28/6/2016
In the past
three weeks or thereabout, Ibusa people are still basking in the euphoria of
the news that the Navy
Secondary School facilitated
by their son, former Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba has
been converted to a university. The new nomenclature of University of Science,
Arts and Maritime Studies (UNISAMS), Ibusa remains the greatest news ever to
emanate from the sleepy town in recent times. However, a visit to the school premise
will no doubt leave an impression of something serious brewing in the
environment. Before now, the closest we have got in terms of schools with such
facilities was the construction and total transformation of former St. Angela’s
(now Anioshe Primary School) by Mr. Francis Atuche,
the embattled former Managing Director of Keystone Bank. He was following it
with the remodelling of Sacred Heart (Umejei Primary School)
when he had issues with the authorities.
Without mincing
words, these great feats by these illustrious sons go a long way to prove their
passion for educational development and welfare of the average child in Ibusa.
More so, it is
right to put straight here that since the creation of Delta State in 1991,
education in the town have suffered greatly despite the fact that she is within
the periphery of the so-called Delta Capital Territory. Safe for the quick
intervention and agitation of concerned citizens, only three government-owned
secondary schools existed in Ibusa. In 2012, St. Augustine’s
College was handed over to the mission, leaving St. Thomas’s
College and Ibusa
Girls Grammar
School at the mercy of a government that cared
less about their welfare. It took a clever blag from a frontline educationist
like Pa AWO Inugonum to get the Director of Schools give his nod for the
approval of two additional schools in 2013. Among these schools, Omu Boys
Secondary School was
re-established after her closure in 1988 left no explanation from any quarter
till date, whereas all the schools established the same time and year still wax
strong in their different domain. Then, Ibusa
Mixed Secondary
School replaced St. Augustine’s
College already taken over by the mission.
Basically,
infrastructural development of school is a major prerogative of the government.
But the attitude of Delta
State government towards
government-owned schools in Ibusa leaves more questions to be answered on
whether Ibusa is still part of the state. After the take-over by Federal
Government Girls’ College in the former abode of St. Thomas’s College, the latter was thrown
into a forest of forgetfulness. Not even the popularity attached to the name of
the school could move the state government into paying attention to its
predicament. Whatever be the sins of the vast populace of Ibusa indigenes
remain unknown even when the political activities and prowess of her sons and
daughters toward the development of the state was unequivocally glaring. I find
it hard to believe that in this age of technological exploits that an average
Nigerian school can cope without a science lab. That is the situation in
secondary schools in Ibusa. To think that the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary
Education in Delta
State is aware of this
and yet close his eyes makes it more worrisome. As if asking for too much, the
entire secondary schools in Ibusa have been abandoned for over 25 years now.
The only presence of the government is the posting and reposting of teachers
and personnel to make them feel relevant. Whatever they are facing afterwards
in their locations is none of their business. Our ears are inured with the
inglorious grunting that the government has no money. For over 25 years? Haba!
Ibusa’s case may
not be a peculiar one. But the fact that she remains under the purview of the
so-called capital territory status, yet suffer this crass neglect is an issue
that is as mind boggling as it is seriously demeaning.
For the records,
the present infrastructural facelift in St.
Thomas’s College was made possible by the former Chief
Economic Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan – Prof. Nwanze Okidegbe who was
also an old boy of the school. The state government hurriedly made some
renovations at St. Augustine’s
College before handing over to the missionary owners. Before then, illustrious Ibusa
sons and daughters like Barr. Fred Ajudua, Mrs. Philo Okonkwo, Mr. Francis
Atuche, etc had at one time or the other donated facilities like books for the
libraries, science lab equipment, renovations of dilapidated classrooms for
conducive learning environment for the students. The first block of six classrooms
in Ibusa Girls Grammar School
was build and donated by Chief Martins Ikediashi in 1984. Given that these are
community schools, should the government then leave the entire responsibility
to the indigenes? Then where is their social responsibility of education for
the people, especially Ibusa. Are they only interested in the votes of the
people during elections only to abandon them to their fate when it mattered
most? The government has now adopted a strategy of renovating only schools
situated along the roads, leaving the ones interior to suffer a great deal of
dereliction.
Now that the
government has decided to leave Ibusa to their destiny, do we also abandon our
own because the government and our political representatives have failed to do
the needful? One wonders the type of future expected from these students of Ibusa
heritage in our secondary schools. Government-owned secondary schools in Ibusa have
increased to four. Yet, there is no facility on ground for cognitive learning
ability of our children. Candidly, a sizeable percentage of families in Ibusa cannot
afford private schools tuitions for their wards. Moreover, statistics keep
indicating that the output from students from the public schools in our
environment surpasses that of the students from the so-called private schools.
Last year, Ibusa
Association, Dallas
chapter who have been involved in educational development in the town sent one
of their members, Mr. Chris Okafor to take a survey and see how they can
augment government’s effort in the provision of chairs to government-owned
secondary schools in Ibusa. An on-the-ground assessment by the emissary exposed
more areas of concern than the chairs they earlier had in mind. At the newly
re-established Omu Boys Secondary School and Ibusa Mixed Secondary School,
their immediate problem hinged on the need to secure a permanent location to
enhance their continuity and future admission of new intakes. St. Thomas’s College posed a problem of
porous environment with a serious threat of intruders. Hence, any new facility
like science lab equipment stands the risk of carting away the very night they
are installed because of lack of fencing. The greatest challenge was met at Ibusa Girls
Grammar School where they
can hardly boast of a good building for studies. About four classroom blocks
have been abandoned putting the horde of students at the risk of conducive
learning.
Moved to the
latter’s plight, the representative of the association was given a letter of
appeal by the then principal of the school, now retired Mrs. Diachi. He took
the message to the chapter who agreed to help renovate at least a block of the
abandoned classrooms. Mr. Okafor was again in the country recently as he took
inventory and possible estimate for the repair and sent back to the chapter for
approval. Over a month, the chapter was still deliberating on the approval of
the money for the renovation of the classroom blocks and possibly supporting
another primary school in the town.
Just yesterday,
after a long wait, Mr. Okafor got a call from his base in Dallas that they got a message that the
government will soon carry out total reconstruction of all the classroom blocks
in Ibusa. Therefore, they can only embark on their earlier plan to donate
chairs to these schools. Hmmm!
In as much as we
will commend Ibusa Association, Dallas chapter for their good initiative towards
complementing government efforts and educational development in Ibusa, let it
be known that this is not the first and fifth time the government have
indicated interest to renovate schools, especially in Ibusa without keeping to
their promises. At the beginning of this academic session, yours truly was
moved with a possible hiccup that threatened the admission of new intakes
because of lack of accommodation. The Commissioner of Basic and Secondary
Education, Delta State was invited with a view to assessing
the facilities on ground. He however used the opportunity of the unscheduled
visit to tour the four government-owned secondary schools in Ibusa and on
seeing the sorry state of facilities in Ibusa Girls
Grammar School; he
reiterated government’s handicapped financial status and inability to fund
educational development in this dispensation. But if they promise to do
something in the near future, the better. But truth is that the state of these
facilities has tarried beyond many administration without attention. Their promises
to Ibusa have remained an everlasting manana.
Whoever that has
a means of helping to salvage education in Ibusa should please do so, while we
wait for the government.
- PNI
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