Soyinka hails Northern teachers, pupils for fighting for education

•Lagos wins Lafarge Literacy Competition

NOBEL laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has lauded teachers and pupils from northern states for fighting for education despite challenges they face.

Soyinka, who spoke in a keynote address at the grand finale of the Lafarge National Literacy Competition (LNLC) held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos  yesterday, said he was glad seeing pupils from some northern states in the finals of the competition.

He urged the teachers to keep doing their best to educate children in their care, calling for support from other parts of the country.

Soyinka said: “I was so delighted as I moved up here and I saw representatives of the beleaguered states in this nation.  I saw Nasarawa; I saw Gombe and I saw Kano. These states and others, including Kaduna and Benue, are at the forefront of the literacy struggle because they confront one of the most determined enemies of reading; of literacy; of enlightenment that we have ever experienced in this nation.  And it is a battle, which is still ongoing.  And when I see representatives, especially young representatives of those states in a kind of event that has to do with literature, literacy, education generally, I say to myself the battle not only is not lost but will be won.

“The teachers especially are at the forefront of this battle. I understand the losses which they have made as teachers watching their pupils being taken away yet continuing in this struggle, one feels rejuvenated. I plead with you to continue despite all the odds and to take this message back that you are not alone in this struggle – that we understand that the privation is also ours.”

Soyinka was also full of praise for Dike Chukwumerije, who spoke earlier for doing justice to the benefits of reading – even referring to him as the keynote speaker.

Chukwumerije presented a recitation in which he described how through books, he started travelling the world from age 13.  He challenged pupils to read so they could learn.

He also expressed concern that the high number of children out-of-school would mean that millions would not enjoy his own experience.

“Ah! And where have I not gone?  See, I know that the earth is round, because I read it; that water boils at a hundred degrees centigrade; that an elephant can be pregnant for almost two years; that an ant can carry up to 50 times its own weight… For to read is to take a seat on the only plane in the world on which you can visit anywhere without needing a visa.

“Did you know that in a world where access to knowledge is increasingly determined by the ability to read and understand what you have read, half of our people are locked out of this world?” he said.

The literacy competition, which the Lafarge Country Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Michel Puchercos, said was started in 2014 and had impacted 500,000 pupils, featured creative writing, literary assessment and a spelling bee, which was decided yesterday.

Teams of two pupils represented Gombe, Ebonyi, Kano, Nasarawa, Rivers and Lagos in the final that was won by Idowu Ayomikun of Dairy Farm Nursery and Primary School and Kehinde Lawal of St Augustine Primary School, Somolu.  They each got N250,000 educational grants and a trophy.

Second placed Ebonyi State team got N150,000 each. The third placed team from Gombe State got N100,000.

All 12 finalists were rewarded with laptops.

Minister of State for Education Prof. Anthony Anwukah hailed Lafarge for bridging the gap between rural and urban centres through the competition.

“The Federal Ministry of Education is happy to endorse and work with Lafarge on this journey to enhance literacy development in public primary school pupils as well as reduce illiteracy in Nigeria,” he said.