Tosin Onibon-oje returned to her old school in Nigeria following 2 years of fundraising. We find out how refurbishing part of her old school will transform the lives of young women and what this trip meant to her.
You grew up in Nigeria? What was that like?
It was strict but carefree, colourful, happy and loud! Nigerians celebrate everything so there was always a party and coming from a big family and part of a big church meant someone we knew was getting married, moving into a new house, buying a car etc. In retrospect, I have to acknowledge it was a sheltered and privileged life and many may not have such memories of their childhood — maybe that was the beginning of my desire for a better life for everyone.
The school you went to, what are your memories of it?
I recently returned to my old secondary school to help. It was a Girls’ Grammar school about an hour away from my parents’ home and boarded from age 10; I loved it there. I got to meet a lot of people from different faiths, cultures, belief systems and wealth spectrum. It was old fashioned in expectation of etiquettes (a la Finishing schools), yet encouraged its girls to be ambitious and fearless and there were notable Nigerian women alumni to look up to. Most notably, I remember the ethics, values and the ambition.
How did you get involved in the refurbishment project of the school?
A few old students decided that with 2019 marking 25 years since graduation from secondary school, it should be celebrated with a significant donation to the school. I jumped in as a committee member joining with counterparts now resident across the world; many ideas were floated and having costed all, it was decided that the Biology Lab would be refurbished. This meant new furniture, louvres and windows, ceiling, white board, ceiling and flooring. The wall was also re-plastered and painted inside and outside.
What does it mean to you to see the hard work that’s taken place?
Hugely significant. Going back to the school and walking the grounds I had assembly on and classes I studied in and seeing the degradation across some of the site broke my heart. The management of the school had changed hands a few times since I left and maintenance and standards significantly reduced also. As a child, I remember the pride I had walking into my school and how much that contributed to my appetite for learning, attracting teaching talent and the wonderful results achieved by the school. The refurbishment was important — if only for the children to know and believe they are valued and their education is important to the nation. I have two daughters and would expect no less for any child wherever they are in the world.
From a career perspective what were the message that you shared with the school children? Are these messages equally important to children everywhere?
I actually was the lead for the Careers day programme; pulling together a careers’ booklet covering a wide range of roles and industries that many of my peers were now working or running businesses in. The booklet also covered female etiquettes, recognising abuse and importance of their individual and collective voices.
Aside from explaining what my job entailed, I encouraged the girls to remain focused, ambitious and not to judge themselves on their academic inabilities but recognise the importance of believing in one’s own capabilities. Also, to accept failure as a step towards learning. These are all values I teach my own children and would say to anyone.
NewDay kindly donated an array of materials to share with the girls, these were much appreciated by all of the students and teachers too.
What do you talk about with your children about the work you do with your old school?
Although it took me away from home, the girls were very excited about the project. I suspect the visual of dilapidation in pictures was very distant from their lives to truly comprehend. In their minds, I was not just refurbishing a class but building a school and they were very proud to talk about this at school and amongst their friends.
You’re also involved in the Women’s Network at work and started a great conversation about Black History Month too — how important is inclusion to you?
Very! I had no idea what the first event would turn out like; I am simply lighting a flame. My desire is help us as a corporate community open up lines of discussion about the Black British experience and remove the awkwardness around race discussions and in turn diversity and inclusion. When we do this, we are better at relating to each other and inclusion becomes second nature, every step in this direction is a win for everyone.
