A royal gift

Editorial

 

Abolarin College’s name does not ring a bell like many other schools in the country. Understandably so, given the vision and mission statement of its founder, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, the Orangun of Oke-Ila in Osun State.

The school, located in a border community with Ekiti State, has indigence as its main criterion for admission. The students learn in a relatively conducive environment, with about 28 of them in a class, far better than what obtains even in some private schools.

Abolarin College has virtually all facilities not only for academic work but also for recreational and vocational activities.

The students are trained on how to farm and cook. Their cultural/dramatic group performs at the social functions of some national figures during which they are given pep talks about how to be great in life.

Today, many of the 131 students in the school are from different parts of the country. The head boy, for instance, is from Abraka in Delta State; there is John Chigoze from Ebonyi State; there are also Elizabeth and Okebe from Benue; Fatimah, a Fulani.

Many of them used to hawk, some were in correctional centres, some others were simply following their parents to farms while others roamed the streets without any aspirations until they were admitted into the school where all their needs: from toiletries to three square meals a day, school uniforms, books, bags, shoes and house wears are provided, free of charge, by Oba Abolarin.

The testimonies of some of the students make the difference between hope and hopelessness. Emmanuel Makinde, 14 years, who hopes to read Law came to the school from a juvenile home in Ile-Ife, Osun State, said: “I don’t even want to meet my parents anymore, especially my mother who walked out on me, until I become successful and I have what it takes to take care of both of them.

Since I was admitted into the school, I have been made to realise the meaning of hard work, to believe in one’s ability and to be determined, as all of these bring success. I want to be successful and I know I am in the right school”.

Similarly, Stella Adeola, an orphan from Epe in Ekiti State gave her testimony: “My father died before I was born, while my mum died while I was a baby, so I did not really know them.

Kabiyesi has provided parental care and I am now unstoppable. I want to study civil law so that I can advocate for orphans whose parents’ property were taken over by their relatives and thereby truncating their dreams.” The stories of many of the students in the school are equally tears-evoking.

But the students are so comfortable in the school that many of them did not want to go home despite the forced holiday by the coronavirus pandemic.

It is instructive that some of these ex-street boys and girls are now scared of the streets. “If I go back home, my parents will not have time to care for me and I don’t want to be lured by the antics of boys while wandering around”, one of them who opted to remain in school said.

So determined are they that one of the students scored 266 in the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and is now seeking admission to the University of Lagos.

Oba Abolarin made a profound statement in a television interview when he said he did not go to the university to become a traditional ruler.

He went to school so he could be educated and also contribute his quota to society’s development. Apparently this is what informed his decision to establish his college.

His example is giving a new narrative to the enviable roles traditional rulers can play in the society. For instance, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja 11, has also been leveraging his influence to attract significant youth empowerment schemes to his domain, and even beyond.

The more traditional rulers and indeed well-endowed Nigerians buy into laudable initiatives such as these, the better for the society.

They don’t have to be stupendously rich to make their impact felt. Everyone acting according to the size of their pockets and influence, or both, will go a long way in redefining the role of traditional institutions in this age and time.

Oba Abolarin rightly noted that he is helping the poor not only to leave a lasting legacy, but also because such philanthropic gestures are necessary to make the children of the poor allow the elite and their children sleep with their two eyes closed. If only all those who are blessed understand this fact of life.

We commend Oba Abolarin for this laudable project without ethno-religious borders. We also commend those who have been supporting him to sustain this legacy project and urge other philanthropic institutions and individuals to respond to their needs, especially in the area of science teachers that they so sorely require.