FORMER Vice President, Atiku Abubakar yesterday bemoaned the
inability of the nation's security apparatus to successfully fight the menace
of the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency despite the huge amount of money being
budgeted for the sector annually.
Atiku's lamentation came even as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim declared that if former Presidential candidate and founder of the Peoples Democratic Movement, (PDM), late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and late General Hassan Kastina were to be alive today, the Northern part of the country would not have found itself in the precarious situation it is today.
Also, former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani posited that the Vision 2020 programme of the Federal Government would remain a mere slogan unless something concrete is urgently done about the nation's educational sector.
Atiku, Anyim and Nnamani spoke in Abuja during the 2012 Shehu Musa Yar’Adua memorial lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre.
The former Vice-President, who was the Guest Speaker at the lecture, spoke on the topic, "Rebuilding Public Education as a Bridge in Nigeria's Future".
The Memorial lecture was graced by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku (who represented the SGF), representatives of the Governors of Katsina, Rivers and Niger States, former Ministers and other key members of the PDM like Chief Yomi Edu, Professor Babalola Borishade, Chief (Mrs) Titi Ajanaku, Dr. Abubakar Bugaje, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim Imam and Alhaji Lai Mohammed who represented former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria,(ACN) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Atiku specifically noted with sadness that despite the fact that the nation's security has always received the lion's share in the annual budgets, the sector has not been able to effectively tackle and deal with the issue of the Boko Haram, which has wreaked a lot of havoc in the country, particularly in the North Eastern geo-political zone.
He was therefore of the view that allocation of more fund to the education sector in the country may not necessarily improve the standard and quality of education in the country, if some basic things are not put in place.
Atiku, founder, American University of Nigeria, Yola (AUN), therefore proposed the institution of free and compulsory primary and secondary education across the country, with the Federal Government providing support for states that agree to abide by the policy and set standards.
He also proposed the decentralization that will concede education as a responsibility of state/regional and local governments with the Federal Government, at best, setting standards and providing financial support.
"State/regional governments should have the freedom to plan and implement educational policies and programmes to suit local needs and changing circumstances.
While a university in the Niger Delta or Lagos may see an urgency in having a world class maritime program, one in Yola or Bauchi may prioritize information technology or agriculture while yet another in Jos or Enugu may prioritize Geology or Metallurgy as the case may be,” he said.
He noted that the rot in our educational system though not an isolated one and has reached crisis-level and demands far-reaching interventions in a methodical, deliberate and sustainable way.
Atiku advocated a national discourse on education to determine the expectations we should have of the nation’s schools, envisaged priorities and educational model that is amenable to our needs and realities.
Anyim, who was represented by the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, declared that if the duo of Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and Hassan Katsina were to be alive, they would have provided the required strong leadership that would have stopped the current security problem in the region.
He specifically declared that late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua was not a regional leader but a great national leader and bridge builder, the attributes that helped him in his political sojourn while alive.
The former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani harped on the need for adequate attention to be paid to the nation's education sector for the country to realise her Vision 2020 agenda as well as meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Atiku's lamentation came even as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim declared that if former Presidential candidate and founder of the Peoples Democratic Movement, (PDM), late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and late General Hassan Kastina were to be alive today, the Northern part of the country would not have found itself in the precarious situation it is today.
Also, former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani posited that the Vision 2020 programme of the Federal Government would remain a mere slogan unless something concrete is urgently done about the nation's educational sector.
Atiku, Anyim and Nnamani spoke in Abuja during the 2012 Shehu Musa Yar’Adua memorial lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre.
The former Vice-President, who was the Guest Speaker at the lecture, spoke on the topic, "Rebuilding Public Education as a Bridge in Nigeria's Future".
The Memorial lecture was graced by former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku (who represented the SGF), representatives of the Governors of Katsina, Rivers and Niger States, former Ministers and other key members of the PDM like Chief Yomi Edu, Professor Babalola Borishade, Chief (Mrs) Titi Ajanaku, Dr. Abubakar Bugaje, Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim Imam and Alhaji Lai Mohammed who represented former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria,(ACN) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Atiku specifically noted with sadness that despite the fact that the nation's security has always received the lion's share in the annual budgets, the sector has not been able to effectively tackle and deal with the issue of the Boko Haram, which has wreaked a lot of havoc in the country, particularly in the North Eastern geo-political zone.
He was therefore of the view that allocation of more fund to the education sector in the country may not necessarily improve the standard and quality of education in the country, if some basic things are not put in place.
Atiku, founder, American University of Nigeria, Yola (AUN), therefore proposed the institution of free and compulsory primary and secondary education across the country, with the Federal Government providing support for states that agree to abide by the policy and set standards.
He also proposed the decentralization that will concede education as a responsibility of state/regional and local governments with the Federal Government, at best, setting standards and providing financial support.
"State/regional governments should have the freedom to plan and implement educational policies and programmes to suit local needs and changing circumstances.
While a university in the Niger Delta or Lagos may see an urgency in having a world class maritime program, one in Yola or Bauchi may prioritize information technology or agriculture while yet another in Jos or Enugu may prioritize Geology or Metallurgy as the case may be,” he said.
He noted that the rot in our educational system though not an isolated one and has reached crisis-level and demands far-reaching interventions in a methodical, deliberate and sustainable way.
Atiku advocated a national discourse on education to determine the expectations we should have of the nation’s schools, envisaged priorities and educational model that is amenable to our needs and realities.
Anyim, who was represented by the Information Minister, Mr. Labaran Maku, declared that if the duo of Shehu Musa Yar'Adua and Hassan Katsina were to be alive, they would have provided the required strong leadership that would have stopped the current security problem in the region.
He specifically declared that late General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua was not a regional leader but a great national leader and bridge builder, the attributes that helped him in his political sojourn while alive.
The former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani harped on the need for adequate attention to be paid to the nation's education sector for the country to realise her Vision 2020 agenda as well as meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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