Chris Alabi Says Lantern-Lit Childhood Sparked Ronik Schools Mission

Chief Chris Alabi, proprietor of Ronik Group of Schools, said his experience of studying with lanterns and fetching water from wells as a teenager shaped his lifelong decision to build quality schools in Nigeria.

Speaking in an interview, Alabi said he grew up between Oyo and Sapele and attended Baptist schools before studying Sociology at the University of Ibadan, where he graduated with First Class in 1971. Although he received a postgraduate scholarship, he said he chose business over academic and civil service careers because salaries in those sectors were too low at the time.

Alabi said his upbringing in strict Christian settings and his education in mission schools gave him early discipline, but the most defining period came during his years at Baptist High School, Iree. According to him, the school then had no electricity or pipe-borne water for six years, forcing students to study with Aladdin lamps. He said that contrast became clearer when he later moved to Olivet Baptist High School, where facilities were better.

That experience, he said, pushed him to make a personal vow to invest in education and create better learning environments. He said that after moving to Lagos and observing parents in Ejigbo taking children to distant schools in Isolo and Mushin, he decided to build a school on land he had acquired, instead of developing a guest house.

Alabi said the aim from the beginning was to provide high-standard infrastructure and reduce pressure on families seeking reliable education close to home. He said Ronik started nursery and primary education in 1988, added secondary school in 1990, and established Ronik Polytechnic in 2000.

On why many parents now choose private education, Alabi said the shift is mostly driven by consistency, accountability, safety and learning outcomes, not social class. He said private schooling should be judged by value and service quality, adding that not all private schools charge premium fees.

He also said school ownership is not a quick-return investment, noting that operators must sustain facilities, maintain standards and pay teachers competitively to secure strong classroom performance. According to him, salary levels are directly linked to teacher quality and retention.

Alabi identified regulation as one of the toughest parts of running schools in Nigeria. He said operators face prolonged licensing processes, multiple approvals, building compliance demands and difficult cash-flow realities, especially where tuition cannot immediately match operating costs. He added that infrastructural challenges, including poor road access and weak local support, further raise pressure on private operators.

He said the polytechnic approval process was one of the most demanding phases in Ronik’s journey, requiring time and repeated engagement with regulators. In his view, strong governance and careful financial planning are essential for any school to survive these pressures without lowering standards.

Addressing criticism that private schools are becoming commercial ventures, Alabi said concern is understandable but should not lead to blanket conclusions. He said schools founded for short-term profit, without proper governance or educational philosophy, can damage public trust. However, he argued that long-standing institutions built on values, trained teachers and oversight structures should be assessed differently.

On the broader decline in educational standards, Alabi said weak policy direction, poor teacher welfare, corruption and inconsistent supervision contributed to the problem over time. He said improving outcomes requires a return to core fundamentals: qualified and motivated teachers, effective leadership, relevant curricula, discipline and policy consistency.

Alabi said Ronik’s selling point remains its learning environment and infrastructure, including laboratories, sports facilities and co-curricular support. He said the school group prioritises teacher welfare and maintains high expectations for classroom delivery.

He added that Ronik has recorded strong academic outcomes over the years, including what he described as consistent top examination performance in the secondary school. He said many former students now work in different professional fields within and outside Nigeria.

Looking ahead, Alabi said the group is investing in multilingual learning and technology integration. He said pupils are being trained to communicate in English, French and Chinese, while schools deepen focus on e-learning, computing and Artificial Intelligence.

He also said the group is open to partnerships with reputable institutions in Nigeria and abroad in areas such as teacher development, curriculum enrichment, student exchange and digital learning. Any collaboration, he said, would be guided by the institution’s Board of Governors and Board of Trustees to protect long-term vision and values.

On expansion beyond Lagos, including possible growth into other states such as Delta, Alabi said the option remains under consideration, but decisions will depend on competitiveness and operating conditions. He said Ronik is also pursuing plans that could eventually lead to university-level expansion, while adapting to changing government policy around degree-awarding pathways for polytechnics.