OBSERVATION: Oba Adedokun Abolarin Great Strides On Education For The Poor

By YAYA ADEMOLA

EDUCATION is “the thing a person learns by being taught well.” It is “the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at a school or university.” It is a system of passing knowledge to others and receiving knowledge from others. Once qualitative education is obtained, it cannot be taken away. It, instead, enhances personal development and increases career opportunities for the betterment of the holder and societal development.

Nelson Mandela said: “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.” Any society that gives correct quality education to its citizens, especially from tender age, will be developed in all ramifications with its citizens having higher income, more opportunities in life and living healthier. Education, especially for children, prepares them for uncertain future, creates knowledge, builds confidence and destroys barriers to opportunity; it helps children to appreciate themselves, their ambition and knowledge from early stage. However, every education must teach students skills of critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration. A society where this type of education is given premium will have less crime, improved public health and have greater political and civic engagement; it will propel the young people in the right direction to set goals for personal desire with the society reaping from them. In fact, the relations between an educated society and non-educated society are proportional to civilisation and barbarism respectively.

Instead of giving education the priority it deserves through adequate funding among others, the Nigerian ruling elite have continued to launch steady attacks on quality education. They began with commercialisation and privatisation of the schooling system which make quality education acquisition very expensive and out of the reach of the children of the poor. When concerns were raised over this, the ruling elite retorted, “If education is too expensive, try ignorance.” They know that education stimulates economic growth by increasing innovation, productivity and human capital but they do know again that it fosters positive social change that could translate to political participation. While they kill public quality education, they send their sons and daughters to very expensive private schools locally and abroad with very few exceptions. All they want is uneducated people who could be tossed around and would always hang around the rich for stipends; with majority in perpetual poverty and penury while the ruling elite and their immediate families live large.

This is where a rare gem, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, of the Obasolo Ruling House, who has occupied his ancestors’ throne as Orangun of Oke-Ila since December 8, 2006 must be appreciated and celebrated. Oke-Ila Orangun is the capital of Ifedayo Local Government Area in Osun. Through his NGO – Abolarin Aroyinkeye Foundation -Kabiyesi built Abolarin College in Oke-Ila Orangun in a conducive environment for learning and culture. In this college, all the students are in the boarding house and eat quality meals daily. They have access to personal laptops, well equipped library, textbooks and other writing materials, uniforms and school bags. All these are free of charge. The college students are trained with specially designed but regulated curriculum to be independent, entrepreneurs and agriculturists. They do spend one hour daily on the school farm to produce part of the food they consume. Every student in the school speaks English, French and Yoruba languages fluently.

To Oba Adedokun Abolarin, birth, wealth and other accidental conditions should not be the determining condition for child’s access to quality education. Hence, the school is strictly for indigent students in Oke-Ila and Nigeria in general most of who are orphans, who have nobody to sponsor them. These indigent children are drawn from qualifying exams they write to determining those who are prepared to learn and follow up their claims of being indigent as Kabiyesi’s target is to fight poverty through education.

While other Obas of Adedokun Abolarin stature derive joy in marrying many wives and merry making, he has only one wife and derives happiness in sacrificing his time, money to giving a lifetime opportunity to poor people children who would have had no future but condemned to permanent misery, poverty and ultimately, crime. He does not only run free school for children from poor homes, he personally teaches them government. Oba Adedokun Abolarin holds a first degree in Political Science, Master degree in International Relations and a degree in Law, all from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.

As I write, some of these children have gained admission into Adeleke University, Ede and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife studying Computer Science, Agricultural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology, Mass Communication, History and International relations. Within his little means and commitment, Oba Adedokun Abolarin has broken the recycling chain of poverty in the lives of these children. History will, definitely, be kind to Kabiyesi for he intends to write it.