks and all sorts of that. What is paramount to me now is to complete the school. It's going to be a big legacy for me".