Rights and Freedom Advocates (RIFA) have noticed with dismay the purported intention of Ondo State government to donate (which the Governor termed return) public schools to some of the cronies of the government.
If the news in some sections of the media in the last few days was anything to consider genuine, then Ondo State Governor; Mr Rotimi Akeredolu SAN has concluded plan to share commonwealth of Ondo State to his cronies who would, perhaps, help him keep his share till he completes his tenure as the Governor of Sunshine state.
Or what can we call a situation where the Governor under vague excuse claimed he was willing to give public schools to some groups which he called original owners?
When government took over schools from some groups in 70s, those groups were compensated leading to government in full control of infrastructural facilities and management of the schools including full funding without any group’s intervention or support.
However, the failure of the government to change the names of those schools to government schools has made some day-dreamers still claiming, fraudulently, ownership of the public schools. Can a car seller who has collected money for car he sold still claim ownership of his former car just because the new owner does not change the number plate?
Definitely, only thieves could do that. So, the claim in some quarters that original owners of public schools still exist elsewhere is nothing but a dream cum scam as the law promulgated during that takeover is still sacrosanct.
It is that law that gives government power to provide grants-in-aid for the affected schools, give regulations on the academic and administrative activities/programmes of the schools, recruit, post and transfer staff, pay salaries, allowances, benefits and other emoluments of staff of the schools, build class rooms, provide infrastructure and facilities for the schools, hence the affected schools in the light of all these are under the control and management of government which by implication they are “public’ and not “private” schools or institutions and this arrangement has subsisted over the years, since 1972 and subsequent laws which have empowered the states to have full controls of the public schools.
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The government cannot therefore claim to be willing to donate (and not what it termed as return) those schools which have undergone different developmental stages over decades and so now wear a new look.
As such, the idea of some original owners have since obliterated or confined that position or claim to the dustbin of recorded times that it belongs.
If at all the government is interested in selling any of the public schools, what it should do is to invite professional valuers to value all the schools individually and ask the interested buyers to select any school they can afford its current value and pay the value to government purse. After that, negotiation can begin in earnest for final sale and not what our SAN termed return to original owners.
Apart from the fact that the Governor lacks such power without reference to previous laws which established the public schools the Governor wants to donate to his cronies, the consequential economic and social disaster the Governor’s intention would create would be worse than any excuse he might have given for his ostracized idea.
If at all the Governor cannot add to the public schools his predecessors built, is it morally right to dispose off them just because his children are not in those schools and his cronies have wealth to patronize the private schools? Must the Governor reduce public schools to make his cronies private schools’ flourish?
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Why must he share public properties he didn’t build or construct? What bad legacy is he trying to leave for posterity?
In Ogun State when ex-Governor Gbenga Daniel compensated those who honoured him with titles by donating Ogun State public schools to some of his benefactors, little did those fanatically enthused and were praising him then knew they were digging their grave. Immediately the schools were donated, teachers were transferred out of the donated Schools and the neighbouring schools had no sufficient space to contain them.
If not the administrative sagacity of ex-Governor Amosun that saved the day, the whole system might have been paralysed. Those who celebrated the ill-motivated donation then eventually became victims of the shortsighted policy of donating public schools to cronies of the Governor because majority of them were in the school system.
Till date, majority of the donated schools in the hands of their recipients are in moribund while others could not impart the much taunted morals as they are now embroiled in immorality of different types.
Moreover, one of the engaged academic staff of the donated schools by OGD regime in Ogun State once confessed that with Master of Science in Economics he was paid N15,000 per month when the minimum wage was N18,000.
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In most of those states where public schools were donated, most of the teachers have suffered, the administration has collapsed and infrastructure is crying for help where the schools have not been totally closed down.
This has increased the number of out-of-the school children and led to avalanche of job loss for hitherto employed teachers due to inability of new owners to pay the bills. Is Governor Akeredolu yearning for retrogression of the State to this kind of status or he is just obsessed with passion to fulfil his promise of donating state resources to his associates as appreciation?
RIFA urge the wise people in Ondo State and elsewhere not to allow Akeredolu rob the State of its public schools through the back door as he is completing his tenure soon. It may be a subtle attempt to negotiate the Sunshine State assets to the Governor’s yesmen on strict terms which after leaving office, he would collect from his proxies who would not want to renege having benefited from unworthy gift.
Luqman Soliu,
President,
Rights and Freedom Advocates (RIFA)
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