Outrage Grows Over Oyo School Attack As Stakeholders Call For Victims’ Rescue

  Condemnations have continued to trail the recent attack and kidnapping in three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, with many describing the incident as barbaric, disturbing, and a threat to education and public safety. Among those who reacted to the attack were the Senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District, Yunus Akintunde; an All Progressives Congress governorship aspirant, Ololade Bakare; and the Sooko Agoriesin of Ile-Ife, Oladotun Hassan. The attack on three schools in the Ahoro-Esinele/Yawota axis of Ogbomoso in Oriire LG led to the killing of no fewer than two persons, the abduction of seven teachers, and the abduction of more than 30 students. Viral videos showed some of those abducted asking the government to intensify efforts to secure their release, and the gruesome killing of one of the abducted teachers. Governor Seyi Makinde, during a broadcast on the incident, said security agencies had already arrested six suspects and three other persons of interest. Reacting on Monday, Akintunde, in a statement made available to journalists, described the attack on schools and innocent children as painful and unacceptable. Akintunde said, “My heart goes out to the affected pupils, teachers, parents, and the entire communities. An attack on innocent children and places of learning is painful and unacceptable.” He commended security agencies and the Oyo State Government for their swift response to the incident, while urging them to intensify efforts to rescue all abducted victims safely. The senator also called for the immediate prosecution of those responsible for the attack, stressing that insecurity must not disrupt learning or create fear among residents. On her part, Bakare condemned the abduction of the students and teachers, describing the incident as a “heinous and cowardly attack.” He said, “The targeting of our schools is a disgrace and a betrayal of our collective responsibility to safeguard the future of our children. “Oyo State, with its proud history as a centre of learning and civilisation, must not be reduced to a place where students are hunted, and educators are terrorised.” The APC chieftain blamed the worsening insecurity on what he termed the failure of leadership, insisting that urgent and decisive action must be taken to restore public confidence. Bakare urged security agencies to intensify rescue operations to ensure the safe return of the abducted victims, warning that “anything less than urgent action is unacceptable.” Also reacting, Hassan described the killings as barbaric, wicked, and unacceptable, noting that schools should remain safe spaces for learning and moral development. He called on security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue all victims still in captivity and ensure that perpetrators are arrested and prosecuted. Hassan also advocated for stronger collaboration among security agencies, local vigilantes, hunters, OPC, and Agbekoya groups to improve surveillance of vulnerable communities and schools. The monarch further appealed to the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, and the Osun State Government to convene the second edition of the Yoruba Obas Conference to address rising insecurity, kidnappings, and violent attacks across Yorubaland. He urged Nigerians to support security operations through vigilance and intelligence sharing, stressing that insecurity could only be defeated through collective commitment and unity.

Stakeholders Renew Call To End HND-Degree Disparity

  Some stakeholders in polytechnic education on Friday called for elimination of the disparity between Bachelor’s Degree and Higher National Diploma. In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos, the stakeholders said that ending the disparity would foster a more inclusive and equitable education system. The Rector of Yabatech, Dr Ibraheem Abdul, called for implementation of Federal Government’s policy on Bachelor’s Degree/HND parity. “This should be reflected on recruitment, promotions, and career progression. The Federal Government should upgrade some well-established polytechnics to degree-awarding institutions or convert them to universities of technology, with a strong focus on practical skills,” he said. The rector also urged upgrade of the polytechnic curriculum in a bid to address the dichotomy. Abdul said that Post Graduate Diploma, to some extent, had bridged the gap between Bachelor’s Degree and HND as it afforded polytechnic graduates an opportunity to further education. “PGD is leading to career progression in some cases, but in many cases, Bachelor’s Degree is still being given preference. Emphasis is mostly placed on Bachelor’s Degree. “Absence of a Bachelor Degree could still hunt a diploma graduate. I think the best decision should be for HND graduates to go for a conversion programme with relevant professional qualifications and certifications to be at par with first degree holders,” he said. The Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Yaba College of Technology Chapter, Mr Ojo Monday, said that the dichotomy had hindered the growth of polytechnic education in Nigeria. Monday said that the dichotomy had remained a major threat. “The way out is conversion of polytechnics to universities as done in the United Kingdom or adopting the model of polytechnic universities with greater emphasis on hand-on skill and vocational training. “Post Graduate Diploma is not even bridging the Bachelor’s Degree/HND gap, In a normal circumstance, PGD is supposed to close the gap but in reality it is not so,” he told NAN. A HND graduate, who gave her name simply as Silvia, said, “We need a government policy to drive a change of perception. “This is because HND holders have faced challenges in the job market, often feeling marginalised. “It will be the in right direction to be on same page with degree holders. Our qualification is being undervalued.” The polytechnic graduate told NAN that eliminating the disparity would not only boost the confidence of HND graduates but would also enable Nigeria to tap more into the vast potential of polytechnic education. NAN reports that the battle for equality of HND and Bachelor’s Degree, which began long ago, recorded a major leap in 2021 when the Senate and House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting discrimination. The House of Representatives passed the bill in June while the Senate passed it in November. The “Bill for an Act to Abolish and Prohibit Dichotomy and Discrimination between First Degree and Higher National Diploma in the Same Profession/Field for the Purpose of Employment and for Related Matters” prohibits discrimination between HND and bachelor’s degree, and prescribes equality. However, the bill has yet to be signed into law. Thus, holders of HND in the civil service are unable to be promoted beyond level 14 no matter how competent and committed they are. NAN  

2025 Budget: Oyo Govt To Hold 6th Consultative Stakeholders’ Engagement

In line with its tradition of engaging residents of Oyo State to seek their inputs in the preparation of the state’s annual budgets, the state government will, on Wednesday, kick-start the sixth consultative engagement with stakeholders across the state with a view to producing a people-oriented 2025 Budget. The annual stakeholders’ engagement will begin at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, with subsequent town hall meetings to be held across the seven zones of the state. Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Prof. Musbau Babatunde, stated this at the weekend, noting that the meeting, which is the sixth in the series of the Town Hall meetings organised by the state since the inception of Governor Makinde’s administration in 2019, was “designed to engage the citizenry in the preparation and implementation of the state’s Annual Budget for the year 2025.” He added that “this year’s engagement is set to redefine the governance initiative of this administration. This programme is designed to align the state with the world best practices in the preparation of annual budgets, which support an all-inclusive and open approach to governance, rather than the top to bottom approach. “The objectives of this approach are; to restructure our processes to establish a solid base for our development aspirations. The restructuring is still ongoing and will extend to all facets of state development and to prevent the state from overdependence on federal allocation by increasing the state IGR and make our budget as realistic and as achievable as possible.” The Professor of Economics added that the stakeholders’ meeting will also strengthen the bond between government and the people of the state by seeking their inputs into 2025 budget. “Apart from ensuring that resource allocations are geared towards impactful projects and programmes implementation that will improve the welfare of the citizenry, this year Town Hall meeting will also seek to build people’s confidence in government. “This engagement will improve the performance of the budget and sustain the developmental objectives of this administration,” Babatunde added.