Parents Panic As Osun State Government Redistributes Students To Make Way For Bola Tinubu’s Mall

Parents of school-age pupils in Osun State were today gripped by panic as the government told students that they would be reassigned to different schools upon resumption of classes. Earlier, the state government had postponed the resumption of schools by two weeks, stating that it was reforming education. The postponement expired today. Students showed up at their old schools today and were greeted with new lists of their assignment to different schools. The government ordered the students to begin moving their personal effects to their new schools. Numerous parents said they were distraught that their children poured into the streets, trying to locate their new schools. Some of them carried their chairs and desks. “This is a crazy policy,” one parent said. He added that the so-called education reform was part of the state education board’s efforts to cover up Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s disastrous decision to convert Fakunle High School into a site for a Shop Rite mall. Several critics of the government’s policy accused the governor of acting in the interest of his political benefactor, former Governor Bola Tinubu, who is reported to be the owner of the proposed mall. One source stated that the “reform” idea came up after alumni of the Fakunle High School as well as other stakeholders criticized the decision to demolish the school for either a Shop Rite mall or a parking space. “The reform is an after-thought. Alhaji Aregbesola called it reform, and began reshuffling students after his plan met wide condemnation,” said the source. Students of the school had protested in February against the state government’s plan to demolish their school and convert it to a mall. SaharaReporters had earlier reported that alumni and other donors had begun removing various items they had donated to the school after it became clear that the government would go ahead with its plan to transform the school into a business site. Earlier, the government had taken to television and radio stations in the state to deny that it had any plans to convert the school to a mall. SaharaReporters learned that some missionary schools in the state had threatened to shut their gates against new students displaced by the government’s redistribution plan. Our correspondent said some schools actually shut their gates today, even though the government had postponed resumption by two weeks to address the school heads and other stakeholders. “If [Governor Aregbesola] meant to do education reform, why is Fakunle not mentioned at all in the entire list of schools so reformed in the state?” asked one of the critics of the government’s controversial moves. He added: “The state government has completely removed the school from existence at all,” alleged an alumnus of Fakunle High School. Some parents alleged that the government’s unannounced redistribution of students caused them great anxiety. They said they panicked when their children were late to return home at their usual time. One of the parents, who is a retired soldier, said he was infuriated and could have acted dangerously when he did not see his children at their usual school premises. He said the principal had intervened and explained that his children had been redistributed to other schools. “They now need additional thirty to forty-five minutes to reach their school and the same amount of time to return home,” said the parent. Several sources told SaharaReporters that no students were assigned to Fakunle High School. The school’s former students were told that they no longer belonged there. “That confirms Aregbesola’s plan to use Fakunle High School for servicing the interest of his political godfather,” said an alumnus of the school.