The Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, has called on secondary school students in the state to fully embrace the Spirit of Lagos’ School Challenge initiative, aimed at bringing about solutions to some of the social problems the students face in their communities.
The Deputy Governor gave the charge on Thursday at the State Secretariat, Ikeja, when the finalist schools in the competition made their project presentations to the Lagos State government.
She said that the initiative, which was in tandem with the state government’s efforts in ensuring overall development of the various communities in the state, would reawaken in the students, the spirit of patriotism, which was the hallmark of development in any community.
According to her, “the Spirit of Lagos’ School Challenge is a noble idea as it seeks to stimulate in the secondary schools students across the state the desire to proffer solutions the social problems facing their communities. It is indeed a laudable step towards inculcating the right attitude to leadership in the younger generation”.
Adefulire added that no society that neglects its leaders of tomorrow could truly be said to be heading towards a greater future noting that the present administration in the state had invested very much in the future of the teenagers and youth in the state in terms of infrastructure and educational support..
The Deputy Governor, while extolling the teachers for assisting their wards in the development of their proposals, noted that, “Lagos State Government is working assiduously to empower the teachers so that in return, they can bequeath the right knowledge and morals on the students”.
She further enjoined the students to see themselves as ambassadors of Lagos State and charged them to imbibe the true Spirit of Lagos, which she described as ‘the love that binds us together’, by obeying all laid down rules and regulations in the school, home and the larger society.
Earlier in her welcome address, Mrs Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya, General Counsel to the Governor of Lagos State, thanked the various schools for their continuous efforts in lifting the Spirit of Lagos higher by striving to complement the state government’s efforts towards making Lagos a place for all.
Also in his remarks, the Spirit of Lagos Project Director, Olaniyi Omotoso congratulated the various schools for their excellent performance and described them all as winners for proposing projects that would help improve the development of their schools.
The competition, which was keenly contested by secondary schools from the six education zones of the state saw Government College Ketu, Epe representing education District 3 emerge the overall winner.
Their presentation centered on the need for people to imbibe the maintenance culture as a habit in order to protect both private and public infrastructure around them.
They developed the SOT (Save Our Treasure) and DIY (Do It Yourself) slogans to drive this maintenance culture among students.
Community Senior Grammar School, Gberigbe, representing education District 2, came second with their presentation tagged ‘Wipe Out Dirt and Litters from CSGS’ community while Ifesowapo Aboru Senior Secondary School, Alimosho, representing education District 1, emerged third with their presentation which focused on ‘Converting Waste to Wealth’ through a device for heating up waste products such as plastics and cellophane to produce crude oil.
Others schools that participated in the competition, include Ajara Senior and Junior Secondary in Badagry, Agidingbi Senior Secondary School, Ikeja among others.
