LAGOS AND TOLU SCHOOLS COMPLEX

The Tolu facilities are good investment in public education, writes KAYODE SANNI

In many conversations, Ajegunle in Lagos is described as a ghetto. The area boasts of a high population density while lacking basic infrastructure and amenities. Call it a mini-Nigeria that attracts many Nigerians from across the country and you would be right. But for many years, most stories about Ajegunle centred around poverty, dirtiness, crowdiness and disorderliness. But recently, the Lagos State government positioned Ajegunle in a different light with the re-construction of the Tolu Schools Complex to modern standards.

As television beamed the inspection by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu as he walked across the schools’ complex, one thing was clear. When it comes to education, Lagos is laser-focused on ensuring no child is left behind. Set on 12 hectares, the complex hosts 16 junior secondary schools, 15 senior secondary schools, and five primary schools. As it is, the facility would conveniently serve 20,000 students. Aside classrooms and laboratories, the expansive compound which has been touted as West Africa’s biggest school complex, also has sports facilities such as football pitches and courts for Tennis, Basketball, volleyball and handball as well as other indoor sports.

For many Lagosians, particularly those who grew up attending overcrowded public schools, the sight of a 36-school complex built to modern standards is both astonishing and deeply personal. It is astonishing because of its scale — a coordinated cluster of primary, junior secondary and senior secondary schools designed to serve over 20,000 students within one carefully planned environment. It is personal because it touches a collective memory of what public education used to look like in densely populated communities, where cracked walls, insufficient classrooms, pupils learning in shifts, and teachers battling inadequate facilities were normal.

Indeed, for residents of Ajegunle and Lagosians who care about the future of the state, that the Sanwo-Olu administration hit a bull’s eye on this project would not be argued against. In a country that is often ridiculed as having the highest population of out-of-school children, it is refreshing that the Lagos State government is positioning a counter-narrative by not only making school attendance compulsory for children but ensuring there are quality public schools to attend by building them.

The intentionality is not isolated but in line with THEMES agenda, the promise on which the governor campaigned on. The THEMES agenda is the six-pillar strategic development plan of the Lagos State Government under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, designed to transform Lagos into a 21st-century economy and a greater city. It focuses on traffic management, health, education, the economy, entertainment, and security. And with the various investments in education by building and ensuring access to quality public education, the Sanwo-Olu administration has demonstrated that its promise is not a rhetorical talking point.

The tour, a final quality check of the schools complex by Sanwo-Olu, was ahead of its commissioning by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier in the week. That the project is commissioned by the president added another layer of historical continuity. Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos laid many of the fiscal and institutional foundations that subsequent administrations have built upon. In inviting him to commission this monumental educational project, the Sanwo-Olu government underscores a lineage of governance in Lagos that recognizes education as a strategic investment rather than a budgetary burden.

Across Lagos, public schools have undergone renovations, new classrooms have been constructed, learning materials have been updated, and digital tools have been introduced into the classroom environment. There has been a deliberate effort to address not only infrastructure, but also the quality of teaching and learning. There has been intentionality in recruitment of teachers as well as investments in teacher professional development. This indicates the understanding that physical classrooms mean little without competent, motivated teachers to populate them.

Equally important is the embrace of technology in the education space. The introduction of digital learning platforms and access to electronic academic materials for students in public schools represents an acknowledgement of how modern learning happens. It prepares Lagos students not just to pass examinations, but to function in a world increasingly defined by information technology and digital literacy. This is particularly important for children in underserved communities, for whom access to digital resources at home may be limited or non-existent.

The holistic approach is just what every sector needs. While monumental investments like the Tolu Schools Complex address access and infrastructure, parallel initiatives such as the rollout of e-learning platforms and free academic materials through the HOPE programme ensure that learning does not stop at the classroom door but can continue beyond it.

What is striking about Sanwo-Olu’s education agenda is the balance between quantity and quality. Building one of Africa’s largest school complexes is impressive, but it is the deliberate structuring of education reform from primary through secondary levels that tells a fuller story. Lagos State is not merely building schools. It is constructing an ecosystem that nurtures learning, supports educators, and responds to the lived realities of its residents. Ajegunle, where the Tolu Schools Complex stands, is an area that has historically lagged behind in access to modern educational infrastructure. Choosing to site a transformative asset there sends a clear message that quality education must not be the preserve of affluent places alone. It must be embedded in every community.

Critics may rightly ask about sustainability. How will these facilities be maintained? Will teacher numbers keep pace with student enrolment? How will curriculum relevance be ensured in a rapidly changing world? These are valid questions, and they must remain part of the conversation. But it is important to recognize that such questions arise precisely because something significant has been built. One cannot debate maintenance in the absence of infrastructure.

The broader lesson here is that political will matters. Many Nigerian states have similar challenges. Few have responded with this level of boldness in the education sector. Lagos, with its unique revenue capacity and administrative history, may have advantages. Yet advantages mean little without the determination to deploy them effectively.

What the people of Ajegunle and the thousands of students who will pass through the Tolu Schools Complex experience in the coming years will be an important measure of success. But as of now, the project itself which was born from policy imagination, funded through state resources, and shepherded to completion by deliberate political will, stands as a testament to purposeful governance. Years from now, when students who passed through this complex begin to make their mark in various professions, the connection between infrastructure and opportunity will become even clearer.

In a nation wrestling with educational challenges, where teacher shortages, infrastructure deficits, and overcrowded classrooms are part of everyday reality, Lagos’ bold investments offer hope. They show what can happen when leadership refuses to relegate education to the periphery and instead centers it in the strategy for growth and development.

Indeed, the Sanwo-Olu administration’s approach in delivering on public goods and services deserves to be closely observed and studied by other states and even national policymakers. It is truly a model that needs replication across the country.

 Sanni writes from Lagos