The Junior Chamber International (JCI) on Wednesday called for joint efforts between the government and citizens to improve education in Nigeria. JCI Senator Morufatu Olabisi Aniso made the call during the organization’s 2024 Spelling Bee Competition in Abuja.
Speaking to journalists after the event, Morufatu underscored the rationale behind the exercise: “We believe that we should contribute to the government’s educational development efforts, knowing fully well that the government cannot create the perfect kind of education that we desire.”
Morufatu recounted that since its inception in Abuja in 2006, JCI has been engaged in grooming leaders and empowering communities through entrepreneurship and other life skills.
“We think globally and act locally. We imitate what is good in other countries where JCI has a presence. We are in over 124 countries and over 6,000 communities around the world, with our headquarters in the United States and the Nigeria headquarters in Lagos,” she said.
The bee had in attendance about 13 Local Education Authority (LEA) Primary Schools in Abuja participating, with 18 contestants.
“We have been engaging secondary schools, but this time around we decided to involve primary schools, which is the core of education. We need to catch them young,” explained Morufatu.
“We want to instill social values. We want to impact them to know that they can be better by learning. They can impact society through education. Because education is important. No matter what one does in life, if one adds education, it comes out beautifully,” she added.
The Spelling Bee, which began in 2017, was named after her. Morufatu said with a smile, “Naming the competition after me was the idea of JCI Abuja to honor me as one of the pioneer members, and for supporting and upholding the mission and vision of JCI till date.”
She debunked the notion that Nigerian public primary schools produce less competitive students compared to private schools. “I am a product of public primary school, and I came out overall top in my secondary school, which was public but had students from private primary schools,” she argued.
Morufatu insists that a better education that would build a better society is everyone’s responsibility. “I want people to know that they must be responsible for themselves. They should be active citizens, and think about what to do for Nigeria, to get the best out of Nigeria,” she advised.
The Spelling Bee, which produced the top three positions, was intense and thorough, with one or more of the 18 contestants being evicted for misspelling their words or running out of their allocated time.
Reacting to the outcome of the exercise, JCI President Amb. Blessing Jegede expressed her joy at seeing the children’s smiles.
“The smiles on the faces of those who participated and won, and even those who didn’t participate but were here to cheer others, bring me so much excitement. It gladdens my heart in a way that I can hardly explain,” she said.
One of the major challenges was the inability to cater to all the participants. Jegede called for support from the government, local, and international NGOs, emphasizing that many schools have yet to benefit from the program. She also praised the efforts of other JCI members and sponsors.
“We have several projects lined up for the second half of the year. Our ‘Go Green’ project involves planting over 1,000 trees in schools. The ‘You and The Road’ project focuses on educating road users on proper road usage, and we also plan to participate in the World Clean-Up Day,” Jegede explained.
