By Ngozi Nwankwo
Minister of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Nana Opia has appealed to South West Governors to emulate and sustain the legacies of Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the field of education in order to rid the region of out of school children and bring development to the country.
Opia made the appeal on Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, at the flag- off ceremony of the National campaign on out of school children.
The Minister asked Governors of the states of the Federation and in particular, South West Governors to Prioritize education through increased budgetary allocations, infrastructural development and sustained public reorientation as ways of tackling the menace of out of school children.
The Minister emphasised the need for Political will and total commitment, calling for all hands to be on deck in the fight to get every child on board the ship of school.
“Bring all our children on Board the ship of school” the Minister reiterated.
Opia pointed out that system strengthening and increased enrollment are the key goals of the campaign adding that the involvement of traditional, religious and community leaders is key to the attainment of the overall goal of eradicating out of school children.
In his keynote address at the occasion,Ogun state Governor, His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun said the South West made a head start in education in Nigeria courtesy Chief Obafemi Awolowo, adding that the Awolowo legacy will not be allowed to die, rather it will be sustained in order to bring glory to Ogun state and the Nation at large.
His Excellency rolled out the fruits of the Awolowo legacy in education across the South west adding that as at date, Ogun state is ahead of other states of the country in terms of the number of educational institutions at all levels.
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