Catholic Bishop Bemoans Aregbesola’s Lackadaisical Attitude To Education

By Abdulrofiu Agboola and Olabode Abolaji

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Osogbo, Most Rev. John Oyejola has expressed worry over the recent rating of Osun state educational standard saying it was sad the state is not better than Borno and other Boko Haram ravaged states in the country.
The West African Examination Council had recently ranked Osun 29 in the performance index for the 2017 WASSCE Exams and Borno, that has been in news for several terror attacks, being ranked 25 out of the 36 states in the country.
Oyejola contended that despite the state government’s efforts in merging schools, demolishing old schools and building new ones, the educational standard in the state was worrisome and required urgent revamping.
The cleric said to salvage this situation,Governor Rauf Aregbesola must focus more on the quality of instructions given to pupils and students in the state.
Speaking at the thanksgiving Mass held at St. Benedict Catholic Cathedral in Osogbo to mark the 26th anniversary of the creation of Osun State, Bishop Oyejola, while congratulating the governor and the people of the state noted that “life is more stringent in Osun state and Nigeria as a whole more than it was 26 years ago.”
He said, “I congratulate His Excellency, Governor Rauf Aregbesola on this occasion and felicitate with the entire citizens of the State. We cannot but commend him for the beautiful road networks around the State Capital and in all nooks and crannies of the State. The magnificent school buildings that doted the landscape in the State deserve commendation as well, while I appeal that his Excellency (Aregbesola) should be more interested in the quality of instructions going on in those schools, this is because the national  rating of Osun State’s educational standard presently is quite worrisome.
“We do not belong among the comity of educationally disadvantaged states in Nigeria, but sadly we are now on the same level with Borno and other Boko Haram ravaged States educationally.”
Oyejola also asked Aregbesola to urgently pay the salary arrears of workers and also offset pension cum gratuity arrears of retirees’ to put smiles on the faces of the workers to enhance their productivity.
The Catholic Priest further charged Governor Aregbesola to ensure the completion all the projects before the end of his second term to allow for posterity.
According to Oyejola, “the things we see around us in the state, show that Osun has not been completely static in the past twenty six years. Successive governments have done whatever could be done, for which we are grateful to God. The present government has been remarkable in the effort to improve the outlook of the state, nevertheless, there is need to look into the educational standards obtainable in the state presently and as a matter of urgency bring smiles to the face of the workers by paying them their arrears and entitlements.
“Pope John Paul II in his writing: “Veritatis Splendour” – The Splendour of Truth writes that “no evil done with a good intention can be excused. There are those who say: And why not do evil that good may come? Their condemnation is just (Rom. 3: 8).”
“A thinker, Robert Green once remarked that: “You are judged in this world by how you bring things to an end. A messy or incomplete conclusion can reverberate for years to come, ruining your reputation in the process.” It is on that note  that,  as we celebrate the 26th anniversary of the creation of the State,  the current regime must as a matter of importance complete all ongoing projects in the State, so that an abiding legacy can be left behind for posterity.”