The late Dr. Tai Solarin's widow, Sheila, who died on October 21, aged 88, will be buried today in Ikenne, Ogun State. The acclaimed humanist who along with her activist husband established the popular Mayflower Schools in Ikenne, Ogun State in 1956, died at Babcock University Medical Centre where she had been on admission since mid-July following a domestic accident.
As one of the biggest pillars for our nation's education sector, she will be sorely missed.
It is however very telling, if not shameful, that for her contributions to education in Nigeria, it took the Queen of England to confer on Sheila in October 2007 the award of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE).
Successive administrations in our country never found it fit to honour the woman, whoalong with her late husband, worked tirelessly in uplifting the standard of education in Nigeria.
That tells a compelling story about our reward system which is pitched in favour of time servers rather than true patriots and those who sacrifice their time and talents for the upliftment of our society.
Born in England in 1924, Sheila Mary Solarin received her early education in England and obtained the Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 1941. In 1951, she graduated from Manchester University with a degree in English and later proceeded to Ontario Institute of Education, Toronto, Canada for a Masters degree in Education in 1975.
Sheila met Tai Solarin in the early fifties and in what seemed like a perfect match for two people from different cultural background Sheila followed her husband to Molusi College, Ijebu Igbo where they both worked for four years between 1952 and 1956.
The couple's unparalleled love for education made them quit Molusi College in 1956 to set up the Mayflower Schools. Over the years the Schools blossomed to become one of the best in the country. It never compromised on discipline and academic excellence.
The school's curriculum included learning of skills such as cooking, sewing and carpentry.
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