Obasanjo to Ogun Students: Face Your Studies, Build Good Character

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has told Ogun State students that success in life requires more than academic brilliance, urging them to combine education with character, discipline and perseverance.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Obasanjo gave the message during the maiden Obasanjo Back-to-School Project organised by the Youth Development Centre of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.

CHARACTER AND EDUCATION

Obasanjo urged the students to take their academic work seriously while developing good character. He stressed that academic success without character is insufficient.

The former president also encouraged students not to abandon difficult subjects simply because they found them challenging.

Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics were among the subjects he specifically encouraged them to persevere with.

THE SMARTPHONE DISTRACTION

Obasanjo also warned students about excessive distraction from smartphones and social media. He encouraged them to develop reading habits and devote sufficient attention to their academic responsibilities.

The message comes at a time when Nigerian students increasingly combine conventional classroom learning with extensive digital and social-media exposure.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Obasanjo urged the students to use technology responsibly rather than allowing it to undermine their education.

100 STUDENTS BENEFIT

The Back-to-School Project provided educational materials to 100 students selected from six local government areas.

The beneficiaries received school bags, notebooks, socks, pens and other learning materials. The project was organised with the support of Providus Unity Bank.

The programme also featured career guidance, games and motivational activities.

THE MESSAGE ABOUT FAILURE

Obasanjo urged students not to see failure in a test or examination as the end of their journey.Instead, he encouraged them to examine what went wrong, learn from the experience and improve.

That approach places emphasis not only on examination results but on the habits that enable students to develop resilience.

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ValidViewNetwork reports that the programme also forms part of wider efforts by the Youth Development Centre to support young people, with the organisation disclosing that it had trained 500 indigent pupils in computer education.

Academic achievement can open opportunities, but education also involves discipline, character, critical thinking and the ability to recover from setbacks.

For students, the challenge is therefore not simply to pass examinations, but to acquire the knowledge and character needed to apply what they learn responsibly.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Obasanjo’s message ultimately placed both academic effort and personal character at the centre of the students’ preparation for adulthood.