By SAM Eyoboka & OLAYINKA LATONA

EDO State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and the president of The Apostolic Church, TAC, Pastor Gabriel Olutola may have inadvertently flagged off another national deba-te on how best to develop the much needed human capacity who would galvanise the nation’s abundant resources for the development of Nigeria.

The twosome, recently at the official commissioning of the Samuel Adegboyega University, Ogwa, Edo State, espoused the benefits studying in the rural setting, almost concluding that products of rural schools are better grounded and therefore would be more useful to the society than their counterparts in urban schools.

Speaking at the official dedication of the university, a brainchild of the The Apostolic Church, the host governor expressed delight, appreciating the courage and the vision of the leadership of the church, not only in founding a university but even more for choosing to locate it in a country side which in Nigeria “we prefer to call rural areas.

“In other parts of the world there is no better place to locate a university than to locate it in a quiet country side where students and staff guide against attractions in teaching and learning without distractions associated with big cities at times,” Gov. Oshiomhole stated.

Congratulating church and the royal father of the community, the Onogie of Ogwa land, the governor acknowledged the daunty task before the university proprietors, saying that the basic challenges usually include deficit infrastructure which are even more headlined in a rural setting.

As the custodian of all land, according to the Land Use Act, the governor, who has human capital development as one of his cardinal objectives for the people of Edo State, immediately promised to do ervery thing within his power to assist the new university, pointing out “I believe that the least we do is not only to salute you on this occasion but to do everything we can do to support you beyond words but more through action. I am also encouraged by the fact that the church has also demonstrated that Nigerians, particularly the Christian community can through private initiative contribute to the development of our educational sector.

“I am very encouraged when I learnt from the chancellor that the funding of this university rely solely on the voluntary contributions of members of The Apostolic Church of Nigeria. You have made history. You have demonstrated the fear of God and you have demonstrated commitment to humanity.

As a government, we will do everything to justify and to encourage you to sustain the project that you have started. Under the Land Use Act all lands are vested in the government of the state which is why at the palace of His Royal Highness, he has requested that we should accelerate action to secure the Certificate of Occupancy, so that all the necessary legal issues can be settled so that this land belong to Samuel Adegboyega University for ever and ever,” he added.

Admitting that one of the major assets of the state government is land, Oshiomohle however, declared that as the “governor of Edo State, I will grant full waiver for all those things (fees on Certificate of Occupancy). Whatever resources you have saved you can deploy it to other areas.

I understand that you have already made some part payment, I will encourage the Ministry of Lands and Survey to refund all what you have paid. In addition to that, if honestly every Nigerians and every organisation reason the way The Apostolic Church has done in identifying rural communities and recognizing that rural communities deserve development, our people will not be migrating from rural areas to the cities and Nigeria will attain even development. And without even development we cannot guarantee social peace.

So, what the church has done is to help us contribute to the maintenance of peace and security, because the young men and women who will be employed here will have something doing and talking about taxes they will pay tax which I will not be able to waive.

“I realised that at this stage, the university will require huge financial outlay to sustain its concurrent expenditure and at the same time raise funds to continue its capital projects, as a demonstration of my appreciation and the appreciation of the people of Edo State, in particular, the good people of Ogwa land I will like to donate on behalf of the government of Edo State to support the development of this university, the sum of N25 million,” the governor pledged.

And his trump card is: “The future of our country does not depend on oil and gas resources, as we have seen the world most prosperous nations are not nations that relatively rely on extraction of liquid, but nations that invest correctly on development of their human capital.

It is human capital that will determine the future of our great country and this university, by the special grace of God, is now positioned to contribute to the development of high level human capital. You have done a lot for your country, may God bless the members of the church, leadership of the church, bless the thought of those who found the university and may this university grow from strength to strength,” Gov. Oshiomhole prayed.

In his presentation, the chancellor, Pastor Gabriel Olutola said it has become obvious to every Nigerian that the current poor state of the nation’s education can, partly, be traced to the exposure of our children to urbanization. “They are exposed to several things that the purpose of sending them to school has been defeated.

As a teacher, I know that this is a very good atmosphere for serious people to learn; no distraction of any kind and any child who wants to learn has an ample opportunity to study in a serene atmosphere. For the teachers, it is an opportunity for them to take advantage of the coolness of the environment to impart knowledge to the children entrusted to him. There are also benefits accruing to the rural teachers because I discovered that Nigerians are very appreciative people who will do everything to encourage the rural teachers by occasionally bringing gifts to him while his urban colleagues spend their salaries on things he gets free in the rural areas.”

For the traditional ruler, the Onogie of Ogwa land, His Royal Highness, Zaiki Ehizogie II, the establishment of the university in Ogwa is a fulfilment of biblical saying that the stone rejected by the builder has become the chief corner stone, because “I have asked myself what is the criteria of choosing Ogwa; but the truth of the matter was that I couldn’t find any words to answer the question therefore it is God’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

Chairman, Board of Trustees, Overseer Ebenezer Olusola Okebukola was also delighted for the governor’s gesture, saying “I can say that I saw in the governor a man who is ordained by God to rescue his people at this very moment. There are so many projects to be embarked upon and you can be sure that we will need all the funds we can get now. We have a hostel already but there are several other projects. We need about N2.5 billion annually for capital projects in the school for the first three years.”

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Samson Fola Adedoyin assured Nigerians of a university that will set the pace for others to follow. According to him, the first set of students will resume in October, adding “I have in place quality principal officers who are already professors in their own right, who will man the three colleges. I have the registrar, director of works, ICT, and eminent men to man the key areas.”