The Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has hailed the late Babatunde Fafunwa for the valuable legacy he left behind, particularly in the education sector, which is still being kept alive by the Fafunwa Educational Foundation.

Mr Otti disclosed this on Wednesday at the 24th FFF Annual Lecture/Symposium and the 19th Annual Post-Doctoral Awards in Education, as well as the presentation of the book, Babs Fafunwa: A Mini-Biography for Youngsters, written by Okey Ndibe.

The governor said, “Whatever good we see around us took its roots from the seed of an idea, it does not matter the size or complexity. Everything began as an inspired idea and developed through the rigours of continuous refinement until it became the marvel that further extends the boundaries of human possibilities.”

Mr Otti, who is the chairman of the occasion, said Mr Fafunwa, a former education minister who died in 2012, is an icon, inspiration and mentor to many young people, adding that his “passion for education opened, for tens of thousands of us, the path to self-discovery, service and fulfilment.”

Speaking on mother tongues as the primary languages of instruction in early education, Mr Otti stated, “My position would be that if children and professionals in China suffer no disadvantage from learning in Mandarin, just like their counterparts in India or South Korea who started their learning in indigenous languages, then the fears against the use of indigenous languages for early-stage education in this part of the world may be exaggerated at best.”

On her part, Mr Fafunwa’s widow, Doris Fafunwa, represented by her daughter, Sheri Ndibe, recalled that her husband spearheaded the mother-tongue policy and conducted tests on schoolchildren about it.

Mrs Fafunwa commended her husband for not only generating and executing his laudable ideas, but also for always standing by them to the best of his ability and in the interest of the less privileged.

Also at the event was the Lagos State commissioner for basic and secondary education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, who is the guest of honour but was ably represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Kasali Adeniran, among other dignitaries.