In a bid to nurture the fingers that fed him, Dr. Olukoya has embarked on a renovation spree, thereby bringing change to the academic institutions that gave him the first bite of education in life.
In a testament to this, Mrs. Famakinwa Folashade Adelanke who was the former headmistress of St. John’s CAC Primary School, Oke Igan, Akure expressed profound gratitude at the remodeling of the elementary school that gave Dr. Olukoya the solid ground for his super academic brilliance and exploits.
The exceptional cleric had heeded the cry of his aging alma mater to salvage it from deterioration and decay. Like most public schools, the school had fallen on bad times owing to years of neglect. There was hardly any new addition to the old, decrepit structures in the school including blocks of classrooms.
Worse still, pupils took lessons under deplorable conditions as some of the classrooms’ floors, roofs, doors, and windows were damaged. The school was a disaster waiting to happen, but Olukoya’s kind gesture came to the rescue. Mrs. Famakinwa Folashade Adelanke is a former headmistress of St. John’s CAC Primary School, Oke Igan, Akure. She expressed great delight and appreciation at the rehabilitation of the elementary school that gave Daddy GO the foundation for his stellar academic brilliance and exploits. Narrating how the Minister of the Word got involved in the face-lift of the battered school, Dr. Olukoya went beyond the expectation of the school authorities. He embarked on a comprehensive refurbishment that transformed the school into a 21st Century institution.
In a bid to nurture the fingers that fed him, Dr. Olukoya embarked on a renovation spree, turning around the academic institutions that gave him the first bite of education in life. The gesture confirmed God’s timeless Word in Zechariah 4:10, which states: “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see work begin.” Daddy GO is a typical example of one of the eggs St John’s incubated, which has hatched into chicks, returned fully grown, to give back in immense measure.
Narrating how the Minister of the Word got involved in the face-lift of the battered school, Mrs. Famakinwa recalls: “We checked our records and realized that Dr. D.K. Olukoya is an alumnus of this school and we went to meet him. Because he is a thorough person, he told us that he would send some people to come and assess the school and the feedback would determine what he would do for us. He did not hesitate to tell us that the school is very dear to his heart.
Unfortunately, I was transferred to another school, but later on, I was told that Baba (Dr. Olukoya) has commenced the reconstruction of the entire school. I was transferred back and behold, what I saw here was a brand-new school! Dr. D.K. Olukoya has built the school anew for us. What Baba has done here is marvelous and incredible. His children are not in this school and didn’t even pass through this school, but the great man of God deemed it fit to impact hugely on his alma mater.
“The fact that he remembered this school is an elixir that has spurred us to ensure that our pupils attain success like Dr. D.K. Olukoya. He is our worthy ambassador and we make him a point of reference to our past and present pupils. We often admonish them to study hard to attain global reckoning like Dr. Olukoya and then, come back to ‘give back to the school that made them.
Olukoya’s bequest reportedly drew the attention of former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who paid a personal visit to the St. school and subsequently patterned the famed mega schools he built across the state after it. The headmistress of the school, Mrs. Ayodele Adenike said: “When the governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, heard that Pastor D.K Olukoya had turned his alma mater into a brand new school, and an architectural masterpiece too, he came here to see it for himself and he modeled his mega school project in the entire Ondo State in line with the priceless gift that Dr. D.K Olukoya gave us. You are welcome to verify what I have just told you.”
According to the former headmistress, Mrs. Famakinwa, parents are now proud to enroll their children in the school because of its ultramodern structure, neat environment, toilets, borehole facility, functional and well-stocked library, quality of teachers, and the fact that it is synonymous with Dr. Olukoya. “There is no headmistress who won’t be encouraged to come and serve here because of what Dr. D.K. Olukoya has done for us,” she added.
The head teacher says their illustrious ‘old boy’ did not stop at single-handedly rebuilding all the structures, but has done quite a lot for the school. “During our harvest ceremony last year, Baba did so much for us. His name will remain indelible in the annals of this nation and beyond.”
