In every community, questions are bound to arise whenever opportunities are shared among people. Scholarship programmes are no exception. However, when concerns emerge, the most responsible approach is to allow facts, proper verification and due process to guide the conversation.
Recently, concerns and comments have emerged regarding the selection of beneficiaries in a scholarship exercise involving students in Ogbomoso North. Rather than allow assumptions, sentiments or political considerations to shape the narrative, it is important to examine the facts surrounding the exercise.
According to the details of the scholarship examination, 19 students participated in the exercise, after which six students were selected
the school management based on their examination performance and merit.
The circular guiding the exercise also provided for representation from different religious communities. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Muslim community were each allocated one slot, while the traditionalist community was also expected to participate.
In addition, each ward was expected to present a candidate to sit for the scholarship examination. The principle was straightforward: candidates would participate in the examination, and those who met the stipulated academic criteria would emerge as beneficiaries.
This therefore raises an important question that deserves a factual answer: How many male students from the Muslim and Christian communities participated in the examination, and what were their scores?
If candidates from these communities participated but did not attain the required score for selection, then the outcome should be understood within the context of the stated examination criteria. Such an outcome should not, without further evidence, be interpreted as discrimination or deliberate exclusion.
At the same time, where legitimate questions have been raised about the process, stakeholders are entitled to seek clarification. Transparency is important, and the relevant authorities should be prepared to provide the necessary information to address genuine concerns.
But transparency must go hand in hand with fairness. The students who participated in the examination also deserve fairness, just as the wider community deserves an accurate account of how the beneficiaries were selected.
There is a clear difference between asking legitimate questions about a public process and politicising an educational opportunity.
Ogbomoso deserves a conversation based on facts, fairness and mutual respect. Our differences in religion, political affiliation or community background should not become reasons to divide us over opportunities meant to support the education of our children and young people.
Ogbomoso is one.
We should therefore resist narratives that unnecessarily create division among our people. Where there are questions, let the appropriate authorities provide answers. Where there are facts, let those facts be presented clearly. And where there are established criteria, let them be applied consistently and transparently.
Education should unite us, not divide us.
Let us protect the integrity of the scholarship process while ensuring that every legitimate concern receives a fair hearing.
Let us stop playing politics with bitterness.
Let facts speak for themselves.
Ogbomoso kò ní bàjẹ́.
