OUR ROLE AS PARENTS, TEACHERS IS ‘TO MODEL A SANE SOCIETY’ – CYNTHIA GREGG • As Gulf Flower Schools graduates 68 SS3 students, 84 JS3 students, awards remarkable students in valedictory session
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
L-R: Managing Director, Leverage Insurance Brokers LTD, Mr. Oduwole Olufemi; Area Commander, NSCDC Lagos, Toyin Afuye; Vice-Chancellor, University of Benin, Prof. Lillian Salami; Director, Gulf Flower Schools, Dr. Cynthia Gregg; Wife of Oloworo of Oworo kingdom, Olori Oluwabukola Saliu; Chief Operating Officer, Arik Airline, Captain Adetokunbo Adekunbi; Convener, Fearless Cup, Mrs. Renda Udan and and a guest during the Gulf Flower Schools’ Graduation and Valedictory Service tagged: The Valiants.
In order to stem the disruption which is happening to our sociocultural harmony and educational civility, professionals, educators, and advocates have called on stakeholders within the family and educational space to adopt positive modelling so as to pass the right message to the next generation. This call was made at the valedictory session for a large number of students who had graduated from one level of the education ladder to another in Gulf Flower Schools, Trek Africa Newspaper.
Founded in 1998 in the Oworonsoki axis of Lagos, the school yesterday celebrated 68 students who are heading for the tertiary institutions and 84 students who are going to the senior secondary category in the 25th year of establishment of the school. Trek Africa Newspaper can reports that the valedictory session had in attendance the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Prof. Lillian Salami who was the keynote speaker; Olori Oluwabukola Saliu, the wife of Oloworo of Oworo kingdom who was the Mother of the day; Captain Adetokunbo Adekunbi, Chief Operating Officer of Arik Airline who was the Chairman of the Occasion, Mrs. Renda Udan, Convener of Fearless Cup who was the special guest of honor among others.
Speaking on ‘The Valiants’, the theme of the celebration, Prof. Lillian Salami, the Vice Chancellor of University of Benin said: ‘The Valiants resonate with where I was over 50 years ago. Seeing these children and the journey ahead, I believe with what they have been equipped with in this school, they will be able to face different challenges. I feel they would be able to navigate the turbulent waters with tenacity and poise.’
‘Of course for every generation there would be their own challenge. During my time, we didn’t have this much, we didn’t have the issue of cultism, technology so it was easier for us. Now there is so much outside influence. It takes dedication, willingness to remain steadfast, to think back at where you come from and where you are going, you would be able to excel.’
She told Trek Africa Newspaper, ‘Even in the tertiary institution, we are looking at areas of mentoring, being their friend, discussing their challenges, making it malleable for them. As Vice-Chancellor, we do that to make the environment serene for them and making them know that there is zero-tolerance for anything that is not education which is our mandate.’
‘Our family system is failing in the sense that we are overindulging our children. There is a difference between not wanting children to suffer and overpampering. The 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds that enter our university, some of them are not chronologically mature for the task. We shouldn’t give them something that is too expensive that they don’t have value for, the simpler the better because these things even attract the wrong people. I want our new government to focus on education. The government must play their role so that the other stakeholders in the ecosystem would be able to play theirs’, Prof. Salami said.
Giving a word of advice to the children, the mother of the day, Olori Oluwabukola Saliu, the wife of Oloworo of Oworo kingdom said: ‘I advise the children that they should be good and continue to make Gulf Flower schools proud. The children have to be diligent and God-fearing. The university is a stepping stone, it is another world entirely which is more challenging. Life is more challenging now because of social media which is exposing them so the parents have more work to do.’
On his part, Captain Adetokunbo Adekunbi, Chief Operating Officer of Arik Airline remarked: ‘This is a beginning of another beginning. The children are very happy but the world they are going to is wild. The university they are entering to will give them the first degree called Bachelors and you cannot marry with Bachelors, you have to go for your Masters.’
‘This is just to say you don’t sit on your oars, you have to continue to improve. If you stop learning, a lot of things will go behind you. That is why you see old men and women trying their hands out with the phone so that at least they can do something. I pray for our graduands that they will see before they leap and if they don’t see, they won’t make mistakes’.
The Director of Gulf Flower Schools, Dr. Cynthia Gregg spoke with Trek Africa Newspaper. ‘Today we are celebrating our youngsters who distinguished themselves during the last WAEC and JAMB exams. We call them the Valiants. We are having a valedictory session for them as they head to university. There are 68 students in SS3 graduating while 84 students in JS3 are graduating to SSS classes.’
‘We celebrated our 25th anniversary in July 2023. We have produced so many talents from primary to secondary school, many of them have graduated from university and are abroad while many are also in Nigeria.’
Advising the children, Dr. Gregg who is also the CEO of Safety Signature, a private security company said: ‘It is been challenging these days with many social vices which our children are exposed to which was not there in the past. Many are exposed through social media, social interaction with others so as a school, you have to be up and doing to ensure that your students don’t engage in such on and off school premises. We see ourselves involved in modelling so that our children can emulate us. It is our responsibility to join hands with the parents to model a sane society. Our children have to be ready and have determination to focus on their objectives, what is right, and on what people will celebrate in you. We need to encourage hard work in children. That is why we gave awards to students who had the best WAEC result which is 5A’s, the highest JAMB score which is 280, the most decent boarder, and the most outstanding student from JSS1 to SS3 that is 6 years.’
‘It is very important that government pay serious attention to education not lip service, to reinvest in education and heighten security’, Gregg concluded.
