By Sade Adewale, Ondo
|
Mentoring has been described as a  bridge to positive change and growth in the society. It  serves as the surest way of learning and development partnership between someone with vast experience and someone who wants to learn.

  Justice Hellen Ogunwumiju, of the Court of Appeal  made this disclosure  while delivering  a lecture as part of the activities  marking  the Centenary Anniversary of Ondo Boys High School (OBHS),  held at the school hall in Ondo City.

 Ogunwumiju who spoke on the theme  “The need for and positive effects of mentorship programmes in institutions of learning”, posited that mentorship experience and relationship structure affect the “amount of psychosocial support, career guidance, role modeling, and communication that occurs in the mentoring relationships in which the proteges and mentors are engaged.

The guest lecturer hinted that youth mentors can effect changes by engaging in behaviours that demonstrate trust, empathy and tangible support for them

“Talking about youths unemployment which is a major fall out of  nation’s  education policies. We are talking about not too young to run on what values are they running?

 “On what values were they raised? You cannot give what you do not have. You cannot even blame the young ones. In the last 30 years, what values has a young man who is now 40 years been able to imbibe from the Nigerian society?.

“Generally, young students who went to Boarding school before 1990 can romanticize about our days in the boarding house with rigid rules of study and behavior. Some of the habits of eating, siesta, preparatory classes, among others  taught at boarding school were taken home by us and copied by our immediate and extended families who were proud of our opportunity to be exposed to such values and ethics”

“We learnt to love and fellowship with each other. We learnt to be faithful friends through thick and thin. For example,  hardly will you find any school now with a literary and debating society. Articulate young people now become articulate in a negative way on social media because nobody is mentoring them to sharpen their intelligence  on a correct path.

“Where do they unleash their sharpened intelligence when they are not correctly fed with guidance and the hope that they can make productive use of their brains and education except to become what we now colloquially call Yahoo Yahoo practitioners. We expanded the breadth of education and shrunk the depth of education.

“There is no gain saying that most youths today have not been educated to function and perform optimally in the 21st century,” she stressed.

The Jurist  advised teachers to support students rather than being too directive or domineering  as a way of involving them, rather  they should encourage them to be  observing their mentor.

The guest lecturer advised them to have confidence in student’s abilities and trust them to do things that is right, saying that the parents  should do what is right as they are the greatest mentor for their children and many others.

 The chairman of the occasion  who is  also the leader of the Pan Yoruba socio-cultural group   Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti OFR, thanked the students for their deligence and hard work.

Fasoranti thanked God for everything and for the successful administration of the school which he described as a shining light.

He  equally  congratulated both old and present students of the school for witnessing the centenary celebration and advised them to have faith in God at all time.

Also, the President General of the Old Students Association, Elder Yemisi Lofinmakin enjoined teachers to be focused and dedicated in helping the students to build their career,  noting that  they should not give them  assignments  that are not related to education.