By Solanke Ayomideji Taiwo
Concerned citizens and education stakeholders have renewed calls on the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun, CON, to urgently assent to the Secondary School Health Bill, warning that the absence of structured health services in public secondary schools poses serious risks to students’ lives and learning outcomes.
The appeal was strongly articulated by education advocate and concerned indigene, Musbau Semiu Ademola (MSA), who described the situation in many secondary schools across the state as “a silent emergency waiting to explode.”
Drawing from personal experience, Ademola recalled how schools in the past prioritised student welfare through functional health facilities. He cited his early education at St. Joseph’s (RCM) Primary School, Ado-Odo, and St. Stephen’s Comprehensive High School, Oke Padre, where mission hospitals within school premises provided immediate medical attention to students and staff.
“Minor injuries never became major crises, and learning was never disrupted by avoidable health emergencies,” he noted, lamenting that such systems have largely disappeared from today’s public schools.
A particularly troubling case, according to Ademola, is Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu-Ode, where elderly alumni—some dating back to the 1962–1966 set—pooled personal resources decades ago to build a mini Primary Health Centre within the school.
Despite their advanced age, only about 24 of these benefactors are reportedly still alive, yet they continue to bear the financial burden of sustaining the facility. Findings indicate they spend roughly ₦300,000 annually on drugs and ₦70,000 monthly on nurses’ salaries, an effort described as heroic but clearly unsustainable.
“It is heartbreaking that senior citizens who have already served society are still carrying this responsibility,” Ademola said. “This is a duty that belongs squarely to government.”
He stressed that the issue goes beyond a single school, calling for a statewide, legally backed intervention. According to him, the Secondary School Health Bill, allegedly passed by the Ogun State House of Assembly, provides the needed framework to regulate school health services, ensure accountability, and guarantee access to basic first aid and primary healthcare in all secondary schools.
Education stakeholders argue that assenting to the bill would significantly reduce avoidable student deaths, untreated injuries, health-related absenteeism, and panic during emergencies.
Ademola also commended Governor Abiodun for his recent decisive actions in the education sector, particularly on issues of exploitative fees, private school textbook sales, and unnecessary school levies, describing them as evidence of “people-centred leadership.”
“Assenting to this bill will further cement Your Excellency’s legacy as a governor who prioritised the welfare of children and the future of Ogun State,” he said.
As parents, alumni, and advocates await the governor’s decision, the call grows louder for Ogun State to restore health services to schools—not as charity, but as a fundamental responsibility to its young citizens.
