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From Paul Orude Bauchi
Having spent two years at the Darazo Central Gifted Secondary School Darazo, Darazo Local Government area of Bauchi State, Miss Rukaiyat A. Lawal is showing glimpses of greatness.
Lawal’s dream is to become a medical doctor and she admits that her new school projects a new found optimism to achieve it.
From a less privileged background, Lawal, a Senior Secondary School (SS 2) student wrote and passed the rigorous examination before being admitted into the Darazo Central Gifted Secondary school Darazo.
Her school is one of the six tuition-free primary and secondary Schools for the gifted (1 per district) established by Honourable Mansur Manu Soro, the member representing Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives across several communities in the constituency.
Others are Ganjuwa East Gifted Secondary School Soro, Ganjuwa West Gifted Secondary School Kafin Madaki, Darazo West Gifted secondary school Sade, Special Primary School Lanzai and Manu Soro Memorial School for the orphanage Soro.
The schools were specifically established to provide free education to gifted orphans and vulnerable children with high rate to drop out of school because of their background.
“I have learnt so many things since my arrival here,” Lawal says, with a spark in her eyes.
“I have leant how to speak English fluently and now I can confidently interact with people that do not understand Hausa and if I go to my relatives in Abuja, I can speak with them fluently in English.”
She says she looks up to I look up to Minuratu Tinumu, a successfully female entrepreneur from Katsina State as a role model who motivates her to study hard to succeed in life
“I want to be like her because she is educated and wise and I want to be like her. My challenge is I am not yet perfect in English,” she added.
She says she likes her new school as she is given everything from books, wiring materials, uniform, sandals and veil free,” Lawal stated
For Saliyu Idris, an SS 2 student of Darazo Central Gifted Secondary School Darazo, gaining admission to the school was a dream come true.
Born to a farmer father, Saliyu’s parents struggled to send his brilliant son to school and have attempted to abandon the project at a point.
The coming of the Darazo Central Gifted Secondary School Darazo brought succor to the family.
Saliyu relishes his new school and does everything to prove his appreciation and nature his gift.
“I love the teachers because of their dedication and their willingness to give us the knowledge that will help us,” says the student who exhibits element of charisma. They are putting us in the right part that will make us great and help our country.”
Murtala Yayaha, 10, a primary two pupil of Special Primary School, Lanzai in Darazo, lost his father to Boko Haram insurgency in Borno state.
The lawmaker for vulnerable children in Lanzai town established the special primary school – a border town between Bauchi and Yobe States – to cater for IDPs children displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency.
His displaced family migrated to Bauchi State and settled in Lanzai where his mother struggled to cater for Murtala and his siblings.
Murtala’s admission to the special school donated by Manu Soro has brought relief to the family.
As testified by Samaila Alhaji, the headmaster of Special Primary School Lanzai, the school provides succor for many poor families in the area.
According to him, “Established in 2022, it currently has 141 pupils and eight teachers,” Alhaji discloses. They are being fed every Friday.
“Since 1999 no federal lawmaker representing us has done what Mansur Manu Soro has done. There was no single constituency project in Lanzai until now.
“Mansur Manu Soro takes responsibility of the pupils in the school and donates books, sandals, school uniform, school bags, everything free”
The house of representative member disbursed the sum of N6.55 million to 655 students of Gifted Secondary and Primary Dchools also known as a MMS schools, located at Sade, Lanzai, Soro, Darazo and Kafin Madaki towns of the constituency.
Murtala, like each of the beneficiaries, got N10, 000 to enable him concentrate on his studies and get the required materials for the study.
The federal lawmaker also presented 171 school kits, 56 teaching tablets, 20 Computer laptops, and 700 Quranic books in his resolve to sustain the educational legacy intervention projects he started.
Also donated by the lawmaker were 700 Quranic books, hundreds of ablution kettles, and praying mats were also donated to the schools to support Quranic learning and observance of Zuhr prayers.
Alhaji boasts that the school has qualified teachers and pupils come from as far as Doruwa, Dutse Bugwai, Rigragwaigwa communities that share border between Bauchi and Yobe States to learn.
“Our lawmaker provides electronic tag to all staff which is used for attendance, reports, lesson plans and so on to monitor the progress and performance of the teachers and pupils”, he noted.
The headmaster disclosed that the major challenge of the school is lack of water, adding, another problem is that people from the community compare this school with private school and the wealthy ones want to bring their children.”
The headmaster appealed to the community and the state government to be involved in running of the school to sustain the project.
As reaction continue to trail Mansur Manu Soro’s endeavours in his constituency, Governor Bala Mohammed commended the lawmaker for the gesture saying his administration is always happy to partner with agents of development as individuals or as organizations.
According to him, since its inception to date, his administration has invested a huge amount of resources towards bringing development to the citizens of the state in both rural and urban centres.
Mohammed applauded the federal lawmaker for carrying out the projects and challenged other political office holders to replicate similar projects in their various constituencies.
Auwalu S Shehu, village head of Gabas Soro says the people of the community are grateful to Mansur Manu Soro for the Manu Soro Memorial School for the orphanage Soro
“When he started building the school here in Soro, the opposition was misinforming the public that it was all political gimmick. The first interview to select 50 pupils, the public was disinterested.
“Then came the second interview, the selection process had to trim down applicants and when the third phase came, parents began to lobby for their children to be admitted.
“The schools have come to stay and we are grateful to the lawmaker who has brought us development through these schools,” Shehu he stressed
Shehu says beyond prayer, the people of the community are taking steps to support the lawmaker to maintan and sustain the school.
“We are also in our own way trying to make contributions and donations to support the cause”
Speaking on his X page, Manu Soro disclosed that the federal legislature and the Bauchi state government and the Darazo/Ganjuwa Federal Constituency have entered into a secured partnership to reposition education.
The lawmaker explained that, the special primary school would educate and cater for orphans and thanked Governor Bala Mohamed for giving the enabling environment to intervene in the most critical sectors of the state economy.
Manu Soro also commended administration’s commitment to sustain the partnership for the betterment of our people.
“We shall, in addition to take off grant of N1 million each per school/facility already provided, support their operations, financially with budgetary appropriations.”
