Recently, I engaged Akeem Amosu, the newly appointed Education Secretary of Ikeja Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) on our interview column; Facing Facts.
The soft-spoken hardworking Education Secretary made some revelations about his plans to make Ikeja public primary schools a shining example for others to emulate. Enjoy excerpts from the interview:
Please introduce yourself to our readers with special mention of your background and preparedness for this job as the Education Secretary for Ikeja Local Government Education Authority?
Amosu: My name is Akeem Amosu, an indigene of Lagos State. I am a teacher by profession. I attended Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Eduacation where I studied History/Social Studies Education (NCE). I later proceeded to University of Ado-Ekiti where I also bagged a BA in Education History.
I was engaged as a teacher in 2006 under the administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before I was fully staffed under the administration of Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). Since then I have being in the class as a teacher with a lot of other responsibilities as sports officer, agric officer and officer in charge of voluntary organisations. It was all these activities that led to the transfer of my service to the LGA as the Sports Officer of Ikeja LGA for over 6 years before my present appointment as the Education Secretary for Ikeja Local Government Education Authority. So with all these experiences, as a teacher and my activities at the community level as the Secretary of the Community Development Association (CDA) for over 12 years and presently the Secretary to the Onigbongbo Community Development Committee (CDC).
Ikeja Local Government is a city-center local government so the issue of primary education is very vital. What are the specifics that you have in mind to take things to the next level?
I told you earlier that I have been a part of Ikeja LGA over the years, all the experience that I have gained from my activities as a sports officer and part of the monitoring team of the LGA gave me the opportunity to work in all the schools one way or the other. So with this I have a need to evaluate all these experiences.
Ikeja as the capital of the center of excellence, we need to ensure that government proffers quality and sound education. So I started with the redeployment of teachers to all the 33 public primary schools and ensuring good environment for both staff and pupils. It’s just over 1 month that I resumed office as the Education Secretary I have ensured we have a conducive environment to enable the staff do their job diligently. We have reorganized the monitoring team with different sections such as Schools Support, Special Duties a rebrand of what it used to be. We already had a seminar immediately after my resumption of office for all the staff of the LGA because we want the teachers and other non-teaching staff to interact because all knowledge is appreciated and needs to be shared amongst one another. So wherever they have challenges we will be able to solve it together with them. I believe with the support of the 3 council chairmen of Ikeja, Ojodu and Onigbongbo namely Hon Mojeed Balogun, Hon Julius Oloro and Hon Babatunde Oke respectively, we hope to position Ikeja Local Government Education Authority ahead of other LGA and make it a reference point. We have all areas of learning to cover namely cognitive, affective and psychomotor. We will ensure that with past experiences and as a community person, we are going to ensure we carry parents along with our activities and all these we shall be doing in accordance with the policy of education of Lagos State and the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
Sports development and child healthcare are significant for truly wholesome primary education. Do you have in place or plan to evolve synergistic relationships with relevant agencies for superlative result?
Already I told you I am a community person, a former assistant secretary of Community Development Association (CDA) later became secretary of the CDA, former assistant Secretary CDC and presently Secretary to the CDC. As I speak I am a member of the health committee of Onigbongbo which has enabled me to interact with the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) for Onigbongbo, Ikeja and Ojodu. We have a cordial relationship and that has to do with the health of our pupils as earlier referred to. The health of our pupils is very important to us. I have also introduced regular health checkup for all our staff. Likewise, the pupils with the help of some private organizations that have gotten approval from SUBEB. Recently, Rotary Club conducted free eye test and other medical checkups for our pupils. And Lagos State Ministry of Health, through SUBEB, usually runs checkups for them most especially for their sight. If there is any emergency, we have a working relationship with our community health workers who get in touch with them at any time the occasion arises. We have informed our parents that even outside the school, provided the child is one of our pupils, they should get in touch with us so as to get the necessary agency for help.
Sports; most of my achievements since I joined the teaching service is mostly related to sports. We just finished a 5 aside football tournament through the effort of Public/ Private Partnership as approved by SUBEB and I have also led our pupils to several tournaments. As we speak Ikeja LGEA is the defending champion of female 5 aside football competition in Lagos State. Sometime last year we organized the female 5 a side football competition, the first of its kind nationwide, named after one of our leaders Chief Mrs Kemi Nelson; a great mother and it was a big success. The winner of the competition represented us at the state tournament at Campos mini stadium at Lagos Island and they came first. You can go to Model Primary School that won the competition to confirm that the kids are still there. We are not relenting on sports. Last year National Lotto donated some sporting equipment to our schools and we’re using them. So also recently both on health and sports Helen Keller International came on board through the approval of SUBEB, they have a 3 years project they started last year before I resumed office as Education Secretary. This year’s event came to climax last week with Saint Peters Primary School emerged the winner of the 5-a-side football tournament for boys. We are partnering with Helen Keller International through the approval of SUBEB on health. Next year, we’ll be having a sports festival;
another first in the history of Ikeja LGEA for pupils of primary schools. In as much as we engage them in sports that help them physically, we also engage them in sporting activities that help their brain develop. Games like scrabble, chess and a host of others that will help them develop mentally. We had participated in some competitions like the Awosika Scrabble Competition with some elite schools like Chrisland, Grange and others due to the fact that the Awosika’s host the competition in our neighbourhood so they also involved public schools within Ikeja. I am proud to tell you that one of our pupil from Saint Peters emerged 1st runner-up after the pupil from Chrisland that emerged winner in the last competition with over 50 schools amongst which over 30 are private schools that participated.
Recently, we had an agricultural initiative which had yielded harvest of crops cultivated by our pupils. You may doubt it if you were not there to see the produce of our pupil’s big fresh cucumbers. The Managing Director of Cadbury and other well-meaning people attended the event organized for selected public primary schools in Ikeja, Ojodu and Onigbongbo. We are now expanding the programme to include all our 33 public schools. When you see pictures from the last harvest you’ll be amazed at the Irish-potato that are rarely cultivated in this part of the world and staff of Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture attest to it. You may go to Agidingbi Primary School to see the farm for yourself. What Ikeja pupils are doing in agriculture it’s wonderful.
What aspects of Lagos State Government Education development agenda do you hope to prioritize and what complimentary innovations do plan to initiate?
The state has put in place so many marvelous programmes to ensure quality education for our children and as LGEA at the center of State of Excellence we have also braced up as we looking ahead of introducing some forms of e-Leaning initiative hoping that with the help of the Public/ Private Partnership and the approval of the SUBEB to aid our teachers with some tools to aid their teaching in the class. For example a teacher while teaching about a wild animal with the aid of an electronic device he or she can just project it on the screen for the pupils. I believe we can achieve this and more here in Ikeja being a cosmopolitan environment.
Another aspect is the vocational center. We have only one in Ikeja as a whole so it’s part of our plan to create more vocational centers with the approval and support of the 3 Local Governments so as to decentralize the single vocational center in Ikeja. So we need the councils to help with equipping the centers and engaging instructors. This will reduce the stress on our pupils travelling from Ojodu or Onigbongbo to the only available center. So with the Lagos State Education policy that every child must have right to not just basic education but quality basic education that can make our pupils stand anywhere in the world.
Do you have special appeal for other agencies and the populace of the Local Government especially the parents of the pupils within the Ikeja LGEA? 
I must tell you that whatever you do in life, you must do it well. Our parents have been supportive but we want them to be more involved and ensure they visit the schools more often to see activities of both staff and pupils. The school belong to the community and government is using it to develop their community so they must be part of the development process. So I am using this medium to appeal to our community and political leaders and most especially corporate organizations to get more involved in our public schools developmental strides and contribute their own quota. Some of the organizations have been very wonderful but we need more of their support.
Hopefully, by first quarter of next year we hope to have an education stakeholder seminar and awards where some of those who have contributed to the development of our schools will be recognized and awarded accordingly.
Wow! I am impressed, please keep the good job going. It’s nice talking to you.
Pleasure is mine.
