Aregbesola Urges Govs To Embrace Tablet Of Knowledge

• Colloquium Speakers Laud Former Governor For Introducing E-learning Device, Opon Imo

By Solomon Odeniyi

Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has urged governors in the country to embrace the innovative Tablet of Knowledge called Opon Imo, to develop the education sector of their various states.

Aregbesola described the gadget as a tool that universalises education in the contemporary world.

The former governor of the State of Osun spoke during a virtual colloquium to commemorate his 63rd birthday on Monday.

The colloquium was organized by friends and associates and had three world-class scholars as discussants.

Aregbesola, who was responding to one of the issues on innovative leadership, technology, and education, harped on the need to embrace technology to develop education in the country, saying that was why his administration introduced Opon Imo in Osun.

According to Aregbesola, the Tablet of Knowledge makes learning easy for the school children and other users, calling on governors to embrace such innovation, particularly in the face of the ravaging Coronavirus pandemic.

He said: “Every head of government must understand that the Tablet of Knowledge has to be encouraged.

“It universalises education and processes it. In fact, it is the easiest way to make knowledge acquisition simpler and easier. It can be used by those who were not even in the conventional educational centres and those who are in conventional centres; that is the beauty of it.

“We cannot say the tablet has reached the perfection it should be but with the level I took it to, it will serve several needs but it is simply leadership.

“The more people that are involved in the use of that device, the cheaper the cost. Besides, the hardware which is continuously reduced per annum because what it caused to acquire a tablet some five years ago is costlier than what it is to acquire it today.”

The panelists at the colloquium who all contributed from different countries lauded Aregbesola for his innovative thinking and for being able to see beyond the present situation which must have informed his decision to digitalise knowledge acquisition in Osun some six years ago.

It will be recalled that in 2013, the Aregbesola administration launched the Tablet of Knowledge, also known as Opon Imo – a program which gave secondary school students free tablets with educational content.

However, speakers at a Virtual Colloquium organized in commemoration of the 63rd birthday of Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola have asked African leaders to think ahead and execute people-focused programmes that are capable of mitigating disasters whenever they come.

Themed Leadership in Emergencies: Planning as Foundation for National Survival, the online event took the place of the annual birthday colloquium, Raufnomics, in honour of Aregbesola.

The programme was organized by Proumou Media Consulting, a Lagos-based media strategy firm, on Monday.

Speakers at the colloquium include Mr. Kurtis Adigba, a Board member of the International Association of Political Consultants; Dr. Rabiat Akande of the Harvard University, United States and Dr. Alim Abubakre of the University of Southampton.

Speaking at the event, Adigba, who is also a popular television shows analyst in Nigeria, said being proactive is one of the critical qualities of good leadership.

Adigba said President Muhammadu Buhari’s ban on food importation and border closures might have attracted criticism but has proved to be proactive.

He explained: “What would have been the situation if Nigeria was to be waiting for rice from other parts of the world if he had not banned rice importation?”

Dr. Akande who spoke on data and its importance to managing emergencies, advocated for proactive data collection as part of comprehensive planning for emergencies.

She challenged the National Assembly to legislate on data privacy and collection just as she urged them to seek ways to make such laws native to the country.

Akande lauded Aregbesola for the introduction of the Tablet of Knowledge when he served as Governor, adding this was a demonstration of foresight, which leaders must always have.

She also said that her monitoring of the Aregbesola years as governor of the State of Osun convinced her that service defines his work ethics.

Dr. Alim Abubakre, listed many attributes of a good leader, just as he cited Aregbesola as one whose works in eight years rule in Osun have gone down as unprecedented.

Abubakre also cited Opon Imo as a good example of the visionary that Aregbesola was when he was the governor.

He added that a device which Aregbesola saw as critical to learning some eight years ago has now become much more relevant than when it was first conceived.