Former minister for education, Olorogun Barrister Kenneth Gbagi has added his voice to the discourse on the death of Sylvester Oromoni, a Junior School student of Dowen College, Lekki Lagos.
Barrister Gbagi served as minister of state for education during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. During his administration, he made certain reforms and built universities across the country.
The unfortunate death of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr has been making headlines across daily, online newspapers and social media platforms across Nigeria.
While some are calling for the head of the school authority and the alleged killers of the 12-year-old student, others are calling for discreet investigation to unravel the hidden facts in the matter and let unfettered justice be done .
Olorogun Gbagi, who has been at the affairs of education at the federal level said he has been in pains in the past few days the Sylvester Oromoni story has occupied the cyber space.
In a telephone chat with Emerald News, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, a frontline governorship aspirant in Delta state, said he is grieved to see that Nigerians are not willing to accept responsibility for their irresponsibility.
As a former minister who saw the affairs of schools, Gbagi said the operational license of Dowen College should be suspended for at least a year for the school authority to feel the impact of their irresponsibility.
He also said at the expiration of the one year, there should be an overall review of the management’s ability to receive boarding students in the school.
He said from his investigation into the matter, it has been a long time practice of students who come from different homes and family upbringing, hence the onus lies on the school management to do the job of appointing competent housemasters to monitor not more than 15 students in the hostel.
From his investigation, he said the school failed to appoint competent housemasters to run the hostels. He also said the teacher who is reported to have resigned, on the probability that he might not want to be called for questioning must be sanctioned and not allowed into institution of learning in Nigeria.
He said the teacher must be fished out and sanctioned, adding that such teacher is not qualified to work anywhere in Nigeria.
The Delta state governorship aspirant under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, called on parents to take extra steps and allow their children speak to them, ask the children questions regarding their situation in the school. This, in his view, would help to avoid situations as this.
He said he is making efforts to reach out to Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos state commissioner for education, saying the governor and the commissioner both have responsibilities to carry out in the issue on ground.
He insisted that the school must remain sealed until all the issues and investigations are fully carried out and justice done.
Gbagi called for a heart to heart talk with the parents of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr so as to assuage their pains and calm frayed nerves. He told Emerald News that he, as a parent, shared in their pains and griefs
He called on parents whose children are still in tbe school to take precautions, saying: “We should not send our children to school for them to school and be killed.
The guber aspirant commiserated with the parents for the loss of Sylvester Oromoni Jnr.
