Press Releases

Fashola Gives Recipe For Achievement Of Purposeful Leadership In Nigeria

Feb 6, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), at the weekend made a strong case for the restoration of religious and moral teachings in the nation’s Education system saying this is the only way to achieve a purposeful leadership in the country.

Governor Fashola who spoke as Chief Host at the Golden Jubilee Anniversary of the Birch Freeman High School, Surulere said the reintroduction of these elements is the only way to restore a generation of men and women who fear God, who have compassion and who will truly serve and lead the country to achieve its very rich potentials.

Governor Fashola, who recalled the early Education in the country as introduced by the missioners who laid its foundation, declared, “What has been missing today has been the moral content of our Education”.

“As we build the infrastructure, the leadership schools and institutions and the societies, the Boys’ Scouts, the Girls’ Guides and the Boys’ Brigade that begin to make young men and women to look after themselves and to look after others, we must ensure there is always more than a healthy sprinkle of religious, faith and moral teachings in our Education”, the Governor said.

Governor Fashola lamented that every time history beckons on the country to attain greatness, its leaders seem to turn their backs on it expressing joy, however, that a new generation of men and women are currently emerging who seem ready to confront history and demonstrate that it can be done.

Thanking members of the Old Boys’ Association of Birch Freeman High School for their support and inspiration in attempting to restore the lost glory of the institution, Governor Fashola declared, “I think we could not start at a better place than in an investment in the most valuable asset that our country has, its people; investment in developing skills, in developing knowledge, in building strong men and women of character and knowledge”.

He recalled that in his days in the school, discipline was the hallmark of the institution while naming some of the teachers who, according to him, shaped the integrity of the men and women who today have become prominent leaders in the country.

Recalling the rich facilities with which the school was endowed during his time, Governor Fashola lamented that on his visit to the school after being elected Governor, he was not prepared for the devastation that greeted him as virtually all the facilities including the Science Laboratory and the workshops had disappeared.

He told members of the Old Boys’ Association of the school, “What we are doing is not for ourselves. We do it so that others will have better opportunities than we had. That is the signature that it is possible; that is the signature that truly great things can come out of this nation”.

“I believe that a nation that continues to reinvent itself without electricity, without fuel, and in the face of poverty needs to break the shackles of poverty to achieve its aims and I believe with more women and men like you beginning to step forward to be counted, this nation will achieve its purpose in our lifetime”, the Governor said.

Earlier on Thursday, while turning the sod of a new gate for the institution Governor Fashola had paid glowing tribute to missioners who laid the foundation for Education development in the country.

Governor Fashola told the gathering of students and staff of the school that the role of missioners in the development of Education in the country would always be acknowledged because of the many great and prominent men they produced for the country.

He noted that it was the missioners that founded the school where he and many others, who are today prominent in society, were groomed and given a solid foundation for what they have become in life today.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to this soil because this was the great portal through which I passed, this was the great portal which shaped my life, the great portal which prepared me for my life and that of many of my friends”, the Governor said.

He thanked the Birch Freeman Old Boys’ Association (BIFOBA) for the role they are playing in the redevelopment of the school and declared, “I believe that with God on our side, it is possible to recover the essence and the substance of this institution of human capacity development and continue to hold aloft the torch of the missioners who founded it”.

Turning to the students, the Governor said, “I believe that many more of our country’s leaders are sitting here this morning. I pray for you that you find the path to true greatness”.

Governor Fashola who went down memory lane to relive the glory of the school especially in Sports, also thanked the teachers, present and past, for continuing in the tradition laid down by the founding fathers of the school praying that they would continue to reestablish the school until its past glory is restored.

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the Vice President of BIFOBA, Mr. Feyi Dinyo, said the Governor was invited to both turn the sod of a proposed new gate for the school as well as define the boundary of the school.

The Vice President who observed that some land speculators have already started encroaching on the land that forms part the school’s land area adding that if the boundary is not defined now, more people may come and lay claim to parts of the land.

He thanked the Governor for his continued interest in the school saying the Governor has done much in the last two years to restore the glory of the school and give back something to his alma mater.

Other dignitaries present at the brief turning of the sod ceremony were the President of the Old Boys’ Association of the School (BIFOBA), Mr. Francis Van-Lare, the Chairman of Mushin Local Government Area, Otunba Adepitan, the Principal of the Senior High School, Mr. Christopher Agbonjimi and the staff among other top functionaries of Government while the Founders’ Day Celebration was attended by many of the Old Students of the school from all walks of life.