Legal icon to offer scholarships to indigent pupils in Oke-Ogun

It is the job of the education system to prepare pupils for the
challenges and opportunities of a changing world.
Citizenship is more than a subject.
If taught well and tailored to local needs, its skills and values are capable of enhancing democratic life for all and sundry, both rights and responsibilities, beginning in school and radiating out.
Democracies need active, informed and responsible citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for themselves, their communities and contribute to the political process.
This informed series of Inter-Local Government Quiz Competitions being organized for senior public secondary schools in Oke-ogun areas of Oyo State.
The seventh annual event held recently at Iseyin town, was sponsored by a legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Abiodun Jelili Owonikoko.
In his message, Owonikoko, represented by Alhaji Waheed, said education should lead to an ideal life which is devoted to the
disinterested pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.
Education, according to him, is a ‘’process leading to the
enlightenment of mankind in intellectual growth, emotional maturity
and ethical awareness. Education is not merely to contribute to the
continuity of culture, but to change peacefully and rationally the
material foundations of civilization’’.
He stated that democracies need active, informed and responsible
citizens who are willing and able to take responsibility for
themselves and their communities, as well as contribute to the
political process.
‘’Democracies depend upon citizens who, among other things, are
capable of having an influence on the world, responsible in how they
act as citizens, active in their communities; informed about the
social and political world; articulate in their opinions and
arguments, and responsible in how they act as citizens’’.
These capacities, Owonikoko asserted do not develop unaided, as they
have to be learnt.
‘’ While a certain amount of citizenship may be picked up through
ordinary experience in the home or at schools, it can never in itself
be sufficient to equip the pupils for the sort of active role required
of them in today’s complex and diverse society. If the younger
generations are to become genuinely involved in public life and
affairs, a more explicit approach to citizenship education is
required’’.
The legal icon who is also the Bamofin of Oke-ogun land however
disclosed he would personally attend next year’s competition when
scholarships would be offered to the winners.
The Baale of Oke-Eyin community, high Chief Michael Kehinde Ayoola,
described Chief Owonikoko as ‘’a hardworking  fellow, brilliant
lawyer, renowned scholar and visionary leader whose antecedents of
untainted character, patriotism, selfless service and clarity of
thought have showcased and singled him out of Iseyin and Oke-Ogun in general’’.
Owonikoko hails from Oke-Eyin community in the Iseyin local
government area of Oyo State.
Extolling the qualities of Chief Jelili Owonikoko asa philanthropist
of untainted behaviours , and an Advocate of exemplary character, who
is ready to help and put forward the community he comes from, the
community head noted that this is  more reason why he was conferred
and confirmed as the BAMOFIN of Oke-ogun land.
High chief Ayoola recalled the late father of chief Owonikoko, Alhaji
Kazeem, who he said was an unassuming and visionary community leader,
a freedom fighter, disciplinarian, a great politician, an inestimable
jewel and a sage, who was ready to lay down his life for whatever he
believed in and thought was good.
The State Co-ordinator  of the National Youth Service Corps [NYSC],
represented by  Mrs Ajose, zonal Inspector of NYSC for Ibarapa,
commended the sponsor of the programme for his selflessness, passion
and resilience for the downtrodden and younger generations in
particular.
 Four local governments, Iseyin, Itesiwaju, Kajola and Iwajowa, took
part in the competition, as three senior public secondary schools were
drawn from each of the councils to participate.
At the end of the competition, Iseyin Local Government emerged the
winner, Itesiwaju Local Government took second position in the first
runners up, while Iwajowa Local Government came third in the second
runners  up.