A leading pro-democracy group in Kwara State, Kwara Must Change has charged the state government, to mandate its officials to send their children and wards to public institutions rather than patronizing private institutions starting from 2023.
Convener of the group, Abdulrazaq Hamzat said this on Friday in Ilorin during a press conference organized by the group to reiterate the need for public officials to enroll their wards in public institutions.
He said the deliberation was aimed at compelling public officials to invest faith in public institutions to have moral justification in piloting the affairs of the state.
According to Hamzat, a situation where private institutions are seen as status symbols where children of the wealthy and influential attend while public institutions are for the poor and downtrodden is largely unacceptable in any society.
“We understand that the only major difference between private and public schools is the level of commitment to upholding standard and service delivery, which can be adequately corrected through effective monitoring and adequate supervision. Providing this adequate monitoring and supervision, we believe can be given the required attention, only when public officials share in the gains and pains of public institutions”
“It is clear that the Kwara State government is investing heavily on education infrastructure, it is equally investing on human resources, one of which is the recent recruitment of best of teachers through the transparent and merit-based approach. What is left to complete the transformation process is to create standards, through effective coordination of teachers and administrators and consistent monitoring of students. This can only be achieved when those saddled with this responsibility also have a stake in the output of their input”, Hamzat said.
In his submission, he however commended Governor Abdulrazaq Abdulrahman for taking an unprecedented step by assenting into law, Political Offices ( Gender Composition) Bill at a landmark event, themed ‘Cracking The Glass Ceiling; A Story of Kwara Women” aimed at celebrating women achievers in the state.
The Bill, which mandates it on any successive governments in Kwara State to ensure both male and female have a minimum of 35% and maximum 65% representation in the government, which he described as an advancement for the advocacy of Kwara Must Change group.
The statement also reads, “It is important at this juncture, to refresh our mind about the origin of this new wave of advocacy for gender parity in Kwara State.
“On May 27th, 2019, precisely 2 days before Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq took over the government of Kwara State as the executive governor, our organization, Kwara Must Change, which is a leading Pro-Democracy group in Kwara State held the first Kwara Women Summit in the history of the state, to set agenda for the new administration on gender parity in governance.”
“At the end of the first Kwara Women Summit, a communique was released on May 28th, 2019, the recommendation of which demanded at least, 50% women cabinet positions in the state”
“From that day onward, Kwara Must Change championed the advocacy for women to have at least, 50% of cabinet positions, and advocacy that we not only took to the highest authority but became a major talking point in kwara polity and provided needed sensitization to the public.”
“Upon assumption of office as governor and in the magnanimity of his excellency, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the governor forwarded to the Kwara State House of Assembly, more than 56% women cabinet members, which is the best in history of Nigeria, Africa and indeed, one of the best in the world”.
Hamzat added that the gender parity advocacy which started like a child’s play gradually grew into a landmark achievement.
He appealed to all stakeholders in the State to join the group to advocate the need for public officials to enroll their wards in public institutions, saying that the mission will rightly position Kwara State as a model for good examples.
