…as over 150 students benefit from association’s Back-to-School project
The National Association of Seadogs (NAS), popularly known as Pyrates Confraternity, has called for concerted efforts by governments, parents, community leaders and civil society organisations to tackle educational exclusion and ensure that vulnerable children remain in school.
The association made the call during its “Back-to-School” project in Ajura community, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Speaking at the event, Cap’n of the Ash Montana Deck, Eromosele Emmanuel Okoghe, described education as “the single most powerful equaliser in the world,” stressing that it remained critical to individual development, innovation and national progress.
The initiative, organised by the Ash Montana, Atlantis, Aftashok, Grundziro and Hispaniola Decks under the NAS Street Child Initiative, provided educational materials; including school bags, exercise books, water bottles and other writing materials to vulnerable pupils and students for the new academic session.
No fewer than 150 pupils and students from Orile Igbore Grammar School, Ajura; St John Anglican Primary School, Ajura; and Ilupeju Community Primary School, Ita Ijaye, benefited from the intervention.
Okoghe said despite the recognised importance of education, millions of children in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa continued to face barriers that could keep them out of school.
He said: “despite this universal truth, millions of children across Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa are systematically locked out of their own futures.
“Behind every statistic is a child whose potential is being suffocated by economic hardship. We see families crushed by financial pressure, where the mere cost of a school bag, a uniform or a notebook becomes an insurmountable barrier to learning.”
According to him, children who lack basic educational materials were more vulnerable to dropping out of school or attending classes without the resources required to participate effectively in learning.
He explained that the back-to-school project was designed to provide targeted assistance to vulnerable children aged between six and 12, while drawing attention to the wider challenge of educational inequality.
Okoghe said the initiative was intended to complement government efforts to improve access to basic education, noting that civil society organisations also had a role to play in removing barriers that prevented children from enrolling in and remaining in school.
He urged parents and guardians to prioritise their children’s education, describing access to education as a fundamental right rather than a luxury.
“To the parents and guardians: education is not a luxury; it is your child’s absolute, non-negotiable right. Do whatever it takes to keep them in school,” he said.
He also urged community leaders to protect children’s right to education and encourage regular school attendance.
Addressing the beneficiaries, Okoghe said: “the materials you receive today are your weapons against poverty. Use them to forge a future that no one can ever take away from you.”
He said the project was in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
The NAS leader, however, stressed that addressing educational inequality required sustained intervention beyond the distribution of school materials.
“Eradicating educational inequality requires aggressive advocacy, policy reform and direct grassroots intervention,” he said.
Okoghe called on all stakeholders to take collective responsibility for ensuring that no child was denied education because of poverty.
“We must collectively forge a future that no one can ever take away from our children,” he said.
Also speaking, the Alajura of Ajura, Oba Kassim Adebukola Taiwo, commended the association for supporting schoolchildren in the community.
The monarch said the gesture would go a long way towards helping the beneficiaries achieve their educational aspirations.
He urged the students to reciprocate the gesture by becoming more committed to their studies and determined to excel academically, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.
Similarly, Mrs Funmi Biobaku of the Obafemi Owode Local Government Zonal Education Office 1, commended the Seadogs for supporting government efforts to improve access to education.
Biobaku urged the students to shun absenteeism, negative peer influence and other behaviours capable of undermining their educational pursuits.
She also appealed to parents to cooperate with teachers in the upbringing and education of their children.
She decried instances where some parents allegedly confronted teachers whenever their children were disciplined in school, stressing the need for stronger collaboration between parents and schools.
