The controversy over the Federal government’s planned concession of King’s College, Lagos, to the King’s College Old Boys’ Association (KCOBA) has escalated, with protesting the arrangement on Lagos Island and threatening to prevent the school from resuming for the new academic session unless the government addresses their objections.
The parents, who gathered in large numbers on Wednesday, carried placards bearing inscriptions reading: “King’s College is not for sale” and “Federal Government, we say no to concession”, as they opposed what they described as an attempt to transfer control of the 116-year-old institution to its old students’ association.
The protest caused traffic disruption around Marina, including the route into Victoria Island. Protesters also gathered around the entrance leading to the Lagos State Government House, chanting solidarity songs and demanding that the government intervene.
The development represents a sharp escalation of a dispute that has been building since KCOBA publicly announced the concession arrangement and began mobilising resources for the redevelopment of the prestigious Federal government-owned secondary school.
Speaking at a meeting with parents before the protest, the Chairman of King’s College Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), Peter Oluwaseye, said the parents are opposed to the concession and would not allow the school to resume if the Federal government failed to explain its position.
Oluwaseye said the parents were prepared to suspend the resumption and seek judicial intervention if the government remained silent on the matter.
“We will suspend resumption, and we are going to court if the Federal government does not say anything,” he said.
Oluwaseye also alleged that the proposed arrangement would ultimately deprive many children of access to education at the school, accusing KCOBA of seeking to turn the institution into a revenue-generating venture.
“KCOBA doesn’t have anything for this school; they want to turn it into a cash cow,” he said.
The PTA chairman had earlier expressed similar concerns, arguing that King’s College was a public institution and should not be treated as the property of former students.
In an earlier statement on the planned protest, Oluwaseye said parents, some senior civil servants and members of the surrounding community were opposed to the concession.
“Old boys should not see the college as their property. They attended the school just like the current students are doing. King’s College is public property,” he had said.
He argued that the Old Boys Association should support the institution through donations rather than seek control over its administration.
“The old students should give to the college willingly, not wanting to take it over. They won’t succeed. There is no private entity that can assemble the type of teachers we have in the college. We say no to concession, whatever guise it is being planned,” he added.
The dispute followed the announcement by KCOBA President, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, that the Federal government had approved the concession of King’s College to the old boys’ association.
The association subsequently launched a N100 billion endowment fund to reposition the institution and address longstanding infrastructure and other educational challenges.
Among the early contributors to the fund were First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who donated N10 million; Ibrahim-Imam, who pledged N1 billion; former Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Philip Asiodu; and the association’s new Board Chairman, Alhaji Femi Okunnu, who each donated N100 million.
KCOBA said the concession was designed to support infrastructure renewal, teacher development, digital technology, scholarships, innovation, research and students’ welfare.
Ibrahim-Imam, while announcing the development, described it as a landmark in the history of King’s College and potentially a model for the renewal of public education in Nigeria.
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According to him, the arrangement would enable KCOBA to work with the government to upgrade the school’s infrastructure, strengthen its governance and improve learning outcomes.
He rejected suggestions that the Federal Government had sold King’s College to the association.
“Rather, it is the establishment of a new governance framework through which KCOBA will partner with government to restore, strengthen, modernise, and sustain one of Nigeria’s greatest educational institutions,” he said.
Ibrahim-Imam also traced the development to years of advocacy and engagement by generations of former students concerned about the deterioration of facilities and systems at the institution.
He said the concession represents an effort to reverse the decline of a school established in 1909 and regarded as one of Nigeria’s most prominent secondary schools.
However, the parents’ objections suggest that the major point of contention is not necessarily the proposed investment in the school but who will exercise control over the institution and under what terms.
While KCOBA maintains that the arrangement does not alter government ownership of King’s College, the parents fear that granting the association a significant governance role could effectively change the character of the institution and limit access to children from ordinary Nigerian families.
