Dominican College Abuja: A Time To Build

As part of efforts toward unveiling the ultra-modern educational facility, the Dominican Order held a press conference to bring the press and the public up to speed on the readiness of Dominican College Abuja to commence academic activities and to seek financial support.

It is important to mention that, the Order of Preachers (OP) otherwise known, as the Dominican Order of the Catholic Church, are renowned globally for promoting evangelism and noble social causes, particularly in the education sector. Their footprints are evident all over the world, helping to build young men and women who are leaders in their various fields of endeavours. The Dominican University Ibadan is the first university established by the Order on the African continent, with several others spread all over the world.

The Order of Preachers (Dominicans) is actively involved in bridging the educational gap around the world with initiative such as this. The Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph the Worker (Nigeria and Ghana), have continued in that tradition of providing quality education at all levels - primary, secondary and tertiary - by contributing positively to society.

The project is aimed at providing world-class education and bridging the gap in access to quality education. With more donors and sponsors, more children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds can enjoy the same quality education as children from more stable backgrounds.

To allay the fears of parents, the school is investing in robust security architecture by collaborating with the Police and other renowned security agencies to provide adequate security for both staff and students of the college.

The facility upon completion will provide great succour for a number of out-of-school children not only in the FCT, Abuja, but also across the length and breadth of the country. The capital-intensive project has progressed steadily with the kind generosity of good-spirited individuals and corporate bodies. However, the sum of N250 million is still needed to get the school running fully. 

The Order is therefore saddled with the task of raising the sum of N250 million for the completion of the unfinished part of the project; the one-year running cost; and the indigent scholarship fund. The breakdown is as follows; 40 million naira for the completion of the physical structures; 120 million naira operational/running cost for one year; and 90 million naira proposed as seed capital for the indigent scholarship fund for the six-year period of studies.

Consequently, this is an open call for corporate bodies and individuals to seize the opportunity to sponsor as many indigent students as possible to the college. The management of the college has graciously reserved some slots for that purpose.  Parents and guardians are also encouraged to seek admission for their wards.

The Director, Dominican Vocation Support and Project Coordinator, Rev. Father Stephen Ogbe, OP, said, “Indeed this is a dream come through for us, from the commencement of the project till date, God has been so faithful to us, by providing the willing partners who have availed us of the needed funds. It will interest you to know, that a lot of work went into this project and more will still go into it.”

He went further to say, though the project was conceived and supervised by the Dominican Order, it is a project for all Nigerians irrespective of their religion, tribe or social status, and as such he called on both corporate and private sector players to embrace and support financially, the good work the Lord has started.

The project seems to have been completed but the work proper is just beginning and as such, the Order wishes to passionately appeal to well-meaning Nigerians, irrespective of their faith, corporate bodies, NGOs to identify with this noble cause, by supporting it financially through their donations.

In 2015 according to the Nigeria Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) report, 13.2 million children were out of school. The figure has increased over time because of the dislocation of families due to the growing insecurity in the country and the devastating effect of Covid-19 pandemic that ravaged the world recently.

The inauguration of the college will hold in July 2021, while academic activities are to commence by September this year. By then, the new intakes would have been admitted and ready for studies.