Nebo Hall at Abalti Barracks, Ojuelegba, Lagos, didn’t just host another lecture. It held a promise – one made 20 years ago beside a hospital bed by a daughter to her dying father. That promise became the G.O. Nebo Memorial Foundation, and this year’s gathering marked two decades of keeping it alive. Soldiers in uniform sat shoulder to shoulder with academics and young students, not to recite history, but to ask what kind of future they owe the man they came to remember. Writes MARY NNAH
It started as a promise made beside a hospital bed, and two decades later, that promise filled Nebo Hall at Abalti Barracks, Ojuelegba, Lagos, with soldiers, professors, and students who had all come for the same reason: to argue about the future of Nigeria’s classrooms. On Wednesday, May 20, the hall hosted the 20th Anniversary and 5th Memorial Public Lecture of the G.O. Nebo Memorial Foundation, turning a personal vow into a public conversation.
The event honoured Col. Godfrey Okechukwu Nebo (Rtd), a late army officer remembered for his discipline and mentorship. But the real focus wasn’t on the past.
Under the theme “Rethinking Nigerian Educational System: The Need for a Paradigm Shift,” speakers used the platform to push for urgent changes they say Nigeria’s schools can’t afford to delay any longer.
A Daughter’s Promise, Kept in Public
For Mrs. Mary Ohagwasi, founder of the foundation and Col. Nebo’s daughter, the lecture is deeply personal. “Looking back on my father’s life, I said I could not allow his memories to just go like that,” she told the audience, her voice steady with emotion.
“At his sickbed, he got up and took me to where I got a job as a lecturer. Today, I’m not far from my dream of taking knowledge to the next generation.”
That dream has shaped the foundation’s work since it began 20 years ago. What started as a way to preserve her father’s legacy has grown into a multi-pronged intervention in education and youth development.
The foundation now awards scholarships to indigent girls, runs mental health outreach, rehabilitates street children, organises literacy and arts competitions, and operates vocational centres aimed at giving young people skills beyond the classroom.
Ohagwasi spoke candidly about her own academic journey as proof that education changes trajectories. After completing her first degree 30 years ago, she returned for a Master’s and later began her PhD in education.
“I wasn’t satisfied,” she admitted. “I knew that if I had been more consistent, I would have had my PhD earlier. But I’m happy I came back to the institution in a good position.”
Her message to the room was direct: without education, individuals and nations drift. “Without education, a profession is nothing. Without education, no nation can confidently say it has a future. Look at countries with strong education systems. If we fix education, we can even address our security challenges.”
For Ohagwasi, the work is about legacy. “What I leave behind in the lives of these children will become our legacy. That’s why we keep pushing – to nurture a passion for service to humanity and to make sure young people don’t fall through the cracks.”
”COVID-19 exposed how slow we are”. The intellectual punch of the day came from Dr. Dideolu Adekogbe, Lead Consultant at Florish-Gate Global Consult, a Lagos-based management and education consulting firm.
Her speech was less a lecture and more a challenge to the room.“When thinking about the Nigerian educational system, the need for partnership is ongoing,” she said. “For life, the need for partnership will always be there. There will never be a time to say we are taught.”
Adekogbe argued that mindset remains one of Nigeria’s biggest obstacles. In some communities, she said, attitudes toward learning are actively harmful, and leadership has not been intentional enough about planning for the future.
Her sharpest critique focused on technology. “COVID-19 came harshly. It did it so badly,” she said. “And the reason it hurt so much was that we were slow in adopting technology. We were still waiting, while the world moved”, she called for a decisive shift from the traditional, rigid model of schooling to one that embraces digital tools, remote learning, and flexible assessment.
Her vision is practical: children learning safely from their localities, reducing the dangers of long-distance travel for exams and classes. She noted that some students have died or been stranded simply because they had to leave home for assessments.
“But technology alone isn’t enough,” she added. “We must skill our teachers. We must improve our approaches. And most importantly, we must value our teachers.” It was a line that drew murmurs of agreement across the hall.
“This nation does not value teachers,” Adekogbe said bluntly. “When we start respecting teachers and showing them we value what they do, they will give their best. Teachers are ready to go the extra mile for children, especially when they know their own children are also in the system.”
She also questioned the current structure of the National Youth Service Corps, suggesting that shorter, more focused orientation followed by periodic training cycles would better prepare graduates for the workforce than the existing model of primary assignments.
“Let orientation work for six weeks, or three months, or six months,” she proposed. “Let students step away from their books, do practical training, then go back to their courses. The way it’s done now isn’t serving the purpose it was set for.”
Her frustration extended to leadership appointments in the sector. “We need the right people in the right places,” she said. “Education should not be used for political benefit. Our children are smarter and faster than the systems we are giving them. They won’t accept mediocrity, and they shouldn’t have to.”
Soldiers Remember a Builder
The military presence at the event was not ceremonial. Representing the 32nd Corps Commander Ordnance, Major General Abdullahi Garba Ibrahim, was Col. A.A. Shoda of the Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps. Speaking with institutional pride, he described Col. Nebo as a builder whose contributions still resonate in the corps’ professional and administrative architecture.
“The late Godfrey Okechukwu Nebo remains a respected figure whose commitment to discipline, foresight, and mentorship reflects enduring values within the corps,” Shoda said.
He noted that Nebo’s legacy was formally recognised in 2021 for his role in the corps’ infrastructural development since its creation in 2006. “It is fitting that this annual lecture comes as a form of professional dedication among officers, soldiers, and stakeholders,” Shoda said. “I commend the Nebo family for sustaining this noble mission through intellectual engagement.”
He also reflected on the lecture’s theme, pointing to a concern familiar to anyone in Nigerian higher education: the need to raise academic standards so that Nigerian graduates can compete globally. “If you look at universities these days, you see Nigerian graduating students, but the question is, are we producing the best?” he asked. “We need to look at the subjects where our students are excelling and build on that.”
More Than a Lecture, a Living Legacy
Beyond the speeches, the G.O. Nebo Memorial Foundation’s work was on display. The organization runs a centre for street children and their parents, organises special classes for students, and uses research and volunteer programmes to gather data for community projects. Its mission is clear: save young people from the traps of poverty, crime, lack of skills, and early pregnancy by giving them education and practical training.
Ohagwasi closed with a challenge to everyone in the room. “If you get a child with vocation, with leadership, and get them ready, you are moving toward solving the problems we have,” she said. “What we give our children should be what they need, not just ideas we import.”
The event ended with a sense that the conversation was far from over. In a country where education policy often shifts with political cycles, the call for a consistent, technology-driven, teacher-respecting system felt both urgent and overdue.
As attendees filed out of Nebo Hall, the subtext was clear: honouring Col. Nebo’s memory means more than annual lectures. It means building classrooms, policies, and attitudes that prepare the next generation for a world that won’t wait.
What is Next?
The foundation says it will continue expanding its scholarship and vocational programmes, with a focus on girls’ education and mental health support.
For Adekogbe and others, the next step is convincing policymakers that the paradigm shift they are calling for can’t wait another decade.
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