Oluremi Tinubu flags off construction of alternative high school for girls in Osun

By Ismail Azeez, Osogbo

First lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Tuesday performed the ground breaking ceremony for the construction of an alternative high school for girls in Osun State.

Speaking at the ceremony, the First Lady said the siting of the school in Osogbo, emanated from a fair process and it is a divinely guided one.

Tinubu stressed that Osun State was chosen as the location for the school through a transparent and unbiased raffle draw process at a strategic meeting with the State First Ladies.

She noted that the event marked the beginning of an opportunity for a new chapter and chance of a promising future for the exceptional young girls and women who would walk through the doors of this very school.

According to her, “I envisioned and introduced the idea for the establishment of an Alternative High School for Girls, a vision which was accepted and utilised by the Lagos State Ministry of Education in 2007 when my husband was the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and this particular school still runs till date.

“My motivation as an educationist and life long teacher stemmed from the desire to see young girls and women who dropped out of school due to unplanned pregnancies, cultural barriers, economic or financial reasons and many more, have a second chance to complete high school, acquire higher education and valuable life skills, to enable them reach their full potential in life.”

The first lady stressed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “values education and therefore he has introduced the National Student Loan Scheme which is now in effect for our youth to have unhindered access to education, knowing that education is the bedrock of national development and the cornerstone upon which dreams are built, skills acquired and aspirations generally realised.”

She emphasised that “In a world where every girl deserves the opportunity to thrive and reach her fullest potential, it is a sad thing to witness the barriers that stand in the way of their education. No doubt, without education, girls would lack necessary skills to support themselves and access information to make informed decisions about their health and future.

“The alarming rate of school dropouts among girls is a stark reminder of the need for alternative solutions in their educational pursuits. The consequences of this challenge are profound, affecting not only their individual lives, but also has attendant socio-economic implications for our Nation. We cannot afford to squander the potential and talents of half of our population.

“Ensuring access to inclusive and equitable quality education that fosters lifelong learning opportunities for everyone is essential, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4 which is to ‘Ensure Inclusive and Equitable, Quality Education and Promote Lifelong Learning Opportunities for All’.”

Also speaking, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke noted that his administration is also committed to supporting girl child education, saying his  administration also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women.

 Adeleke stressed that “as your colleague in the Senate in those days, I can affirm your deep love for Nigeria, your commitment to national human development and your particular interest in the welfare of under-privilegded Nigerians.”

Adeleke commended the first lady for her passion for the growth of the nation and for focusing on fairness and justice.

He said that the present administration will follow up and provide needed support to ensure a robust operation upon completion of the school.

Adeleke said, “Our administration is also committed to supporting girl child education. We have introduced a series of programmes which strengthen the capacity of families to provide basic needs. Hence, we emphasise workers welfare as a critical first line item in our five point agenda.

“We also focus on stopping the crisis of sexual violence against women. To that end, Osun is the first state to implement the resolution of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum on Action Against sexual violence.  We have met the Ministry of Women Affairs and resolved to set up mobile courts to try domestic sexual violence matters.

“Additionally, we are compiling a list of unfairly jailed girls and women to get them released. This is in addition to an agenda of empowering the womenfolk through the Cooperative loan scheme,” she said.

Among the wives of governors present at the event are Bamidele Abiodun (Ogun), Sefiyat Ododo (Kogi), Professor Olufolake AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Tobore Oborevwori (Delta), Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Betsy Obaseki (Edo) and Olayemi Oyebanji (Ekiti).