EDITORIAL: Progressive Thrust Revisited

OSUN DEFENDER, always focused on its founding principle of putting the people first, in a front-page editorial rhyming with the resumption of the new school year carried as its front page headline “Mass Withdrawal Hits Private Schools”.

The headline is not limited to the painful reality of the situation in Osun State alone: it reflects a sordid story nationwide.

A specter hunts a country, this is the debilitation of access to education. It is important to appreciate that the Yoruba Renaissance which occurred as a result of the implementation of the Treaty that ended the civil war in Yoruba land (Kiriji War) was based on a forward-Movement based on invigoration of Yoruba land and culture through access to education.

The Central thrust of the Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led action group government in Western Nigeria was a seminal advance. This has been reinvigorated by progressive faithful such as Lateef Jakande as the governor of Lagos State, Bola Ige as the governor of Oyo State, and Michael Ajasin as the governor of Ondo State. A reawakening of this thrust is associated with a next-generation commonly aligned with the position of Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregebsola who had a remarkably innovative tenure of office as a governor of Osun State (2010-2018). 

Access to fundamentals in Aregbesola’s policy thrust massive investment made in New School Structures and human capital development to Man, run, and maintain the new structures. It was a tremendous advance. Interwoven with the school feeding program access to education as well as the well-being of the pupils increased access to education. Exponentially, he was a remarkable feat of social engineering widely admired and imitated across the country, a downside was the influx of pupils from neighboring states to avail for themselves the fantastic opportunities that had emerged in the State of Osun.

The sad decline in the main essence of the Aregbesola’s intervention is a terrible indictment of the inability to maintain standards and ensure continuity through constant improvement.

The United Nations Sustainable Development of Growth (SDGs) correctly placed education and health as the centerpiece of the SDG which must be achieved by 2030.

A special report in this issue is aimed at the mountain a reawakening of the need to put education back at the heart of gender. 

Access to education must once again be on the front burner. A currency crisis has led to a decimation of purchasing power and decimated living standards. This shows the futility of overt reliance on the private sector alone. This was always an illusion not replicated even in the advanced economies of the world, including the USA, UK and the countries of the European Union.

The Aregbeaola momentum was edifying and must be re-imposed. Frankly speaking, there is no viable alternative.