Parents and guardians across Oke Amu have been charged to secure a brighter future for their children and catch them young through cognitive and moral learning.
The admonition was part of the submissions made by various speakers at the 2025 home coming programme for the members of Oke Amu Prestige Elite Club (OPEC).
OPEC, is an umbrella body of eminent Oke Amu indigenes from all walks of life with the desire to pay back to the community that brought them to limelight.
OPEC President, Chief Mukaila Adewale Oseni; the Bobagunwa of Ipapo and Asiwaju of Oke Amu who led other top executives of the club, distributed writing materials to pupils and students from various tertiary schools in Oke Amu.
The schools that benefitted from the gesture were Muslim Community Primary School Oke Amu, LA Primary School Oke Amu , Alaganran Basic School Oke Amu, Olugunwa Nomadic Basic Primary School,Alaraba Oke amu and Nomadic Basic Primary School Igbo Alahoro among others.
257 pupils of Muslim Community Primary School,145 pupils of LA Primary School and over 50 pupils of Alaganran Basic School Oke Amu, Olugunwa Nomadic Basic Primary School Oke amu and Nomadic Basic Primary School Igbo Alahoro benefited from the philanthropic gesture of the association respectively.
While speaking on the core value of the OPEC, President of Oke Amu Prestige Elite Club who has travelled far and wide with international recognition of an ambassador of peace award, Chief Mukaila Adewale Oseni, the Vice President; an accomplished banker of high repute, Engr. Nurudeen Alaka Mobolaji, the Secretary; Hon. Ogundoke Dele Hassan, the Financial Secretary; Professor Ajediran (Nureni )Idowu Bello,Ustaz Sheikh Saheed Yusuf and Comrade Akeem Olaore in their various remarks, disclosed that the main mission of the association is to contribute to the development of Oke Amu in all ramification.
They emphasized that the Club has resolved to pay back to the community which gave them the solid foundation to achieve success in life.
They stre
ssed that the aims of the association is to give back to the community and encourage young ones to see the reasons why they have to pursue their learning with the best of their ability.
They reiterated that the association in its magnanimity has been ameliorating challenges bedeviling the less privileged and the aged in their community.
The eminent sons of the soil stressed that the club is also out to champion the crusade of the development of Oke Amu within the available resources and capacity.
They therefore admonished parents and guardians as well as their teachers to encourage and motivate their children towards pursuing their dreams in order to be relevant and productive in the future.
In his contribution, a community leader, retired Chartered Accountant; Alhaji Bashiru Adegbola said it gladdens his heart to see various associations coming together to pursue a common goal of development as progressive bodies.
He emphasized that individually and collectively, illustrious sons and daughters of Oke Amu have been working in unity for the overall development of their ancient town.
The community leader used the occasion to explain the contributions of Iyamokun of Oke Amu, Chief Mrs Sherifat Ajekemi Balogun nee Adegbola to the educational upliftment of Oke Amu under Scholarship Support Group.
He urged OPEC and other associations in the town not to rest on their oars.
He also admonished the people of Alaganran and its suburb to be security conscious.
Earlier Hon Hassan Dele who facilitated some of the schools that benefitted from the gesture when he served as member Oyo State House of Assembly,went down memory lane and said what goes round comes round.
He stressed that as a progressive individual who was responsive to the yearning of the people of his community when he was in office, he never knew that his singular effort to the developmental programmes of his constituency will be consolidated by other noble people.
He therefore admonished the people in the corridor of power to change their perception for future sake.
While charging Oke Amu indigenes to take a queue from their forefathers heroic deeds,Hon Hassan Dele and Sheikh Saheed Yusuf admonished individuals to see the service to their community as collective duty.
Sheikh Saheed Yusuf urged parents not to give up due to the prevailing economic downturn but rather,they should support the education of their children.
In their separate remarks,Head master, Muslim Community Primary School Mr Oguniyi DO,Head Mistress LA Mrs Olajumoke FA and Head Mistress Alaganran Mrs Ogundeji DY, expressed their profound gratitude to the association on behalf of their various schools and pupils.
They also used the occasion to press for the assistance of the body on the provision of more personnel and building of perimeter fence to barricade the schools for security reasons, provision of more classrooms and learning materials and other social amenities like boreholes and functional laboratories.
Highlights of the event was the presentation of chairs and tables by members of the Scholarship Support Group and cash awards given to outstanding pupils.
The event that had in attendance Mr Oketunde Wasiu,Hon Ajayi Wasiu Oriyomi and Mr Bello Jimoh Ajeyemi featured the introduction of some members of OPEC like Prof Ibrahim Adewuyi Oyediran,Dr Adepoju Tajudeen all in absentia
Report by Kaseem Jenrade