When Dr. Nureni Aderemi Adeniran walked into Ansar-ud-deen Primary School, Oke-Fóko, Ibadan, it was more than an official visit. It was a return to roots, a powerful reminder that destiny is not determined by where a child starts, but by how far the child dares to dream.
Now the Executive Chairman of the Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (OYOSUBEB), and a former Local Government Chairman as well as Commissioner for Education in Oyo State, Dr. Adeniran stood once again in the school where his own journey began.
The occasion was the Catch Them Young programme, aimed at inspiring pupils in public primary schools.
But for him, the message was personal, emotional, and deeply symbolic.
Oke-Fóko: true to the weight the name carries, is one of the ‘ghettos’ in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area. It is the kind of place many people casually dismiss. A place where children are often written off before life even gives them a chance. To some, children from areas like this are not expected to “amount to much.”
Dr. Adeniran’s presence alone challenged that mindset.
“If some of us passed through this same school and were able to navigate life to where we are today,” he told the pupils, “then these children can become even greater than we are.”
He reminded them that the type of school they attend, or the area they come from, is never a limitation. Lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers, commissioners, governors, senators, even presidents, he said, can and will emerge from public primary schools like Ansar-ud-deen.
As he spoke, the pupils listened not just to words, but to a living testimony.
Dr. Adeniran paid glowing tribute to his teachers, recalling their names with pride and stressing that teachers are as important as parents in shaping a child’s future. One memory stood out: a letter written by his Primary One teacher to his father, urging him to mentor and guide the young boy closely. Adeniran said his father took that advice seriously, and today, Dr. Adeniran says the joy of achievement is sweeter knowing his father is alive to witness it.
