The Oyo State Government has said it would collaborate with the African Students Union Parliament (ASUP) in the fight against drug abuse across the state.
The government disclosed this during a courtesy visit paid by the Parliament on the Executive Chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, in Ibadan.
Speaker of the Parliament, Rt. Hon. Kewul Abel, from the University of Professional Studies, Accra, Ghana, sought the State Government’s support in the Union’s ongoing sensitisation programme against drug abuse across the African continent, urging the State Government to include Fight Against Drugs in its curriculum.
Abel said the collaboration aims to successfully curtail the drug menace in Africa, adding that it became necessary due to the rising cases of illegal consumption of prohibited substances, especially among youths.
The Speaker noted that there was an urgent need for the present crop of African leaders, especially in the education sector, to build on the dreams of the founding fathers of the union, in order to salvage the decay in the education sector.
Furthermore, the union honoured the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Nureni Aderemi Adeniran, with the prestigious Icon of Nation Building Award.
Presenting the award, Rt. Hon Abel said the recipient, who rose through his chosen endeavours as an educationist, a lawyer and politician, has been, to many, an incomparable inspiration, a leader and role model of excellence, whose name will go down in history as one of the most celebrated and most impactful leaders of our time.
Recounting Adeniran’s several exploits in the public service, the speaker revealed that ASUP cherishes his achievements, which are a morale booster for younger ones.
In his remark, the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Joseph Konan, from the Univerisite Felix Houpouet Boigny, Cote-D’ivoire, praised the efforts of Dr Adeniran in promoting the basic education sector in the state, urging him not to relent in his quest to create an enabling environment for the younger generation, where the less privileged could have access to basic education, as this would further etch his name in the sands of history.
Konan explained that the awardee was carefully selected by an international committee of students across Africa, due to his achievements in the basic education sub-sector he supervises.
In his response, Dr Nureni Adeniran, who expressed the Board’s readiness to work with the Union in tackling drug abuse, noted that the Board has put in some necessary measures to curb any form of vices, including drug abuse, across the state.
Reacting to the award presentation, Dr Adeniran thanked the Africa Student Union Parliament for the honour that has been bestowed on him, while he dedicated the award to his principal, Governor Seyi Makinde, whom he said gave him the enabling environment to operate.
He also expressed his profound gratitude to the Board, Management and staff members of Oyo SUBEB for their unrelenting support and sacrifices at ensuring that the vision of the Board is kept alive.
As an Icon of Nation Building, Dr Adeniran was also given an ASUP Five-Star General Badge, as well as a matching certificate.
The West African Students Union (WASU), now African Students Union Parliament (ASUP) was formed in London, in 1925, by Sir Kwame Nkrumah and presently has an estimated 50 million African students under its umbrella.
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