MERCY SAMUEL CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY IN STYLE. ..ALSO GODTIME UGBEBU

MERCY
SAMUEL CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY IN STYLE. ..ALSO GODTIME UGBEBU
By Gabriel
Mokobia
Miss Mercy
Samuel of N0 51, Iregwa Lane Agbor-Obi in Ika South Local Government
Area, on Sunday October 9, 2011 celebrated her birthday with her
friends, family members and well-wishers.
In his
address, the Chairman of the occasion, Chief Dr. Yomi Oduselu Hassan
accompanied by his wife, Chief (Mrs.) Mabel Oduselu Hassan
congratulated the celebrant, Miss Mercy Samuel on her birthday,
saying that it is a good thing for one to remember the day one was
born on mother earth. Chief Oduselu, who is the Ekwueme 1 of Akumazi
kingdom described the occasion as a great one, considering the large
turn out of invited guests.
On her
part, Miss. Mercy Samuel expressed gratitude to God for adding one
more year to her years on mother earth. She thanked her friends and
well wishers for attending her birthday celebration, praying God to
bless them immensely.
In the same
vein, Little Master Godstime Ugbebu whose parent lives along Ogbuefo
street Agbor-Obi celebrated his fourth year anniversary with his
mother and other siblings. The celebration which took place on Sunday
October 9, 2011 also witnessed the presence of little children,
friends and well wishers of the family members.

 

MISS
MARTINA CHUKWUMA DISTRIBUTES GIFTS TO ORPHANAGE

By
Gabriel Mokobia

A
National Youth Service Corps (N.Y.S.C) member, serving at Idumuesah
Secondary School, in Ika North-east Local Government Area, Miss
Martina Chukwuma has donated some gifts items to Job Orphanage
situated along Upper Imudia Street, Agbor.

Making
her donation, Miss Martina said that, considering the very hash
economic condition in the country, it is not so easy gathering and
taking care of young ones, especially in an Orphanage. She said that
it is an enormous task to train up such children that are from
different backgrounds. She prayed God to continue to bless the
Proprietor of the Orphanage, Prophet Joseph Igbodo for the good work
he is doing.

Miss
Martina Chukwuma used the opportunity to call on kind-spiritual
individuals and organizations to always remember the poor and the
less privileged in their midst, saying that by so doing, God will
always bless them.

Receiving
the donated gifts on behalf of the children, the lady in charge of
the orphanage thanked Miss Martina for her gifts. She prayed that God
will continue to bless her in her future endeavours.

Some
of the items donated include bathing and washing soaps, rolls of
toilet paper, family biscuits and sugar.

 

 
  THE
COMMITTEE ON HANDOVER OF SCHOOLS BACK TO THE MISSIONS OR ORIGINAL
OWNERS.

The
Nigerian educational history and development started during the
colonial period with missions leading the way.

Initially
their aim was to make communication possible between them and
Nigerians during business transactions and spreading of the Gospel.
In the words of Rev. J.T. Bowan in 1857.
“Our
design and hopes in regards to African are not simply to bring as
many individuals as possible to the knowledge of Christ. We desire to
establish the gospel in the hearts and minds and social life of the
people, so that truth and righteousness may remain and flourish among
them, without the instrumentality of foreign
missionaries. This cannot be done with
civilization. To establish the Gospel among any people, they must
have bibles and therefore, have the art to make them or the money to
buy them. They must read the bible and this implies instruction”.

From
the above two main issues can be noticed;.

(i) The missionaries knew that one day they would leave
Africa and allow the citizens to take their destiny in their hands

(ii.) That the natives should have and read the bible
but in so doing their should be instructed. They did not aim to make
professors out of Nigerians. But time and interest in education led
to the expansion of educational institutions just as their business
was also expanding.

As a result, the Nigerian educational history had three
main phases.

i. The lack of interest of the colonial government in
the education of Nigerian citizens (it was not part of their mission)
which left the education on the Christian missions.

ii. The slow and gradual interest of the colonial
government in “our’ education which crystallized into a “dual
control” system of education with government and voluntary agencies
as partners.

iii. The full take over of the responsibility of
educating the citizenry by the government some years after
independence.
Having gone
this far, we now want to move behind the “starting block” to hand
back schools to their original owners. Is it progressive, to return
us to the sender? Is this not a mark of growth without development.

Ian Smith in this unilateral declaration Independence
of Zimbabwe (U.D.I) gave as his reason for U.D.I the inability of the
Africans to govern themselves. And Chief Sam Mbakwe as Governor of
old Imo state wished that we will be recolonised. Today, it seems we
are joining this sad call by starting with the contemplation of
handing back schools to their original owners. I am diametrically
opposed to the proposal for the following obvious reasons.

1. Schools were not the only colonial institutions taken
over by government even their business /investments were taken over.
It shall be a wrong signal as it may lead to a chain of events whose
consequences one may not be able to hazard for now.

2. Without asking for reasons behind this idea, the duty
and obligation to education to educate the citizenry is that of the
government not of the missions. We must see education as a national
investment which responsibility should not be abdicated to agencies.
We can not assert that education is the most important legacy a
government can bequeath to the nation and find excuses for not giving
it.

3. When the schools were in the hands of the missions,
they made use of Nigerians as teachers. Even products of primary
schools were recruited as teachers as soon as they graduated at their
level and yet standards were high. Therefore, whatever lapses in our
educational development in terms of “standard” is not because
government took over schools but because of changes in our value
system and “generation gap”. The environment within which the
younger generations are being brought up has expanded with new
attractions and expectations. The clamour for “good life”
whatever that means has led to laxity on the part of parents and
teachers alike.

4. The yardstick for measuring success in life is now
money with or without education and the younger ones want to become
‘big’ in a hurry. In the past, ordinarily, it was difficult to
see someone riding car without government loan. Today it is now a
thing of the past. Infact the professors do not own cars and not
“rich” by Nigerian standard. What attraction has education for
the younger ones in such a society, they would want to query.

5. About moral laxity among the youths, it is still a
product of the system. There are more churches and more crime,
because people now preach what they do not practice. There is no more
exemplary leadership.

6. It will be difficult to differentiate now between the
teachers of one agency and the other. In other wards who are
Catholic, C.M.A., or Baptist teachers now? If we return structures
can we return the personnel?

7. Remuneration of personnel.- Teaching and non teaching
staff. Who will be responsible for teachers/ workers salaries? Are we
going to revert to the old system of Grants –In Aid for the running
of schools?

8. Implication to trades Unionism: If schools are taken
over or rather handed back to their owners will teaching be
unionized? The N.U.T. stated far back 1931 and yet it was not
possible to have a central condition of service for teachers because
each voluntary agency gave the conditions it was ready and able to
implement. There was no unified teaching condition.

Since it is the duty of the government to provide
education for her citizens, there should be no excuses for wanting to
return schools to their original owners. Infact there are no more
owners of schools. Government has taken them over and they belong to
the government. The vestages of ownership had been removed for good.
To improve on the present situation I have the following suggestions
rather than hand back schools.