Kunle Adelabu
A member of the Lagos State University Indigeneship Verification exercise representing the Ikorodu Division and former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikorodu branch, Barr. Saheed Kolawole Shillings has lamented the poor academic performance of students in the Division.
Shillings, who is also a former teacher, also blamed the poor performances on parents whom he alleged are always on WhatsApp and other social media platforms complaining about the situation in the country while they failed to provide their children good upbringing.
He said that a situation where the committee was unable to record a dozen applicants from the division is a shame.
In a statement by Shillings on THE IMPACT WhatsApp platform, titled, ‘Bad Parents Make Bad Society’, the legal practitioner said:
“Today is ‘Day 6’ of the Indigeneship Verification exercise at the Lagos State University, Ojo. We did not record a dozen new applicants from Ikorodu Division for the day. What a shame!”, he lamented.
“It is understood that the failure rate in the JAMB exam is high. But then, we have not recorded relatively low attendance and this is worrisome.
“The fault is yours. All of you who are 24 hours on whatsapp wanting to comment on virtually all issues in all groups forgetting that you have children and siblings needing your attention and direction”, he blamed parents.
‘Your hussles to provide for their needs and your selfish needs have taken your attention away from helping them to stand on their own and reap the glory of parenthood.
“You spend hours on inanities lamenting Nigeria and ‘how we got here!’ without asking yourself about how we and they will get ‘there’ due to your negligence”.
Barr. Shillings expressed his disappointment in the lack of local intelligence in many of the students that came for the exercise, stating that many of them that live in lkorodu do not know the cognomen and traditional areas in the town.
He said that the present situation is not helping in placing young people in this part of the state in a competitive position with their counterparts elsewhere, a situation he said may have negative outcomes in future.
“Our children are very scanty in the core professions. They ambitiously pick Law, Medicine and Engineering with low marks. We set them low for future competitions.
“Only a very few of them can recite their cognomen beyond ‘omo eluku meden, meden…’. They do not know Ajina from Obun-Ale even when they live within the town. Some cannot even speak the Yoruba language”, he said.
“Tomorrow, you continue to lament marginalisation when our children are not competing. The civil servants and private sector players are being produced without them. Back home, Ikorodu Division is a haven of young cultists and yahoo artisans. You can only wonder if they have parents.
“No one plants maize to reap cocoa. Mushrooms do not even need planting. As you lay your bed, so you lie on it. I just remember one line I caused my pupils to recite on the assembly ground for a week when I was a teacher: Tomorrow is today! Today, tomorrow!
“Awake, Ikorodu Division!”, Shillings lamented
