Ogbomoso is unique with our excellent breeding of great men and women – Oyedibu

Ogbomosho is a city in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 454,690 in 2006.. It is the second largest city in Oyo state and also among the most populated in Nigeria. Speaking with Edugist, Enoch Oyedibu a vibrant teacher who teaches English language and literature with characteristic aplomb at Success Tutorial centre shares on the state of education in Ogbomoso and his community.

Endowed with the midas touch, Enoch, is currently blazing the trail in education and media in Ogbomoso, Oyo state.With several media publications in the bag, Enoch is a teacher, writer, publisher, author and the editor of Pijalance magazine. In this exclusive interview with Edugist, he shares his journey from failure to success and the state of education in Ogbomoso. Excerpts:

Education in Ogbomoso, Oyo state, what’s your view?

The status is not stable in terms of performance of students and teachers. The government may be contributing its part, however, little effect of the effort is showing. Nearly five months ago, WAEC delisted 50 schools for alleged examination of malpractices.

Despite this, I am sure, we still have ‘miracle centres’ in Oyo and other parts of Nigeria. And this is the issue. The economy of the country, in all ways, is not helping. The Oyo State government has reduced the number of out-of-school children, although I have yet to see any statistics to prove that.

Describe your education in this environment from primary to secondary.

Quick one. I attended Baptist Theological Seminary Nursery and Primary school, Victory Nursery and Primary school, Zoe Nursery and Primary, Anglican Grammar School, Aroje/Abaa Grammar School and Nurudeen High School (now Grammar School).

Can you talk about your education personally and how you were able to scale through it?

My WAEC was a failure in 2015 but my NECO was an advantage that landed me a chance to be admitted among the daily part time students of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree in 2016/2017.

Taking both WAEC and NECO was a battle as it was at a time when high priority was placed on science and commercial classes and at a time when I experienced an unprecedented transition from the best private schools to public schools, maybe not the best. I attended public schools my mother can afford after I lost my dad at the age of 5 years.

As a secondary school student, preparing for WAEC and NECO, I first attended a school where they don’t have art teachers and I’d love to be in art class. Teachers and friends tried to convince me to migrate to science class because of my good JS 3 grades, but I remained adamant.

I would go on to spend my first and second term SS 1 with them without taking Literature, Government, History, CRS —as core subjects for art students. I was made to take other subjects not in line with my study. By the time I was ejected from the school to another public school, thought to be a better one, the government of the day had banned History in our schools and even the state government decided to not pay all our fees for WAEC and NECO. It said our parents must pay. That was during the Late Abiola Ajimobi tenure in Oyo State.

Getting to the school, I took their third term examination to be promoted to the SS2, I was only repeated. Funnily enough, I passed but they said because I didn’t do first and second term with them, I must repeat the class. It was one Yoruba Teacher that came to my aid and told them I passed, and that I am a brilliant student before they promoted me.

The school, at the end, didn’t also have a literature teacher. We were like that until our final year when we were already preparing for WAEC and NECO when one man, maybe was hired temporarily, to take us in literature. Out of about 16 books we were meant to read, the man successfully read half of the Tempest by Shakespeare for us and we started the examination. However, my personal zest, reading and my mother who dedicated herself to become my personal teacher, helped me to scale through.

In the end, I failed WAEC but passed NECO.

Today, I promised a book in Literature for students preparing to take WAEC, Jamb and NECO.

Mention the name of your primary and secondary schools and which one helped shape you as a teacher

I attended Baptist Theological Seminary Nursery and Primary school as my first ever school, then, Victory Nursery and Primary School. When I lost my dad, I waited at home for few years, then, resumed back to Zoe Nursery and Primary school, later migrated to Anglican Grammar School, Aroje/Abaa Grammar School then, Nurudeen High School (Now Nurudeen Grammar School), LAUTECH Area, Under G, Ogbomoso.

I can attest, all the schools added to my wealth of experience today and shaped me as a literary tutor. But I give it to Nurudeen High School, it is the best.

How do you think the Government can advance education in your environment and what are the challenges?

The government should be kind to teachers and employ sufficient teachers, give students reasons to study and be strict on any school or student that violates the rules of a standard academic education.

My challenge is that I was starved of teachers to take my art subjects, many are experiencing something similar, and many would still do…the general challenges are the same from the years we’ve known, examination malpractices, corrupt and unqualified teachers taking work with levity…not even knowing what they’re teaching. When a student comes to the knowledge that he/she knows more than their teachers, the morale of the student starts to reduce and pride will be welcomed which will eventually destroy the students totally.

Besides, students need financial support in the form of scholarships. In my set, we had brilliant students who are today, not in higher institutions. Many have had their own families while many are learning a trade. They cannot afford the cost of education, nowadays.

If the government can put the necessary measures in place and even boost students’ morale by sponsoring the best students’ to universities, if we record academic failure in our schools, it will be to bare minimum.

What makes Ogbomoso unique in the state and how many tertiary institutions are in the community?

Ogbomoso is unique with our excellent breeding of great men and women. We’re vibrant, active, resilient and peaceful.his is why it is often said any place you find yourself and you can’t find an Ogbomoso man or woman, run.

Ogbomoso, until 2022, has only one tertiary institution. But Federal Polytechnic Ayede has been established and work is ongoing to complete the campus.

How do students behave in your community, how many schools are within the area?

We’ll always have bad eggs and the miracle workers who will always believe without working (reading) they will come off successful, however, while those ones are always left with ‘had I known’ phrase at the end, nowadays the level of seriousness I have seen in most students is alarming and I hope that will be kept and increased as time goes by.

I am not sure about the count of schools but in my area there should be more than 16 or so.

Funding and infrastructure are major educational issues, do you think your area is covered?

Last time I checked, I saw new buildings and distribution of books and a combined past questions for WAEC and NECO students. Public school students have been mandated to not pay levies again, as well in Oyo.

There is this notion that students from Ogbomoso are involved in cybercrime and fraud because of their materialistic urge and gusto, is this true?

This is an absolute lie. Historically, Ogbomoso people are known to be HEROES/HEROINES who place High Priority on WORKING (handy work) and being consistent with it, the only way to accumulate wealth.

The inglorious urge and unceremonious gusto for material things started when nonresident students of LAUTECH started coming to study and subsequently discovered the devious ways of accumulating fast wealth called “Yahoo Yahoo”. These students were not Ogbomoso Indigenes but as we would have it, they have taught some of our lazy indigenous youths too, the way and that was how it started. However, describing the entire Ogbomoso students as ones doing cybercrime is heresy.

Tell me about your tertiary education, passion for education and how you balance your time?

From my childhood, even, from my story of choosing art class over science, I have been a kind of rigid person who always does anything I am convinced about.

I was never convinced to go to a polytechnic but when I got there, I discovered my path.

Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, where I studied Mass Communication both as a national diploma (ND) and higher national diploma (HND) student, is a wonderful institution that will make and break you. If you’re a clever and an inquisitive student, like me, seeking for knowledge, when you get to a higher institution like OSPOLY in Mass Communication Department, you’ll want to join NAMACOS Editorial Board (a board of campus journalists) and M.A.D Men family that are readers gang that will help you grow, academically.

I had had it in mind to become an architect, however, when I gained admission to OSPOLY to study Mass Communication, I discovered my passion and my purpose, as a human being, to be achieved through journalism. I joined NEB under Kehinde Oyewo, editorship,I learnt how to write under different tutors of the board, how to source for news, how to become a good journalist, and during my HND, I became its editor-in-chief.

My passion for education is as a result of where I was coming from. Despite my desire for knowledge and my mother’s dedication for me to succeed, I was seriously starved of a good education at points in my life.

I currently sandwiched my time between the crevices of journalism at PIJAlance Magazine and teaching of Literature, English and Government at Success Tutorial Centre, Ogbomoso.

And as a writer, publisher and educator, I balance my time because of my passion and dedication.