The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has said qualitative education remains one of the antidotes in solving issues of keeping citizens away from criminal tendencies such as banditry and kidnapping, among others.  

 Abiodun has therefore appealed to all stakeholders in the education sector in the State to see the future of children as a collective responsibility.

Prince  Abiodun made this known at the Oba's complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta,  venue of the official flag-off and National Campaign on Out-of-school Children in the six Geo-Political Zones of the country, disclosing that "education of our children is not only a parental duty, it is also a sacred one, ordained by God, therefore, all hands must be on deck’’.

He said, "sound education to an extent keeps citizens away from criminal tendencies such as banditry, kidnapping, all of us must join hands to ensure that more of our children are in school". 

 The Governor noted that well educated citizens create economic potentials for personal growth and socio-economic development of the community as a whole, adding that the pivotal role of education in engendering development in all sectors of the social life of the people must be appreciated.

He stated that the huge investment of his administration in the education sector was yielding results, saying the rate of enrollment of school children in the State from 2019 to 2021 had increased from 1,446, 522 to 1,707,580.

Earlier in his remarks, the Minister of State for Education, Rt. Hon. Goodluck Opiah, aplauded the Governor on the giant strides embarked upon by his administration to position the State in the rightful place for national and global competitiveness, noting that his efforts were highly commendable.

Opiah pointed out that the country had the highest number of out-of-school children in sub Saharan Africa, saying it was imperative to find solutions to the issue.