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Controversy trails  conversion of Oyo Library to shopping mall

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Controversy trails  conversion of Oyo Library to shopping mall

For the past few weeks, the governor Oyo State,  Engr. Seyi Makinde, and his administration has been receiving hard knocks over the plan to convert a portion of the historic  Oyo State Library to a shopping complex.

The condemnation has been widespread, coming not only from opposition parties but also indigenes of the state, especially many of those, who have benefitted academically from the Library.

From the historical perspective, the Oyo State Library Board came into existence in 1955 to support the free education of Western government of Nigeria led by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Known then as Western Regional Library, it was established by the Western government to compliment the efforts of government toward improving the educational standards, provide qualitative library services to the people of the region and to the school environment. It was also to  encourage reading culture among the school children and the rntire citizenry, particularly the schools, including those in the rural areas, as swell as the repository of all publications within the state.

It was learnt  that Chief Awolowo strategically sited the Library at Dugbe, which had been a business hub of Ibadan,  the   capital,  of the Western Region, with proximity to  the British  Council, and the American consulate offices.

Other aims of the  the government then, was not only for educational purpose but for the Library to serve as  a monument and tourists attraction, for others in Nigeria visiting Ibadan, the  regional  capital.

Comments from those who had benefited from the Library, indicated that since Dugbe served  as a commercial nerve centre, it was easy for children of  traders  in the area to go there to read because the area accommodated many big stores, such as Chanrai, Imodal, and many Lebanese  stores of high grades then.

The Library  was also not far from the  then Western Nigeria broadcasting Service  now Radio Nigeria and it  has been side by side with the General Post office, Ibadan.

It also hosted the banks, such as Union Bank, First Bank, Cooperative  Bank, Queensway Stores and Cocoa House just to mention a few corporate entities around it. This means that the late sage Awolowo who knew the value of  education, strategically positioned it at the  Dugbe, a very busy centre of Ibadan, for a purpose.

It wass also one of the  legacies left behind  by Chief Awolowo and it was the pride of  students  of  that era, who went to the library during the holidays as it encouraged many students  to study privately to further their educations either  at home or abroad.

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It was also a place to make friends  with people of like minds.

The library remained intact but in 1986 when Oyo state  was carved out of the Western State, the status of the Library changed under  the then Ministry of education during the Military regime of the then,  Col Sasaenia Oresanya in 1988.

As the Military  Administrator, he enacted  edict No 18, which established the Oyo State Library Board,  led by Prof. Adebimpe, Aboyade with other  notable scholars,  such as Prof. D.F Olaturoti and then, Dr. (Mrs) Oderinde of the Kenneth Dike Library  at the University of Ibadan.

The question  being asked  now by many people,  especially those who have benefited  from the Awolowo’s  free education and who the Library had served to rise to their  present positions,  because  they read books supplied by Awolowo in the library, which their parents could not afford, is why the place should be converted to a shopping complex.?

One of the ardent users  of the Library  in the 60s, Dr. Anjola Adedeji, who is into manufacturing  of nylon  bags at the same Dugbe, told  Business Hallmark that  the  Library helped his education a great deal.

According to Dr. Adedeji, who is now in his late 70s, said his mother was a trader in Dugbe and  he was always there to read after school and during the holidays. He said the Library shaped his education and that he studied Business Administration in the United  States and came back to Nigeria with a Master and Doctorate  degrees, before he established his own factory.

He indicated that it was very sad  for any person to think that because the library is at a commercial centre of the  city and the next thing is to want to use the place for a shopping complex

“This, to me, shows that the present crops of people leading us are insensitive  to education and I give kudos to Chief Obafemi Awolowo  for his foresight,  in making education a priority, while in office because if not for him, people like me won’t  have access to education and  be  able to use that edifice  to read and pass exams, which now made me to be self reliant.”

Dr.. Adedeji has not been the only person, who is not at home with the action of the Oyo State government, as there are others too, who have vent their anger against the present government of Oyo State  for this action.

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Even right now,  it has become a political matter, which has pitched the ruling political party in the state,  the Peoples Democratic  Party (PDP) and the opposition party,  the All Progressives  Congress (APC) against each other.

The APC now saw the issue, which has to do with education, to launch a severe attack on both Gov. Makinde, his government and the PDP,  and is using it as an opportunity  to woo the  people of the state,  ahead of the next election, as the party is now warming up seriously to dislodge  the PDP in the coming elections.

APC  condemnation,  which came through its spokesperson,  alleged that the present government without any considerations for the feelings of the people of the state, with impunity, forcefully took over the structures housing public reading and learning facilities in Dugbe, Ibadan, to convert it into lock up shops and shopping malls.

He described  the action as  “shameful and ill-conceived, which  also amounts to  gross abuse of office and the mandate of the people, which is  unacceptable.”

The Publicity Secretary, of the APC, Mr. Olawale Sadare, said that  “residents of Ibadan-the state capital were stunned recently when they observed sudden erection of massive structures believed to be private business complexes and shopping malls within the premises of the Oyo State Library Board, in which the the defunct Western Region government built public libraries and other facilities being put into premium use by students, researchers, tourists, among others, until now.

“It is a sad reality that the buildings which used to serve as public libraries and archive in Dugbe axis of Ibadan have now paved the way for the development of commercial and business structures and the implication of this is that education and research development have been relegated to the background in the state by the same administration which has refused to address the issue of poor reading culture among young students.” He said.

“It has also got to that stage when silence is no more golden as all well meaning individuals and stakeholders should begin to ask Gov. Makinde questions on why he keeps selling off public heritage and properties, which his government inherited from previous administrations. In the same vein, we have had cases of fraudulent lease or concession of public facilities to proxies as it happened to OYSADEP Guest House in Saki and Agbowo Shopping Complex in Ibadan. Meanwhile, this trend has to stop now,” Oyo APC stated.

But the  PDP too fired back through its acting Publicity Secretary, Mr Michael Ogunsina,  who said that the APC was arguing out of context because  part of the plans of the Governor Seyi Makinde-led government was to relocate the library from where it is to another place conducive for its purpose.

The  PDP  pointed out  that the actual  part where the shopping complex was being built  is bushy,  which had been unattended to for many years and was becoming a haven for criminals and miscreants around the axis.

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Mr. Ogunsina pointed out that the particular part of the library had become an eyesore,  and that the state government had an agreement with the developer presently working on the shopping complex to build a 200-seater CBT facility inside the library board for the use of the state.

“The Library Board is there and there is nothing that has happened to it. The APC should stop misinforming the people of Oyo State as that will lead them to nowhere.”

He further castigated the  APC saying,  “If their administration had done right by the library board, this administration wouldn’t have had any reason to convert the bushy part of the library board to a shopping complex befitting of the aesthetic of Ibadan city.”

He argued “the APC should be reminded that during the eight years they held sway, they did nothing to renovate the libraries in Oyo State.”

 

A call has been made by a leading human rights group in Nigeria, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) following the recent reports on the education sector in the state and the plan by Gov. Seyi Makinde led-administration  announced plans to convert the Oyo State Library Board into a shopping complex.

 

In a statement made available to newsmen, Mallam Ibrahim Agunbiade, the State Ambassador and Secretary General of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) ,Oyo State Chapter, called for urgent proactive measures to ensure proper access to education in the State.

“We are writing to express our strong opposition to your decision to convert the Oyo State Library Board into a shopping complex. This move is alarming and indicates a disregard for education in Oyo State.

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“Converting a public library into a commercial space for traders will deprive the community of a valuable resource essential for education, research, and community development. Moreover, the deplorable conditions of schools in Oyo State, including dilapidated buildings and inadequate facilities, suggest a lack of priority for education.

MURIC  therefore urged Governor Makinde to rescind the decision to convert the library into a shopping complex and prioritize education in Oyo State.

Another  prominent  person in the  State that rose against Makinde’s  decision on the conversion of the library  to a complex  is  Engineer Oyedele Hakeem Alao, who described  the governor as a person  risking historical Infamy as Oyo’s first governor to promote land grabbing activities.

He pointed out that  Governor Makinde has distinguished  himself as the only governor, who ruled Oyo State and takes it as pride to acquire  both public and private lands for housing estates and shopping malls.

 

Engineer Alao, who was a  governorship aspirant in the last governorship election in Oyo state,  urged Governor Makinde to control his insatiable appetite for land acquisition.

In a press statement from his media office, Alao criticized the governor’s continued land acquisitions, which according to him,  have significantly increased hardship for the people of Oyo State.

 

“Despite Oyo State covering a total land mass of 28,454 square kilometers (approximately 10,995 square miles) and ranking as the 14th largest state in Nigeria by area, our governor neglects rural development while ensuring housing estates and shopping malls proliferate in urban areas, particularly Ibadan. Even Agodi Garden, labelled a ‘green zone,’ is not spared in Makinde’s acquisitions.”

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“It saddens our hearts that Oyo State currently ranks 26th in WAEC exam performance among the 36 states in Nigeria and has 272,847 out-of-school children. Instead of addressing educational issues, our governor has chosen to convert the Oyo State Public Library in Dugbe into shopping malls. This suggests that he prioritizes mall construction over our children’s education.”

Also Mr. Kazeem Olalekan Israel a public affairs analyst  also came down to  knock on the oyo state governor, describing his action on the  Library as  ignoble.

 

He argued that, recent studies by agencies of the Federal Government and analysis conducted by UNICEF, which was released to the public domain in October, 2024,  Oyo State  is in the top 20 States with the highest number of out-of-schoolchildren in Nigeria, an indication that the State government has not done any significant thing to the educational sector, which could help improve the quality of education.

“It is important to tell Governor Seyi Makinde and his co-travelers that the library plays a very important role in improving literacy and fostering a reading culture in society. Or, where else can one access books all for free if not at a public library funded and maintained with taxpayers’ money? I must state unequivocally that libraries in Oyo State do not need conversion to a shopping mall, they need sustained and substantial funding, which is lacking. Unfortunately, Governor Seyi Makinde cannot point to any public library that received funding attention from him in the last 5 years,” he further argued.

 

Meanwhile, a government official told Business Hallmark  that the government acted in good faith, saying that  the portion covered links Dugbe directly and it has become a bush path for a long time and nothing tangible too is happening there.

 

He said the Library  Board is still there and that looking at the main library structure, one would discover that it has not been adequately used and the government has planned to relocate it to a more conducive place for reading.  He pointed out that people just talk  without knowing what the government has in stock  for the people, saying that education, has always been the priority of Gov. Makinde’s  administration and  the government has not relented in  its  quest to ensure  that the pupils of Oyo State receive  the best  in terms  of qualitative education.

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According to him, the free  education policy of government is still very  intact and the parents do appreciate  the efforts of the present government in Oyo State.

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