Former Kwara State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin and Omo Ibile Igbomina on Thursday reacted to the decision taken by the state government to shut down the state College of Education, Oro, calling it ‘best’ course of action.
Omo Ibile Igbomina in a statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by its National President, Chief Bisi Fakayode noted that following the temporary shutdown of the institution in question and the concerns that people have expressed over the issue, the Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Ismail Yahya Alebiosu had called an emergency meeting that was attended by the Oloro of Oro, Oba Joel Oyatoye, Omo Ibile Igbomina leaders, the management of the College of Education, and representatives of the Kwara State Government.
The statement added the meeting held at the headquarters of Omo Ibile Igbomina was presided over by the Olupo of Ajase Ipo and briefings were received from stakeholders including the Oloro of Oro which subsequently led to some resolutions.
‘We therefore observed and resolved as follows:
That we commend the proactive efforts and approach of the government on the matter.
That the government, in truth, acted in the best interest of the public and the decision, while painful, is proactive and inevitable in the face of the available intelligence that was communicated to the meeting.
That the school management was equally right in its assessment of the threat and its communication of same to relevant authorities.
That the current situation calls for calm and balanced assessment to appreciate the weight of the situation and government’s decisions on issues of public importance.
That while we acknowledge the apprehension of members of the public on the issue, we urge them to remain calm and supportive of the government’s decision, which is the best in the circumstance.
That this closure is a temporary setback, which is a safer option than risking the lives of students, teachers, and other citizens.
That we sincerely express our profound appreciation to the Olupo and the Oloro for their fatherly roles in convening the emergency meeting in collaboration with the Omo Ibile Igbomina. We similarly thank the management of the College of Education Oro for the mature handling of the situation, especially the proactive communication to the students and other stakeholders on the issue’ Omo Ibile Igbomina submitted.
In separate statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com , Alhaji Raheem Adedoyin, who is the Oloriewe of Oro kingdom, also made an elucidatory explanation submitting that shutting down the College of Education was a decision taken to ‘prevent fatal security breaches’.
‘As someone well-versed in public communication, I understand the anxiety of our people in Kwara South over the closure of schools in our senatorial district.
Biting hard, Kwara South has indeed been on edge sequel to closure of schools by the government to prevent fatal security breaches.
The premier higher institution in the South, the Kwara State College of education, Oro has been shut down too adding to the agitation.
I have been called out publicly on these matters. It is a great honour to be recognized as a voice of reason on matters that have to do with Kwara South.
The military onslaught against the bloody outlaws (bandits and kidnappers) has intensified. More lethal weaponry has been deployed and the recently recruited and trained forest guards are now in active service in their respective local governments.
The bandits are being dislodged but as they flee, they look for soft targets for ransom negotiations.
No target is softer for mass abduction and vast ransom negotiations than schools where students are easily vulnerable .
Then, the closure of schools arose, out of an abundance of caution.
The good news is that there are assurances from the highest quarters that the schools will be reopened soon- very very soon- as the military, the vigilantes and forest guards flush out the bandits from their dens. There is a date in focus but this cannot be disclosed publicly for security reasons.
The closure of COED, Oro was at the instance of the College authorities which wrote the Government to inform it of a credible intelligence that a bandit strike was evident.
As a community leader In Oro, I spoke with the Provost, the Commissioner for Tertiary education and the governor on this matter. It is good to note that the closure is precautionary and temporary.
Not all information concerning security matters can be in public space but it is reassuring and commendable that the Government forces and our gallant local security apparatus are taking on the bandits and kidnappers headlong.
There is a good ground therefore, for the schools and the college to be reopened soon.
And a challenge to all of us remains: we are at war; being forest guards in our communities, it is a community service and now is the time to safe guard our communities’ he submitted-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
