Obele Community Schools Receive Major Upgrade Through Public-Private Partnership
By: Abudu Olalekan
Some kids in Obele now have better classrooms. Back on March 25, 2026, the Vcare for Development Foundation joined forces with the Lagos State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education along with Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited to fix up both the senior and junior secondary schools in Surulere. Truth is, the buildings were nearly broken down before. Today? They look nothing like they did.
Honestly. Public schools in Nigeria often resemble empty shells instead of active classrooms. Packed rooms where students sit three to a desk. Bathrooms that are completely broken. Educators pushing hard despite having barely any supplies. Obele carried every single one of those issues at once. The Primary, the Junior, then the Secondary – all crammed together. Not just sharing space. Sharing decay.
Here’s the truth. When government teams, nonprofit groups, and businesses stop blaming each other, real change begins. That’s exactly what’s happening with VCDF’s Model School Initiative. They’ve stuck with teamwork as their main method. Turns out, it delivers results.
Smiles everywhere when it started. Top government folks took their seats. School administrators arrived right on time. Local leaders stood near the front. Pleased expressions on every student face.
Mr Jamiu Tolati Alli-Balogun, overseeing basic and secondary education, spoke plainly. Crucial – that’s how he labeled the project for Lagos State’s future path. Learning fails when walls crack and roofs leak, was his clear message. Because truth sits here: surroundings shape results, affect moods, stop students from walking away too soon. Praise came easily for VCDF and SEEPCO – support like theirs lines up with what the state dreams of, places where children lean in, stay, grow.
Truth is, she didn’t sugarcoat it. The Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Abisola Dokunmu-Adegbite, stuck to what matters. Students? School leaders? Both need to protect the new setups – her point landed clear. Waste isn’t an option, that’s how she saw it. Makes sense, when you think about it.
Half a chance is what many children are getting, thanks to efforts spreading through Lagos, Delta, and Akwa Ibom. James Olabi Odey, serving as National Programme Manager at VCDF, explained how things connect. Not every part stands alone – the Obele project fits into something wider. One piece, sure, yet linked to a broader effort. More than 28,000 young lives reached so far under the Model School Initiative.
A different kind of effort stands out when companies dive into real work, he pointed out. SEEPCO doesn’t just send money – instead, they show up where it matters. True responsibility takes shape through action, not transactions alone. What counts is being present, not just paying.
What really happened next? This breaks it down piece by piece
Obele Senior High School
Fresh paint brightens each of the fourteen classrooms. Thirteen offices got new lighting along with better airflow. Storage areas now hold supplies more neatly than before
Built and equipped physics chemistry biology labs
Replaced the roof on a one-storey classroom block
A stack of 150 lab stools sits ready. One hundred student desks stand nearby, placed in rows. Teaching boards lean against the wall, waiting their turn
New sanitation facilities and walkways
Obele Junior School:
Renovated 8 classrooms and 10 offices
Fresh spots to sit showed up alongside bookshelves that now stretch wider than before. Study pods appeared where quiet can settle easier. Space opened up without pushing things far apart
Furniture for educators, workspaces, overhead cooling units – everything included
New water system and better sanitation
Sure beats a poke in the eye, wouldn’t you say?
This entire effort connects with UN Goal 4: fair access to strong learning for all. What matters is ensuring every kid has a shot, regardless of birthplace.
Truth came straight from Sulaimon Bamidele Yusuf, head of Surulere Local Government. Sure, better roads and buildings look good, yet real change kicks in after the work ends. Staying power comes not from fresh paint, instead it grows where people care enough to protect what’s theirs. Follow-through counts more than flash. When leaders vanish once projects finish, decay creeps back fast – no matter how clean things looked at first.
What this shift stands for? Everything, if you live in Obele. Those village elders present when things changed hands called it a break from harder times. Not the sort of difference measured by grades alone – its effects spread wider, touching every corner of daily life.
When you look at how fast Lagos is growing, efforts like this one point toward what comes next. Not just talk – actual teamwork shaping results. Lives change when children get chances they’ve always needed. Hope isn’t loud here; it shows up quietly in actions.
Olusegun Osinaike showed up – he leads Education District IV as Tutor-General and Permanent Secretary. There too was Mrs. Florence Bolodeoku, head of ANCOPSS’s Surulere branch.
