The Enugu State Government has expressed worry over an attempt to scuttle the on-going Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in the State as a result of an illegal public holiday declared for May 30, 2024 by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IBOB).
IPOB had, in a statement , directed the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to postpone the General Mathematics (Theory and Objectives) examinations scheduled for Thursday, May 30, 2024, which the movement has designated ‘Biafra Heroes Day.’
The State Government warns of the consequences of candidates of the State and the entire South East region not sitting for their General Mathematics papers, pointing out that such an action holds nothing but gloom for the future, contrary to what their forebears fought for.
Aka Eze Aka, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, in a statement on Wednesday, urged candidates and those involved in the conduct of the examination and other enterprises to go about their legitimate businesses, as the State had taken steps to ensure adequate security of lives and property.
Ken Ugwu, the State’s Head of Service, had earlier, in a circular dated Tuesday, May 28, 2024, clarified that there would be no public holiday on May 30, 2024, warning civil servants and political appointees that failure to report to work would attract severe sanctions.
“The Enugu State government notes with deep concern the statement credited to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IBOB) directing the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to postpone the General Mathematics (Theory and Objectives) examinations scheduled for Thursday, May 30, 2024, which the IPOB had designated ‘Biafra Heroes Day.’
“We note with particular concern IPOB’s statement that ‘WAEC board should not endanger the lives of small children because that day is not safe for any individual in Biafra territory,” Aka noted.
The Commissioner’s statement read in part: “This is unacceptable to us, not only because of the well-known position of the Enugu State government on illegal sit-at-home orders, which have dealt a great blow on the socio-economic life and fortunes of the South East region, but also because of the far-reaching consequences of a whole generation of Enugu children failing to sit for a fundamental subject such as Mathematics in one year.
“Let no one make a mistake about it, Ndigbo excel on the wings of industry, education and human capital development. Therefore, any pronouncement or action that tends to deny our children their rights to education, which is their ticket to the future, is offensive to our sensibilities and surely the sensibilities of our founding fathers and fallen heroes, who must be turning in their graves, wondering what could have happened to us as a people.
“Moreso, when many of the architects of such unjust and evil agenda live in the comfort of civilised societies where they go to work and their children go to school every workday.
“The State Government recognises the sacrifices of our gallant forebears, who gave their all, including their lives, to defend the Igbo land. But we also recognise that they died that we may not just have life, but to have the best of it, which can only come from developing our human capital to be able to excel in all that we do as individuals and collectively as a people.”
The Commissioner warned that the State Government would not sit by and watch the future of its children aborted by such ill-conceived pronouncement intended to keep them at home, adding that, WAEC, as the name implies, is a regional body organising SSCE, not just in Nigeria, but also across West Africa.
He added that the State Government, therefore, enjoined candidates sitting for the ongoing SSCE in Enugu State to feel free to go to their respective centres to sit for their papers without any fears, while the officials involved in the conduct of the examination should also go about their legitimate duties without apprehension.
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