The Uneme-speaking people of Edo State have drawn the attention of the state government to the need to address the falling standards of education and worsening security in their communities and called for urgent attention of government at all levels to tackle the situations.
Leaders of the communities, which include Anegbette, Udochi, Erhurun, Akiosu, Enekhua, Imiava, Uzanu, Ekpedo, and Akpama, spoke at a five hundred million naira Education and Security Trust Fund and Award ceremony for the communities in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
They affirmed that primary and secondary education in their domains have since deteriorated with the absence of qualified teachers in their schools, just as the security of the communities is getting worse.
Speaking at the event, President of the Uneme National Development Association (UNDA), Prince Babatunde Obabori, urged the Edo state and local government authorities where the Uneme people are located to ensure the provision of social amenities that will attract and encourage teachers to stay in rural communities.
Speaking at the launch, Obabori said: “Our mission is to promote educational excellence, support a safer society, and project the cause of the Uneme nation by complimenting our government’s efforts at all levels.
UNDA has in the past impacted all Uneme communities with the building of classrooms, Corper lodges, provision of teachers, and support logistics for the local security network in our communities, but current realities have called for more funding for these projects.”
On his part, Member representing Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency, Peter Akpatason, said the communities thought it necessary to support families to ensure that children of the less endowed did not drop out of school, affirming that things have become so difficult for families that even paying school fees is a herculean task for some.”
Also speaking, Chairman, Uneme Traditional Rulers Council, the Oliola of Anegbette, and Clan Head of South Uneme, Alhaji Yakubu Momodu Ugbodaga, urged the sons and daughters of Uneme in the diaspora to contribute to the fund in order to change the narratives of the current challenges in their various communities.
The UNDA realised over forty million naira at the event, which it said will be used to provide classrooms, educational materials, and residential accommodation for teachers in the different Uneme communities, among others.
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