Chris Alabi: Studying by Lanterns Inspired My School-building Mission
The Proprietor of Ronik Group of Schools, Chief Chris Alabi, said that at a very young age, he had vowed that he would surmount any hurdle to invest in education solely to provide good quality education in the system. In this interview with Sunday Okobi, Alabi reaffirms his passion and commitment to quality education, highlighting the challenges encountered, as well as the motivation behind the establishment of his various schools in Lagos
Can you take us back to your early years and your background?
I was born in Oyo, Oyo State, in 1945. I lived with my maternal parents, who were strong Baptist members. We lived together in the Mission House; they brought us up in the Christian faith from the outset. I started at the First Baptist School, Oyo, and then moved to Sapele in the Old Western Region to finish my primary education in 1959 at the Nigerian Baptist Convention School, Sapele. And then moved to Iree Baptist High School, now in Osun State, as one of the pioneering set, but that was in the Western State at that time. I was one of the pioneering set of students in 1959. Thirty-three of us entered the school then, but I think fewer than 20 of us successfully finished, because it was a six-year programme at that time.
What about your secondary school education?
My secondary school education was a six-year programme, before they changed it to five years. I spent six years then moved from there to Olivet Baptist High School, and after that I got admission to the University of Ife, Osun State, but I decided to go to the University of Ibadan to study Sociology, and came out with First Class. I got a postgraduate scholarship, but I decided I was not going to be a teacher or a lecturer, or a civil servant. I said I was going to go into the business world. So, when I finished in 1971 at the University of Ibadan, I decided to work with the company of the late Chief Ashamu of blessed memory. He was my mentor. He had a conglomerate. I worked with him because he was the one who sponsored my university education all through. My father was his teacher, and so it was like paying back, because he wasn’t expected to even go to school. After all, he was one of the sons of those Oyo Mesi, the chiefs. I joined his company on July 1, 1971, as a Sales Representative. That company was involved in the sales and marketing of explosives, including industrial and commercial explosives; these were explosives used for blasting granite and for seismic operations, coal mining, petroleum exploration, and others. So, that was the journey. I was there for 10 years, and I decided to move out.
Why didn’t you like teaching or being a civil servant?
Because the pay was poor, they were not well remunerated at all.
Were there people who motivated you?
Yes. One of them was my mentor, Chief Ashamu, and a lot of my colleagues, too. You know, then, before you finish your university education, in the final year, companies would come to the university to recruit graduates. And because of my grade, I was lucky to have been invited by Lever Brothers, but I decided on my own to work for Chief Ashamu. I wanted to have those experiences of working with a big company like that, and I loved that particular section, like the account or marketing department. In the Ashamu Group, we were into real estate, mining, shipping, and all kinds of things; so, definitely, you would have a lot of experience working there.
Could you tell us about your schools and what inspired you to establish them?
You see, at the time I was to go into secondary school, virtually all the examinations for admission into big schools like Kings College, Igbobi, Olivet, and others had ended, and their admissions had closed. So, there was this school that was just starting, and because my father knew the principal that was to start the school, late I. A. Adedoyin, he decided that I enter the school (the Baptist High School, Iree), and for good six years there was no electricity and no pipe-borne water, so we were fetching water from the well and reading with lanterns-of course the Aladdin lamps of those days. I saw the situation, and I rejected it. When I moved to Olivet Baptist High School, it was a different ball game from what we had there. So, I vowed that whatever it takes, I must invest in education, solely to have a very good quality education. That was the motivation behind the establishment of various schools in Lagos. Besides, when I got to Lagos, I started living in Isolo, then moved to Mangoro; but when I moved to Ejigbo, I saw a lot of parents trying to get their children to school across from Ejigbo to Isolo, Mushin, and other distant areas (just to get an education). So, I got this plot of land, and I said, instead of building a guest house there, I would build a school, at least to really relieve the parents that were accompanying their kids to schools of that stress, and to give a good standard of education. So, right from the very word go, I decided to build high-standard schools that would meet their (parents’) aspirations. That was the motivation behind these schools’ creation.
There is a huge preference for private schools these days, maybe for social status. Many parents now prefer to take their children to private schools, as opposed to public schools, and this is really affecting the public schools.
What do you have to say about this?
The growing interest in private education is real, but it is important to understand the reason for this. Parents are not necessarily choosing private schools because they are fashionable, but because they see consistency, accountability, safety, learning outcomes, etc. In many cases, private schools have been able to respond more quickly to changing educational needs, curriculum demands, parents’ expectations, and others. The perception that private schools are expensive should be viewed from the spectrum of the quality of services provided. Not all schools charge premium fees; affordability should be viewed in relation to value. Definitely, some people would have a reason to prefer a particular school over others. Therefore, before you go into building schools, you must appreciate the fact that it’s not an investment you can begin to receive returns quickly; so, it is a long-term investment, if at all, for benefits or return on investment. And the kind of money you would invest in such a project is huge, definitely to provide quality education that would create that preference. And whenever quality is provided, there’s a high price attached to it, and that is one of the reasons you charge high tuition fees, at least to be able to provide and sustain quality services for the students. Even if you are not getting returns on investment, you still need to continue to maintain the quality of infrastructure that are one puts into the investment. And again, you have to be sure you pay the teachers very well, too, because you find out that one of the motivations for good quality service delivery is the salary you pay the teachers. For you to get good teachers, you need to pay a good salary.
As the proprietor of Ronik Polytechnic, Secondary and Primary Schools, what are the challenges you have encountered since their establishment?
There are so many challenges in running a school. However, I’ll try to explain a few. Firstly, the challenge of government policy is another remarkable thing to point out, because you really need to have several licences to operate a school. Again, the challenge is actually getting building approval for the infrastructure you want to use from the Town Planning authorities. In addition to that, you need to get different licences and approval from various government authorities; then, of course, you need funding. You wouldn’t be able to charge for what you have put into it, as appropriate to the investment you have put in. Then, you’ll see a lot of obstacles from the environment. For example, maybe you want to improve the road network to your schools, and the local government authorities would not allow that to happen, even though they won’t do it anyway. So, those are some of the immediate impediments, but the greatest challenge in our case was when we wanted to start the polytechnic. To really get the approval took a long time, as well as many hurdles we had to cross. So, these are the various challenges we faced. Also, remember that to attract good lecturers, you have to be able to have sufficient cash flow to meet those requirements. Generally, private schools’ proprietors face the following challenges, among others, which include operational costs, teacher retention, regulatory demands, and economic pressure on parents. However, these can be surmounted through strong governance, prudent financial management, continuous staff development, constructive engagement with regulators and stakeholders to ensure sustainability without compromising quality.
Every day, private schools are springing up in Nigeria, and the people are beginning to question their motive. Some are asking if it has now become a business centre. As a stakeholder and top player in the education sector, what’s your take on this?
This concern is understandable. Education by its nature requires purpose, patience, and long-term commitment. When schools are set up solely as short-term profit ventures without adequate structure, governance, or educational philosophy, it can undermine public confidence in private education as a whole. It is important to avoid generalisation. Alongside new entrants, there are institutions like Ronik Schools that have been in existence for over thirty years, that are built on clear values, strong governance, and commitment to learning outcomes rather than quick outcomes. Sustainable schools invest in qualified teachers, continuous training, and well-defined administrative and oversight structures. These structures help to provide strategic direction. A lot of people thought that establishing schools was a money-making business; it’s when they get into it that they realise that you have to put in a lot. You must have a passion for quality education for potential students. So, people actually rent houses to start school, and after some time, they can’t pay for the rent anymore, and they withdraw. It is funny that we have this kind of situation where everyone just thinks that it is easy to just start a school and get students to attend it, whether they are giving quality education or not, they don’t mind.
Many Nigerians believe that the standard of education in the country has actually fallen compared to when you were at the University of Ibadan. What solutions can you proffer to help curb this decline?
Well, the government is trying these days, but they still have a lot to do by way of actually encouraging private schools at least to move on, because there are so many obstacles. Talking about the standard of education generally, it has fallen because a lot of corruption is going on in our society. Teachers are not well paid and so forth. And the government, especially during the military era, didn’t actually care so much about education, and so the standard started falling. Inspection of schools was not actually thoroughly done, and you just find out that everything was just going down because there was no good policy direction for schools in Nigeria to really move on. Lastly, restoring high educational standards requires a return to the fundamentals, including well-trained and motivated teachers; strong school leadership, relevant school curricula; effective supervision; a culture that values learning and discipline; and consistent policies and accountability.
What is the selling point of Ronik schools? Why should parents prefer to bring their children to your school, in terms of quality education and extracurricular activities?
First of all, we provide a conducive environment. Right from the word go, we did not cut corners in the buildings. Then, most importantly, are the laboratories; we made sure that all that was needed to deliver quality education was in there. For example, in our comprehensive school, we have a swimming pool, a sports court, and many other facilities. We also focus on sports and several other attractions, like quality teachers, who we pay very well in order to be happy and confident working for us, and improving the standard we have laid down.
What have been the achievements of the schools since they were established?
The most important aspect is the academic standard. Right from the outset, in the secondary school, I can’t think of any year we didn’t score 100 percent; you can check the record. And that has to do with the quality-of-service delivery. We started in 1988; we started the nursery and primary school in 1988. The secondary school was started in 1990, and the polytechnic was established in 2000. The journey has been quite long.
Do you think you have been successful in managing the school?
Oh, we have been very successful because we’ve not had any infringement on the government policy, and students who graduated from our schools have been excelling in their various areas, and all over the world, you would see them making an impact. And in all the fields of endeavor, they are there, including engineering and others.
Since humans don’t stop improving, where do you see your institutions in the future? What are the plans for the schools in the future?
Well, for the nursery and primary schools, as well as for the secondary school, we are focusing on actually making sure that we do not only teach English, but we have added French and Chinese. Any student in our school should be able to have at least the ability to speak those three languages – English, French, and Chinese. And as you can see, now, the economy of this country is to some extent stagnated, and the Chinese community is actually becoming very largely in charge of some economic sectors. So, to key into that, one must be able to communicate in the language to have leverage. Also, the e-learning is our focus; that is, the computer and the Artificial Intelligence (AI); those are the things we are focusing on currently. We are also looking at how we can partner with some foreign schools of good standard, so that at least we can benefit from their quality service delivery. Right from the very word go, we instituted total quality management as one of our aims to really run the school. In our schools, we ensure good corporate governance, and everything is well organised.
So, we are looking at expansion into some other areas, like Lekki in Lagos. Also, collaboration is an area we take seriously, as education today cannot thrive/succeed in isolation. Institutions that have endured, like Ronik Schools, understand that partnerships are essential for growth, relevance, and innovation. Currently, we are strengthening all our schools to ensure continuity. Beyond that, we are open to strategic collaborations with other reputable institutions, both locally and internationally, in areas such as teacher development, curriculum enrichment, student exchange programmes, technology-driven learning, and others. We are also guided by strong governance structures, including our Board of Governors and Board of Trustees, which ensure that any partnership we enter into aligns with our values, long-term vision, and educational philosophy.
Lastly, with the quality education your schools offer, why don’t you want to spread it across Nigeria, especially Delta State, where you grew up, so that others outside Lagos can also benefit from it?
We are also looking at that possibility. But to be realistic, in the past, we had students from Port Harcourt, Rivers State, even from outside the country in our schools; but now, schools are all over the places, and more schools are springing up everywhere and everyday, so, you have to be sure that you can at least compete effectively in those areas; but it’s something we are looking into. For example, from the polytechnic, we are proposing to have Ronik University, but with the government coming up with different policies, at least some polytechnics can start awarding degrees, which we are also trying to pursue.
