EPE News

100 Indigent Youths Benefit From Eredo Progressives Free GCE Initiative

Published

4 years ago

Sep 18, 2020.

Afolabi Hakim

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The Eredo Progressives have yet again displayed his unflinching commitment to youth development and empowerment and also the revival of the dwindling interest in education among the youths.

The group demonstrated this disposition and commitment towards ensuring Eredo assumes it rightful place in the area of education at the just concluded registration and Presentation of Free GCE Forms to 100 beneficiaries in Eredo LCDA.

The event organised by Eredo Progressives, a non-political and independent community association took place at the Odo-Noforija Town Hall on Wednesday 16th September 2020.

The event was well attended by political leaders, community leaders, traditional leaders, scholars, religious leaders, youth bodies parents and students of the community.

Notable among them are Alara Of Ilara Permanent Vice Chairman Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo ably represented by Chief Segun Osifeko, Chairman Procare Hotels and Suites, Oba Babatunde Ogunlaja (JP), The Aladeshonyin of Odo-Noforija Kingdom ably represented by Odofin Musiliu Banjo, Mr. Charlse Keshinro, Odofin of Ilara, Chief Oguntimehin, Odofin of Igbooye and Former MOCPED Governing Council Member.

Others include Hon. Saliu Adeniyi, Eredo LCDA Chairman and his management team, Rev. Philip Biyi, Eredo LCDA CAN President, Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Soliu, Eredo LCDA President, League of Imams and Alfas, Chief Yemi Dada, Epe Club Vice President, Members of Eredo LCDA Legislative Arm and other reputable sons and daughters of Eredo.

Speaking with EkoHotBlog, Mr. Segun Osifeko, expressed delight at the laudable project. He reiterated the resolve of Oba Olufolarin Ogunsanwo to massively support youths of Eredo but was unavoidably absent due to traditional demands.

He said: ” It is very laudable and I want to commend the Initiators. I want to believe that something new is happening in Eredo and good enough at this time we have an Oba, a Royal father that loves the youths so much. This initiative is in tandem with His Royal Majesty’s ideology and I want to say that God is moving and Eredo is moving forward. It is quite commendable, Kabiesi loves it and he would have been here but for traditional reasons, he can not come out to attend an engagement at this time. He is so much appreciative of it.

He also expressed optimism that the project will change the damning statistics which is that Less than10% success in external exams in the last 5-10 years have been recorded.

” So much, I said it in my speech that this project is going to change the terrain. Our children have been without guidance. The stakeholders have never shown this kind of interest. So, this time around that the stakeholders are coming together in unity, I want to assure you that if this tempo is sustained, within the next five years, the story will be different for Eredo.

Giving a lowdown of how the committee was able to handle financial responsibilities that come with such initiative, the Chairman of the Free GCE Registration committee, Mr. A Salami Idris, inform the gathering that the money raised from donations was in the tune of 2.3 Million Naira within the space of 2 weeks.

He expressed his gratitude to the sons and daughters of the LCDA for their magnanimity towards the exercise. While admonishing the beneficiaries to be studious, he also immensely appreciated the committee members for their unwavering support.

Also Read: Eredo Progressives Release List Of Beneficiaries Of Free GCE

For his part, brain behind the project, Chief Charles Keshinro to disclosed the inspiration behind the exercise.

He recalled how Eredo Progressives after being formed via WhatsApp provided palliatives for Private school teachers during the COVID lockdown.

One of the beneficiaries, Nola Feyisayo from Army Children High School said the vote of thanks while the closing remarks was rendered by Mr. Osifeko Mark Olaniyi, Chief Press Secretary of Epe Local Government. In his short but profound remarks, he made it known to the beneficiaries that the exercise was a relay race for the students to move on into the future. He also made it known to the students that the group, Eredo Progressives will sponsor the JAMB registration and university tuition of successful candidates. He therefore admonished them to pass the baton on to the next generation having gotten to the top. The event came to a close with an opening prayer by Eredo LCDA CAN Chairman.

The Telade Ruling House Prince preached the gospel of advocacy by relevant sections of the society. He also sought the cooperation of parents and their wards which is vital to the success of the exercise. He said:

” The message is that there must be an advocacy which showed the champion at the Local Government level, advocacy by the relevant departments to make parents really conscious of the need for them to show more interest in their wards, to encourage them to read at home, to invest more in their education.

“Like we used to have in our days, we used to attend lessons, we used to attend coaching classes and those are no longer there now. So, through different fora, Local government, Obaship, Churches and Mosques, we should be able to pass the message to every home that our children are not doing well and the only way for them to get to the top, for Epe and Eredo to be relevant is for our children to be better academically so that they can compete favorably with their peers anywhere in the world”.

The seasoned former Public Servant and Business Mogul therefore advised the initiators to be all-embracing irrespective of criticisms from any quarter. He said:

” The message for the initiators is for them to remain focused, they should not be deterred by some of the people that would want to criticize them. They should be open to criticism and no matter who is criticising, they should remain focused for them to be successful, they have to take a lot of insults and remain united”.

The Executive Chairman, who spoke with EkoHotBlog, gave brief insights into the essence of the project and also established reasons why the students must not let their leaders down. He said:

“The is purely community engagement programme. I can’t thank enough all the people that put this together, it is unbelievable, I want to call on them to do more so that it could in a long term be a reference point for everyone that is in position to start to do something for their communities, that is why the Local government also supported this. We will continue to identify people who mean well for the society and support them so that we can encourage them to do better. So, we thank them very much and we hope that the beneficiaries today will take it seriously and I have told them that the only way they can thank those who did this is to pass their exams in flying colours and it is my prayer and hope that that would happen so that this kind of exercise can become an annual event”.

The people’s Chairman reiterated that the students will be adequately provided with whatever they need to excel in the examination. He also noted that the opportunity given to the beneficiaries is a very rare one which must be taken seriously.

” Before they write the exam, we are going to train them, we are going to enrol them in extramural classes. We are going to ensure that we give them all the opportunities to pass the exam. There are too many people that want this kind of opportunity, they don’t have. So, these ones that have gotten it should take it seriously. There is not going to be a second window for an opportunity like this, so, it is better that they know it now and focus so that they can pass well. There are people waiting in the corridor for the same opportunity next year, so we can’t continue to repeat it for same people”, Hon. Saliu said.

The Odofin of Ilara, Chief Charles Keshinro also spoke with Ekohotblog. He firmly attested to the fact that the Free GCE Exercise is a symbol that Eredo LCDA indigenes not only place a premium on youth education but other areas. He said:

” We do not only pay premium on youths, We place a premium on our children, our aged, our indigenes, our fathers, our leaders, our elders. So this is a particular youth program which I will say came in by God’s divine wisdom because we believe that our youths especially the ones that are in school needs to be encouraged. We know that we have limited students, we know we have poor parents and we know that it is an opportunity to give them another chance. Even though it is for those that are in school, it is also designed for those that have left school and can not write their examinations. So, we just felt that it will be an opportunity that the platform, Eredo Progressives is offering them. I would not say it is my own doing, it is everybody’s contribution”.

The Chattered Accountant and Tax guru expressed maximum satisfaction and trust in the screening exercise carried out by the committee members ably led by Mr. Idris Salami. He also brought it to fore that successful candidates would e sponsored to the University and secured with a job.

” They have been screened and we have offered them the GCE forms. The 100 candidates have been offered GCE forms. By the grace of God, they will write their exams and if we see how they perform, we will encourage them by obtaining JAMB forms for them, and encourage them to get admission into universities. we will monitor them and we will ensure that when they graduate, they will have good jobs, that’s the plan for these children, he said.

Chief Keshinro reiterated that students who have benefited in the Free GCE registration exercise would be given equal opportunities while writing their exams. He allayed the threats posed by examination malpractice prevalent in schools noting that credible systems will be deployed. He said:

” Honestly I am not a teacher but in examination procedures that get involved, we will make sure that we have credible people, people need to deploy credible systems. It is actually about the people, the system and the controls. So this is to say that good people should not allow anybody to cheat. A good system of examination is such that spaces the candidates and ensure that they don’t bring in materials. And you have controls over those who are doing it, they should allow a good system”.

He reeled out plans for those who would not perform well in the examination.

” That is a matter for maybe the next discussion. We have seen those that have come. I think like I have said before, I am not just looking at education, we are looking at our youths that are jobless, our youths that will like to learn a trade, our youths that have learnt a trade but do not have the power to set up.

“We are looking at so many things and we are working in conjunction with our political leaders, community leaders, our kings and our progressive leaders. We are just a platform to actualize this because the platform is an independent platform, it is a nonpolitical platform of professionals and progressives”, he said.

Ekohotblog also spoke to one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Olufowobi Warith. He said:

” I really appreciate this programme because it really gives us more confidence. It is part of the development we are expecting in Eredo LCDA. I really give kudos to our Political Elites and Royal fathers for supporting this initiative and I wish they can continue.

“I will advise our Political leaders to learn to always hear from the youths. I have seen this kind of exercise taking place elsewhere and after calling the attention of some people about it, I am happy it is also carried out in our LCDA. He therefore admonished the students to be focused because this exercise is a rare privilege”.

To hear from one of the parents who witnessed the exercise, Ekohotblog spoke with Alhaja Dada, a retired teacher who admonished both parents and their wards to make good use of the opportunity. She also lamented how the system cheated her during her days as there was no such opportunity of this kind and that It was only one or two schools that were functional. She said:

” I’m extremely happy about this commendable exercise. May God Almighty reward those who contributed financially to this exercise in multiple fold. I pray to God that the beneficiaries of this Free GCE form will succeed in life so as to also give back to the coming generations. The organizers have done well because had it been we have such opportunity in our days, we would have gone places. It was only Epe Grammar school that was in existence during our days except St. Anthony at Mushin which is meant for Boys only.

“So for this reason, The beneficiaries have no choice but to buckle down. You know when you buy goods from the market to sell, you don’t pray you sell at loss. So had it been their parents go through the needle’s eye to pay for the GCE form, they will know the hustle is real. So my simple advise to the beneficiaries is to study hard so they can excel in the exam and make their sponsors proud.

” I also want to appeal to parents to be steadfast with their wards because children of these days are lazy in studying but we parents must ensure our wards do thing by adequately attending the extramural classes. Parents should also make sure they mandate their wards to study hard after returning from lesson, they should form the habit of cross-checking their notebooks when they return.

All eyes are therefore on the beneficiaries of the Free GCE registration to deliver the aims and objectives of Eredo Progressives through youth emancipation in academic excellence. While the next five years is far but near, all fingers will be kept crossed hoping for the best.

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