Ondo State’s Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Pastor Femi Agagu, on behalf of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, laying the foundation of the Jane Pelly Legacy Building, at Fiwasaye Girls’ Grammar School Akure, Ondo State, on Monday, March 27, 2023 … in the school’s premises. The one-story block of 12 classrooms was donated by the school’s first principal, the late Miss Jane Pelly, a Briton.
By Banji Ayoola
Fiwasaye Girls’ Grammar School Akure, Ondo State on Monday laid the foundation of the Jane Pelly Legacy Building for its students.
The one-story block of 12 classrooms was donated by the school’s first principal, the late Miss Jane Pelly, a Briton, who, in her will, instructed her younger brother, Dr. Hugh Pelly, to convey her will to the school’s authorities on her passage, and ensure the project’s implementation.
The state’s commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Pastor Femi Agagu, laid the foundation of the building on behalf of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN.
He expressed government appreciation to the donor and her family, as he described the school as one of the best secondary schools in the state, and indeed his model.
In her address at the ceremony on Monday, March 27, 2023, near the school’s main gate, the Principal,
Ambassador Mrs. Omobola Temitope Ojoge, said that the building, on completion, would be occupied by the Senior Secondary School, SS3, students to serve “as a motivating factor to the upcoming classes to strive in hardworking towards being part of the beneficiaries of this great provision.”
She said the project is billed for completion before December this year.
Mrs. Ojoge praised the late Miss Pelly, who she described as the mother of all the old, new, and incoming students of the school, for the donation.
Also, she thanked her family, especially her brother, Dr. Hugh Pelly “for his immense contribution to make the will of his sister a reality.”
She thanked the state government for approving the building, adding that a committee comprising of the FOGA, SBMC, PTA, and professionals had been set up for the project and it has been working.
The principal described capital and structural resources for educational development as the greatest investment any person or body could make for the future, even as she noted that “It has been proved times and again that the greatest social changes have been brought about through the power of education.”
In her words: “All over the world, educational institutions strive to mold children into responsible citizens who would lead the world one day. Since the education imparted at the school level is the foundation of one’s personality, we have to ensure that the best training and facilities are given to our children.”
She said her vision is to raise the school to an international standard in novelty and into a model for the entire country of Nigeria, stressing that infrastructure is essential for the right kind of human development; as she noted that today’s students are fortunate to have the society concentrating on ensuring good facilities for them.
To her, the structural legacy of the late Miss Pelly would be a complimentary input to education which hopes to “inspire the students to explore horizons beyond their limitations, as well as develop their mental resilience and discover the bonds of mutuality that cut across differences of culture, ethnicity, religion or background.”
The principal described the compliment as a continuous “articulation of this vision, a project of hope in the power of good education, and an investment in the development of the best minds that will enable future generations to take charge of their own destinies in a conducive motivating atmosphere.”
In an interview with The Radiance, Mrs. Ojoge said: “I feel so happy. I advise my students to face their studies. As I said, this building is going to be for SS3 students. They should strive hard so that they can benefit.”
In her remark at the event, the pioneer head girl of the school, who was also a former Permanent Secretary in the Ondo State Civil Service, Mrs. Bike Akinduro, said that the late Miss Pelly, who was from a well-to-do family in Britain, came to Nigeria at the age of 26.
According to her, “She was not from a mean family. Her mother was a medical doctor and her father was a Canon in the Anglican Church.
“I guess that if it were any of us, they would say please don’t go. No. We can’t allow you to go.
“Each time I have the opportunity to speak or write anything, I give kudos to Miss Pelly’s parents who many of us don’t remember. Because if they didn’t make that sacrifice, we would not know Miss Pelly. I am giving the kudos back to them.
“Even in death, Miss Pelly still makes waves. Over there in the UK, you would think because she was never married, she won’t be recognised or honoured. Fiwasaye’s old students have proved to be worthy children of Miss Pelly.
“In fact when she died, apart from the service we held here, the parish was shocked when they saw the mobilisation and the number of old girls from all over the UK who went to Salsbury for that burial service; and they would know that even if she had no biological children, we are her children and we have remained so.
“So, I am telling the present girls that they should be worthy ambassadors of this school and know that their grandma is Miss R.A Pelly.”
She advised parents to give their children the freedom to follow their individually self-chosen paths saying: “And as parents too, we should not impose our will on our children.
“When they say they want to do something, we should join them in prayer so that we would be sure that it is the Will of God for them. And then we should support them.
“Our Fiwasaye anthem says always best we shall remain. And I appeal to all of us old and present students alike to remain all the best.”
In an interview with this newspaper on the sideline, Mrs. Akinduro, said: “The contribution of the building to the advancement of education in this school will be marvelous.
“I didn’t know the building was going to be so marvelous and mighty. I was surprised. It is going to give the children the opportunity of having conducive classrooms.
“The problem with many schools is that the classrooms are not conducive, but this one is going to be conducive for the children to learn, and that is a big plus.”
She commended the school’s old students, who according to her “have always been supporting and will keep supporting.”
Her words: “We have not stopped. There is a block of six classrooms built by an old student and her husband on behalf of her set. The old students are working all the time.”
Venerable Ambassador Nelson Fadoju, who is also the chairman of the school’s SBMC, delivered the sermon at the occasion.
The sermon, which was titled “Christ our Cornerstone”, and drawn from Ephesians 2:20; Acts 4:11; Psalm 144:12; Nehemiah 2:18; and Anglican Hymn 576, defined the foundation of anything as first and foremost putting such a thing under the care and protection of the Almighty God.
According to the cleric: “When a foundation of a building and students is solidly laid, they will stand to face the wind of life.
“When you want to start something, like a building, your education, even marriage, you have to first and foremost put everything under the care of God. And that is what foundation means.
“But there are foundations and there are foundations. In Mathew 7, we were told of the story whereby we were instructed that when we want to build, we should build on a solid foundation and not just ordinary sand.
“That is the more reason why at this moment, we are starting with the foundation of God. All Fiwasaye products have been built on this foundation right from the beginning and that was how this college was built. He is all in all. We don’t have any other way but to remain in Him.
“I want to thank God.”
He said: “All these biblical and hymnal references are pointing towards one great path, that it is it is only in Christ Jesus that we can do all things.”
Fadoju said: “We appreciate our Governor for the wonderful job he has been doing in Ondo State; we appreciate the commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, ministry officials, the principal – a juggernaut workaholic woman who has been doing the work excellently.”
