Senator Babafemi Ojudu, flanked by Ado Grammar School S S 2 students
The joy was unhidden, enthusiasm peaked and the students were visibly elated. Like a wild bush fire just gaining momentum, the forlorn looks on the faces of the students of Ado Grammar School, alma mater of the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, dissolved to that of hope and then joy. This was as Ojudu, who paid them an unscheduled visit took them through the labyrinth of his thorny journey from grass to grace.
The visit took the management, staff and students of Ado Grammar School, where the presidential aide was student between 1973 and 1977, by surprise. And what looked like a flat visit soon transmuted to a moment of career counselling that gave the seemingly depressed student the needed tonic that would energise them to their points of success.
Senator Ojudu, while addressing the students, encouraged them to be painstaking in their academic works, respect their teachers and be of good behaviour both in the school and in the society at large. “I am Senator Babafemi Ojudu and I am a Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria. I was once like you. I was seating on a chair like the ones you are seating on. I was wearing the same uniform you are wearing. At that time, I was in Akinyele House. I was the House Captain of my House.
“Because I worked hard, I gained admission into the university after my studies here; I later got a job and soon after had a business of my own. I contested election as a lawmaker in 2011 and became a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between 2011 and 2015. I am presently the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters.”
The students listened in rapt attention with occasional nods to the reassuring words coming from a poster child like them. And suddenly they seem unable to cage their emotions and encouragement. As if responding to orders from some invisible spirits, they broke into spontaneous clapping and cheering, their faces lighted up in hope for a better tomorrow.
But Ojudu is not done yet. He promised them that he would ensure they become the students of their dreams; students with decent shelter, tidy uniforms, pleasant academic environment and promising future. According to him, a lot of plans are underway to ensure that students no longer study in pains but in comfort while the society would be so purged to ensure that people live with their dignity being the priority of government.
“On your parts, I encourage you to be good students. With hard work and dedication, you can be whatever you want to become in life. You don’t have to dupe people to survive; you don’t have to be thugs to politicians because the end to all of these is doom. Be a good student and be focused on what you want to be in life,” he advised.
The students, high in spirit, promised that they would be more committed to their studies and vowed to be of good behaviour always.
Ojo Odunayo, a S. S. 2 student who spoke with the reporter said he had never had it so good. “I am so much encouraged. Seeing the Senator talking to us like a father is a booster to our morale. I am so happy. I will put in my best to ensure I also be like him one day. He has really motivated a lot of us by his kind words.”
Ganiyu Simbiat, a female student in the senior class also corroborated what Odunayo said, saying she wished that every other days could be like today. “We are well motivated, the spirit is high and we now have hope for a better tomorrow. I am confident that if Senator Ojudu could climb from this same place to the height he has attained today, there is hope for us if we also remain focused, dedicated and determined to get to the top,’ she said.
But a quick look around the school gives a picture of a former quality school now waning under inadequate care by government. The Science Laboratory was in shambles and visibly deserted. Everything about the school which was once one of the big names in the state, suggests desertion and government seemingly unwillingness to upgrade the collapsing facilities.
Ojudu however promised a better day, saying: “Better days are coming to our schools in Ekiti. I am coming to make a case for the masses in this state. Our schools shall wear new looks. The teachers shall have good reward for their service. Dignity will come back to the profession and our parents shall no longer be molested on the streets by those raping us by mopping up our collective patrimony and throwing crumbs at us. Ekiti shall rise again,” he assured.
