Professor of physics in an unlikely chair

It is incredible, but it is true.  A Professor of Physics in one of the Federal Universities in Nigeria, has literally dumped the ivory tower to take up a Local Government job.  Adeniyi Olowofela, a Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, presently calls the shots  at Ido Local Government of Oyo […]

It is incredible, but it is true.  A Professor of Physics in one of the Federal Universities in Nigeria, has literally dumped the ivory tower to take up a Local Government job.  Adeniyi Olowofela, a Professor of Physics at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, presently calls the shots  at Ido Local Government of Oyo State, as the appointed Caretaker Chairman of the Council.  Until lately, Professor Olowofela, a geophysist, was the Head of the Department of Physics at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta where he had successfully supervised about eight Phd thesis and about 40 B.Sc. projects.  Some of his erstwhile students are currently Associate Professors.  A product of the University of Ibadan and later Chief Examiner and Laboratory Supervisor at the Premier University between 1995 and 1999, Professor Olowofela lectured at the University  for almost 10 years, before moving over to the Federal University of Agriculture.
Professor Olowofela told Daily Trust in Ibadan recently that his motivation for leaving the ivory tower for the Local Government chair , was mainly to seek fulfillment through bringing the desired change to the grassroots.  To him, despite the chains of academic laurels he has garnered within the University system, he  would not be fulfilled until the yoke of the teeming youth in Ido, his place of birth, is broken.
He said: “One of the fundamental reasons why I am chosen to be the Caretaker Chairman of this Council is to bring the desired change, and the fact that I could easily relate to the people, talk to them and understand their feelings; and then be able to do one thing or the other to effect a change in our community.”
Olowofela spoke further:  “I have been involved in all sorts of community development activities, but when you have the capacity to relate very well with all strata of society, independent of status, it says a lot about you.”
Now as an academic in Local Government administration, the Professor of Physics recently added another dimension to the propagation of education among the youth in Ido Local Government Area, as he has been canvassing what he tagged ‘School on Air’, aimed at further boosting education at the grassroots.
What exactly prompted the idea of ‘School on Air’ and what benefits are actually accruable from this concept, Professor Olowofela was asked, and he swiftly responded.

His words:  “School on Air is a revolution in Nigeria, in the sense that the management of Educational Advancement Centre (EAC) has come up with an idea through which education can be brought to the door step of anybody irrespective of location, anywhere in the whole world. For instance, when you look at some members of our society, when they are talking of key football players of the world, may be they are talking of Arsenal, Manchester, e.t.c., you will  think  that they had actually been relating with these people one on one.  But the point is that they have opportunities to watch them  time without number.  So, EAC has come up with an idea that you can actually teach people without being exactly at the location.  That is the idea of what is meant by ‘School on Air’.  And they have packaged  the teaching of virtually all the subjects – Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English Language, Mathematics, etc. at the School Certificate Level. It is being beamed by Satellite to any location in the world.  So, you now found out that there are places whereby you don’t have adequate teachers, but if you have competent learning materials, that means that the students can actually excel.
“When you look at great personalities like Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, he never attended the conventional University.  He studied at home. But when you are talking of legal luminaries in Nigeria or in the whole world today, you will mention Afe Babalola.  If those ones can study at home to do that, now that the opportunity of actually visualizing and seeing the person, at least, on the screen, that is teaching one subject or the other, that means that you will be able to use your  talent to get to any level, irrespective of disadvantage in terms of place of birth.  So, the ‘School on Air’ is a revolution.  And I know that when the society keys into this project, the story of education in Nigeria will change rapidly.”
Meanwhile, Professor Olowofela has commenced the installation of ‘School on Air’ gadgets in all the public secondary schools in Ido Local Government Area, with the project being carried out at the Community High School, Ido and United Christian Secondary School, Omi Adio respectively.  The facilities were received with jubilation by the students and teachers in both institutions during the test operation carried out there recently ,just as Olowofela reassured that his administration would certainly deploy the gadgets to all the secondary schools in the Local government Area.  
Mr. Idowu Olaonipekun, Principal of Community High School, Ido, applauded the Council Chairman for the kind gesture, expressing the hope that it will impact positively on the benefiting students.
Also commenting, Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, Director of EAC, noted that the ‘School on Air’ vision was conceived when  the performance of students in Oyo State and some other states in the country, revealed that teacher intervention was necessary to further bridge the missing gaps between what is needed and what is available.
A renowned youth leader and chairman of the Ido Youth Vanguard within the Local Government Area, Comrade Muritala Adekola Ifawale was full of commendation for the new education initiative from the Council chairman, which he hoped would impact positively on the social security in the area, if well sustained.

Meanwhile, Professor Olowofela has recommended the ‘School on Air’ educational system as a good intervention for the various states in the country, particularly states in the north  where students are barred from going to school as a result of  security challenges, saying they can tap into the concept.  “They only need to acquire the dish and decoder and install them, and the students can learn from the comfort of their homes or ward areas,” he remarked.