OPENING REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, HIS EXCELLENCY (DR.) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI, MBBS, CON, AT THE PUBLIC HEARING ORGANISED BY THE JOINT SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (BASIC AND SECONDARY) AND HEALTH – ON THE POOR LIVING CONDITIONS IN QUEEN’S COLLEGE AND THE DEATHS OF THREE STUDENTS – HELD ON JANUARY 22, 2018.
PROTOCOL.
1.I thank the Chairman and members of the Joint Senate Committee on Education (Basic and Secondary) and Health for inviting me to declare open this very important Public Hearing, which focuses on the Poor Living Conditions in Queens College, Lagos, and the Deaths of Three Students resulting therefrom.
2.It is reassuring to see that this Public Hearing is eventually taking place in spite of the long drawn out challenges that had delayed the early meeting of relevant stakeholders on the matter.
3.The sad and unfortunate events of February 2017, when the nation woke up to news of a health scare that culminated in the deaths of three students of Queen’s College, Yaba, Lagos – remain fresh in the memory. The situation involved a diarrhoea outbreak among the student population, which in itself arose from a lethal cocktail of administrative incompetence. The tragic turn of events is most regrettable, and should give cause for reflection about the state of many of our schools. The least this country can do to honour the memory of the innocent children that died, is to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter – and that is why we are here.
4.We must see to it that all who are found culpable are brought to book, punitive actions taken as may be necessary, and remedial measures put in place to ensure this never happens again. We lost three promising girls – Vivian Osuinyi, Bithia Itulua and Praise Sodipo. They had so much to live for, and we owe it to them to ensure that justice is done.
5.A situation whereby school infrastructure is allowed to deteriorate to such an extent – and yet no one is held accountable – says a lot about our commitment as a nation to issues of governance in general and the management of schools in particular.
6.A lot has been said about the parlous state of the Nigerian education sector. This is made worse by the increasingly degraded infrastructure and unhealthy living conditions of many Federal Government Secondary Schools, especially the boarding colleges. This is unacceptable.
7.As we all know, education is a great instrument for the socio-political and economic development of any nation. Moreover, the strength, security and well-being of Nigeria rests squarely on the quality of education provided for her citizens. The youths are the future of this country. That includes youngsters like the hundreds of affected students that visited the sickbay of Queen’s College in the space of just one month during the outbreak. It includes the thousands more who have to make do with dilapidated and unsanitary school facilities up and down the country. What mindset do we expect of these leaders of tomorrow, when we cannot even ensure basic decency in their educational experience at the present time?
8.It is the responsibility of government to ensure the provision of necessary infrastructure such as electricity, pipe-borne water, classroom blocks, lecture halls and so on, in our public schools. Our school laboratories, workshops and vocational centres should be adequately equipped with functional and modern facilities.
9.It is my hope that this Public Hearing will not only address itself to what happened at Queen’s College, but also take a holistic look at the problem of deteriorating infrastructure in our various Federal Government owned Secondary schools – and come up with specific recommendations on how government can end the rot and restore glory to our schools.
10.I thank members of the Queen’s College Old Girls Association for bringing this matter to my attention in the first instance; and also Distinguished Senator Binta Masi Garba – for moving the motion that paved the way for this Public Hearing.
11.Let me reiterate the commitment of the Senate to ensuring that no effort is spared in providing a conducive learning environment for our students. We will not waver in giving our education sector great priority and stimulating a turnaround, by seeing to the revival and revalidation of structures in the various schools.
12.Accordingly, I urge you all to make your submissions at this Public Hearing with courage and conviction, led by your conscience.
13.The nation looks forward to your findings, as I now formally declare this Public Hearing open.
Thank you.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
