The Delta State government has called on the private sector as well as public spirited individuals and organisations to partner with it in its efforts to develop the education sector in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Chiedu Ebie, made the call yesterday in Warri during the handing over ceremony of the structurally upgraded and refurbished Ifiekporo Community Primary School, Warri, by Matrix Energy Limited.
Ebie, who was represented by a principal officer of the ministry, Paul Okpala, said the state governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, had designed a special programme, tagged the Support-A-School Programme (SASP), to specifically open a window to organizations like Matrix Energy, to participate in the administration’s vision to make learning conducive to children in the state.
In his remark, the Chief Operating Officer of Matrix Energy, Loqman Salam-Alada, said the project to upgrade and refurbish the school’s facility was part of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility to the host community.
Nigeria has just held another summit on education. No, it is not just another summit. This is a presidential summit, initiated, attended, and addressed by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Therefore, it must be different than the others.
First, as a presidential initiative, there is hope that government is serious about fixing the collapsing edifice of our educational system. Second, it represents another down payment by the administration on its campaign promise of change in our approach to development. Third, and perhaps, most important, stakeholders can rest assured that the recommendations that come out of this summit will receive prompt attention at the highest level of government.
It is noteworthy that the president gave the Ministry of Education the directive to organize the summit in his address to the convocation ceremony of the University of Ilorin barely a month earlier.
At that forum, the president explained that the reason for the summit was to tackle major problems facing the education sector in order to “restore education to its lead role of human development game-changer.” He also vowed that his “government will not allow the country to miss the globally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) train, the driving force of which is education.” Thinking aloud, and rightly too, Buhari noted that “any success recorded in education will have a ripple effect on every other sector of our life.”
The Ministry of Education acted promptly on the president’s directive and the November 13 summit was the outcome. Hope is kept alive! Except that nothing is new under the sun that shines on this land of wonders. For starters, this is not the first presidential summit on education. There was one in 2010, another in 2012, and yet another in 2015, at the instance of the Jonathan administration.
In its news of the 2015 conference in December 2014, Daily Independent reported that “the Federal Government has concluded plans to organise another National Education Summit, where it hopes to review progress and challenges still militating against the sector” (my emphasis). It added that “the Federal Government, under President Goodluck Jonathan, convened the last education summit in 2012 where most stakeholders reeled out various challenges bedeviling the sector since the attainment of independence in 1960 and came up with far reaching recommendations that could salvage the system” (my emphasis).
Why the emphases? First, the Jonathan administration summit proposed for 2015 was not the first education summit. Indeed, the same administration had held two previous summits on education. However, it could be argued, in the light of our traditional beliefs, that where a problem persists, we must assiduously seek for solutions. After all, an unceasing infestation of body lice condemns the fingernails to constant blood stain.
Second, however, the 2012 summit was supposed to have provided “far reaching recommendations that could salvage the system.” Obviously, those recommendations fell short; hence the need for 2015, and then, 2017, if we just limit ourselves to presidential initiatives.
There were of course stakeholders’ summits, state summits, and zonal summits on the Nigerian educational crisis. Sadly, the crisis appears to have only deepened, one manifestation of which is the recent decision of the Kaduna State government to fire almost 22,000 teachers for failing a competency test. That such a large number of primary school teachers failed a test designed for their students is a great embarrassment to the system and a grave sign of system collapse.
But Kaduna State is not an outlier and similar or worse ailment afflicts other states. There are teachers with serious challenges in the use of English language. There are parents and teachers helping their wards cheat in examinations. When stakeholders pressed school systems on the high rate of failure in WAEC and NECO, many teachers and principals, including officials of state education boards and others in high places, respond with corner cutting.
The result is that students pass external examinations, but they are neither employable nor admissible to higher institutions. Those who secure admission through an odious patronage system may buy their ways through the same means, but almost always end up as liabilities to themselves, their parents, and the community. When you input garbage, you get garbage as output.
A rotten educational system does not just hurt individuals; it is a national disaster. No sensible person will doubt that without the natural endowment of oil reserves, which we have apparently managed to turn to a curse, an outstanding system of education can take the nation to the highest level of development. Look at Israel and other resource-challenged nations.
What those nations have, that we lack, is a political system that creates strong institutions and throws up leaders with the right mix of skills, foresight and charisma, which enables them to identify development goals, thoughtfully plan and selflessly pursue their implementation with vigor, while combating challenges in their path. How else could a region implement free primary education with no oil revenue? And why, after enormous oil revenue since the early seventies, have we failed to move from free primary education to free university education? Why are we now contemplating charging fees for secondary education?
The answer is simple. With our oil revenue, we created a monstrous system of patronage that has turned public service into a private enrichment system. Awolowo had no security vote. He and his colleagues had no special allowance for personal constituency projects. They certainly had no luxury of personal emoluments that surpassed those of the most developed nations of their time. They invested their regional resources in the development of their regions and the nation at large was the beneficiary.
Almost all our present leaders from local government to state and federal levels are beneficiaries of the system that prioritized the education of citizens. Our educational system would not be in the dunghill now if every one of them had followed the example of those leaders who made it possible for their generation to step into their shoes.
The Minister of Education is right on point: “Nobody has the moral and resource capacity to intervene promptly, substantially and sustainably in all areas of education provisioning better than government.” So much for the copout of “government cannot do it alone.”
If there is will, the way is doubtless clear. The Minister pointed out that “from 1999 to date, the annual budgetary allocation to education has always been between 4% and 10%.” The recommendation of the United Nations for financing education is at least 26% of a country’s budget. As the Minister added, “none of the E9 and D8 countries other than Nigeria allocates less than 20% of its annual budget to education.” For 2018, Mr. President’s education budget is 7%. So, we know what the problem is.
But we are told that the funds are not there. Civil servants are owed months of salary and pensioners are starving. However, the sacrifices are not shared equally, and it is unfair. If justice is the first order of social life, every member must bear an equitable share of the social burden, from the president down to the littlest citizen.
For a start then, if education is understood as the means to a good life and a great society, its funding must be assured by society. We have an Education Trust Fund which is made possible by the sacrifice of corporate citizens. The political class also needs to make its contribution to that pool. This can be done by committing all security votes and all constituency project allowances to the rejuvenation of the education sector to get us to at least 20% of budget for the sector.
Surely, money is not the cause of every problem in the sector. Traditional values have broken down and parental neglect is the foremost symptom. Bringing children into the world and abandoning them to the vagaries of social life is highly irresponsible. So is using them as income generators at a tender age when they should be in school. The more than 8 million out-of-school kids in Nigeria is a national shame. We are already paying the price in various ways.
Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu said yesterday that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government would need one trillion naira annually to fulfill its campaign promises on education.
Adamu spoke at a special retreat of the Federal Executive Council on Education at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The minister, who called for a state of emergency in education, maintained that all change must begin with education, because, “if we get education right, other areas of our national life will be right and they will fall in line.
”I believe that this retreat should end with a declaration of a state of emergency in education so that we can face the challenges frontally and squarely.
“These challenges are not insurmountable. What is needed is vastly improved funding accompanied by a strong political will.
“The strong political will needed to do all this is present in this government. What this government must now do is to make the funds available.
“Nobody has the moral and resource capacity to intervene promptly, substantially and sustainably in all areas of education provisioning better than the government.
“Unfortunately, from 1999 to date, the annual budgetary allocation to education has always been between four per cent and 10 per cent.’’
According to him, none of the E9 or D8 countries other than Nigeria allocates less than 20 per cent of its annual budget to education.
He added that even among sub-Saharan Africa countries, Nigeria was trailing far behind smaller and less endowed nations in terms of its investment in education.
The minister, therefore, stressed the need for a major investment in education in the national interest.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Prof. Peter Okebukola, a former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, who presented Nigeria’s Score Card at the event, expressed the hope that Buhari administration would address the challenges in the nation’s education sector.
The Minister added: “If education is weak or dysfunctional, society and its development will also be weak and dysfunctional. And all change including our very Change Agenda begins with education; because it is education that shapes, corrects and restores society. But to be able to restore order to society, education has to be made a national priority. “
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja endorsed the ongoing primary school education reforms embarked upon by the Kaduna state government.
The President made this known when he declared open a special retreat of the Federal Executive Council on Education, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
It would be recalled that the administration of Gov. Nasir El Rufai came under attacks, recently, especially from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) over plans by the governor to sack at least 21, 780 primary school teachers, who could not pass a competency test.
The development which did not go down well with the leadership of the NLC prompted a protest on Nov. 8 over what it described as `obnoxious plan’ by the state government to sack the teachers.
However, Buhari while decrying the rot in the sector, said Nigeria could not progress beyond the level and standard of its current educational system.
“To digress a little bit so that you know that I meant what I read.
“Having been an orphan, I still feel that whatever I did in life so far was built by boarding school. For nine years I was in boarding school, three in primary and six in secondary school.
“In those days, teachers treat their students or children like their own children. If you did well they will tell you, you did well, if you don’t do well they never spared the rod.
“When I finished my secondary school, I didn’t work for a day, I refused to work for a day, I left home, I refused to work in the local government, and then I joined the army. And the army of that time we went through all we went through up-to the civil war.
“And then I listened to one of the Nigerians I respect, he said after his training here in Nigeria and the United States, he went to his alma-mater, his primary school to see what he could contribute.
“I won’t mention his name but when he went, he couldn’t differentiate between the students, the children and the teachers.
Buhari’s voice on El Rufai
“And what El-Rufai is trying to do now is exactly what that man told me about 10 years ago. It is a very, very serious situation, when teachers cannot pass their exams that they are supposed to teach the children to pass.
“It is a very tragic situation we are in and this our gathering together to me is one of the most important in this administration.”
Buhari said with the rot in the education sector, drastic measures had become necessary to salvage the situation.
According to him, the state of education in Nigeria calls for a serious concern, saying that stakeholders should not feign ignorance that the quality of education in Nigeria has dropped and would require greater attention and improvement.
He said the All Progressive Congress (APC) which he rode on to become President was committed to all the electoral promises made to revamp the education sector.
He also revealed that current statistics of out of school children stood at 13.2 million up from the 10 million estimated by the United Nations few years back.
“We cannot afford to continue lagging behind. Education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future.
“This administration is committed to revitalising our education system and making it more responsive and globally competitive.”
He commended the Ministry of Education for setting the stage for this national conversation that aimed at refocusing the education sector.
The president expressed the hope that the retreat would not only overcome the numerous challenges facing the nation’s education sector, but also to strengthen the Ministerial Strategic Plan that had already been developed by the ministry.
He said: “The significance of this summit is obvious. We cannot progress beyond the level and standard of our education.
“Today, it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with practical knowhow that are leading the rest.
“Education upgrades the living standard of citizens and enables people to become better and more productive citizens. It is a human right that creates a safe, healthy and prosperous society.
“These efforts are justifiable only to the extent that schooling is effective in promoting the realization of national objectives, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Education For All (EFA) by 2030.
“These targets are, happily, in harmony with the manifesto and the CHANGE agenda of our Party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).’’
Buhari said his administration was determined to turnaround the sector for the better, noting that already the government was making appreciable progress in this respect.
He, therefore, challenged participants of the retreat to come out with strategies that would address the challenges of basic and secondary education, teacher training and professional development; technical and vocational education.
“The summit must work to enhance quality in, and access to, higher education and other challenges in the sector that will debar us from attaining the SDGs and be among the top 20 economies in the world,’’
In his remarks, the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, advocated declaration of state of emergency in education so as to achieve the desired goals in the sector.
He stressed the need to carry the universities and other tertiary institutions along while driving the nation’s national development objectives.
“Mr President, to achieve the desired change that education needs, there is need for improved funding and a measure of political will in national governance,’’ he said.
The Retreat, with the theme; “Education Sector in Nigeria Challenges and Prospects”, has Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, cabinet ministers, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Presidential aides, heads of agencies and parastatals under the Ministry of Education as participants.
Education A new guide book is raising awareness among day nursery staff on how to avoid gender bias.
According to the guide book for staff La poupée de Timothée et le camion de Lison (Timothy’s doll and Lison’s truck), boys tend to demand more attention from adults than girls, and to dominate in conversations.
The findings of a study made in Swiss day care centres are enough to give you chills: if your little girl goes to day nursery, it’s very likely that she is called upon more often to put away the toys than her male playmates, given less praise when she does well and is often assigned a supportive role. Your little boy on the other hand, will have a more limited range of costumes to dress up in, will receive compliments that are especially focused on his strength – and will get more help.
“This is about real situations that we observed during studies carried out between 2012 and 2015”, Véronique Ducret, social psychologist at the 2e Observatoire (Second Observatory); the Geneva-based Romandy Institute of Research and Training on Gender Relations explained. “We catalogued and analysed these observations in a guide book entitled La poupée de Timothée et le camion de Lison (‘Timothy’s doll and Lison’s truck’).” The goal of this colour publication, designed for day nursery professionals? To raise awareness on how children can become conditioned from a very young age through contact with adults whose behaviour reinforces stereotypes. In 2012, the 2e Observatoire had screened eleven day nurseries in Romandy, Switzerland, and already criticised the fact that girls were less often called by their first names than boys, for example. This first edition of the guide, which very quickly ran out of print, was widely distributed in day nurseries in the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. “Feedback from staff has been positive on the whole, and the findings were well received. We have already noted instances of positive change,” Ducret added.
To provide the material for an improved, second edition of the guide, the institute analysed an additional four day nurseries; those of the University of Geneva. The conclusion: girls are now being called by their first names at least, but the problem of ensuring that girls and boys socialise and play together as equals remains. “In a given space, if we get out the pedal cars, the boys grab them straight away, and the girls are left to occupy what little space is left over. On the other hand, if the childcare assistants give the children neutral toys, all the children have fun together very easily. Coexistence can be learnt! But other gender stereotypes last longer and are harder to shake off, such as the tendency to judge little girls based on their appearance,” Ducret specified.
On the strength of this success, the 2e Observatoire decided to continue its work by branching out into an attack on stereotypes that develop in the playground and at elementary school. Over a one-and-a-half-year period, the team went to observe what was happening at various establishments in the Swiss cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel and Jura. “It was a natural step for us to start observing children in the next age group, after having studied those at kindergarten”, Bulle Nanjoud, who is in charge of the project explained. “We realised that gender bias develops in a different way at elementary school, but that it’s still very present. We noted, for example, that the majority of both the physical space and the sound environment is taken up by boys. Which is a shame, because it’s a fact that is well known by researchers, and yet the situation hasn’t changed.” An updated version of the guide, based on these further observations will be published in September 2018, and will be distributed to teaching staff by the cantonal departments of education. Featuring the same look and same tone, this new version of the guide has the same mission as its predecessor: to kick gender stereotypes out of the education system.
Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, has recommended that to improve the reproductive health system in the state and across the federation, there must be mass education, increased investment in health, good governance, social and economic empowerment of women. Other issues to be addressed according to him, are strengthening of health services, development of a rights-based code of ethics and domestication of international conventions.
Dr Idris stated this at the maiden lecture and award series of Inspiration 92.3fm, with the theme: “Amazing Reproductive Health- reproductive health across life’s course”, held at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Kofo Abayomi, Victoria Island, Lagos. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was the special guest of honour at the lecture.
According to Dr Idirs, issues that affect reproductive health include age; rural-urban dwellers; education; socio-economic status; work; cultural and social norms; such as female genital mutilation; early marriage; female disinheritance; gender and socio-economic issues; human rights; existing laws; policies; regulations and strategies.
According to the commissioner, that is why a state like Lagos has 24.2 per cent of women having their first sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years. This is verified by the National Demographic and Health Survey and the Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey, which reported that 24.2 per cent of women in Lagos had their first sexual intercourse before attaining the age of 18 years.
The national figures of women that have sex before the age of 18 is about 51 per cent. In Lagos, one out of every four women would have been exposed to sex before 18 and the national average for Nigeria is one of two women.
He said: “The difference in these figures might be attributed to several factors, such as female education, urbanisation, child marriages etc. With an average age at first birth at 20 years, about 22.5 per cent of pregnancies are from teenagers in Nigeria. More worrying, however, is that reports showed that as at this year, about 40 per cent of women in the Southwest have experienced physical violence since age 15 and sexual violence cannot be excluded from these statistics.”
According to him, “in a country where more than 60 per cent of its population are young people and significant numbers of these youths are exposed to sexual intercourse at an early age, either voluntarily or violently, a lot of potential problems emerge.
“Such problems are associated with sexually transmitted infections; childhood pregnancy; trauma and its accompanying physical and mental health implications. This means that there must be access to knowledge about sexual health and systems that modify behaviour, as well as access to services that prevent and manage them.”
Acting Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Ademola Mogbojuri, represented by Mrs Bolaji Abayomi, advised mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of delivery and continue to breastfeed their babies for three years with the addition of supplements in order to make for healthy living of the child.
Chairman of the occasion and founder of Benola, a non governmental organisation (NGO) with focus on Palsy, Air Vice Marshal Femi Gbadebo (rtd), said for proper reproductive healthcare, the issues of ante-natal, mother and child care, among others, must be addressed. “We need to educate ourselves on what needs to be done,”he said.
In his remarks, Amazing Inspiration Media Chairman, Mr. Erastus Akingbola, said the decision to hold the lecture was borne out of the need to contribute to the issue of healthy living among the people.
Represented by Mr. Soni Irabor, Akingbola said the best approach to solving issues around reproductive health is when there is a forum for people to break the silence on it for a common solution.
He also disclosed that since the radio station has a passion for every segment of the society, there was the need to accord priority to the well being of the citizens by providing swift and genuine information on how to address their health challenges.
Guest Speaker, Chief Executive Officer, SLOT Systems Limited, Nnamdi Ezeigbo, said IT and telecommunication play influential role in any society. “It is high time government explored this avenue to educate youth. And equally plan for a robust society that can boast of vibrant health because the government has loaded the airwaves and communication with reliable and adequate information that are easily accessible,”he said.
The Head of Department of Religious Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife Prof David Ogungbile has called on government and religious bodies to collaborate for the revival of education in the nation.
He said government and religious bodies must join forces and resources to give the nation quality education across all sectors.
Ogungbile spoke yesterday at the inaugural educational seminar of Motailatu Church Cherubim and Seraphim Worldwide (MCCSW) as part of activities marking the 53rd anniversary of the church.
Speaking on the Nigeria and qualitative education: How would religious bodies partner with the state in getting it right? Ogungbile said there was need to work together in advancing qualitative education by following the United Nations’ prescription.
The don said the state and religious bodies should collaborate in reviewing the concept and policies of education to make it more qualitative.
He said that the previous and current structure, curricula and programmes of education need to be re-examined to find out areas where things could be done better.
“There should be a collective review of such programmes, structure and curricula.
“Curricula must address all-round education which addresses the wholeness of the human being: language, culture, history, science, science, technology, medicine, ’’the professor said.
He said government should consider religious bodies as partners in the sector and come up with tax-friendly regimes to encourage their intervention.
Religious bodies, according to him, must advocate for welfare of teachers as well as provision of infrastructure in public schools.
The Chairman, Lagos State Chapter of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Apostle Alexander Bamgbola, urged government at all levels to give priority to the education sector.
According to him: “A nation that is not educated is not a nation, a nation where education is being destroyed that nation is being destroyed.
“There is need to make learning attractive for the future of the country,’’ he said, noting that if school is made attractive, it will reduce the rate of dropouts.
“When you plan for children, you plan for the future. When the future is solid, then other things will fall in place,’’ he said
Prelate/ Supreme Head of MCCSW, Baba Aladura Elder Dr Israel Akinadewo, said the church was determined to reduce illiteracy in the Aladura movement and impart the next generation through education.
He informed the church has granted scholarships to indigent students up to Post Graduate levels.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has provided 20 children with limb differences with prosthetic limbs and education trust funds under its signature corporate and investment initiative, ‘Together4 A Limb’. The provisions, the financial institution said, formed part of its commitment to see that every Nigerian child is given the opportunity to live a productive and fulfilled life.
A 4-kilometre charity walk to raise public awareness of children without limbs or limb differences was flagged off by the Guest of Honour, the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who was represented by the Chief Medical Director of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Prof Chris Bode.
The charity walk was immediately followed by the presentation of cheques for the education trust fund to each of the latest beneficiary children, who had been successfully fitted with artificial limbs. This year’s seven beneficiaries were presented cheques by Prof Bode, Non-Executive Director, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Ms. Ngozi Edozien, and Chairman, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Limited, Mrs. Ifeoma Esiri.
Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Care Foundation (SBHCF), on Wednesday called on the government at all levels to provide free healthcare and education for children with disability in the country.
Mrs Olubunmi Lawal, the Founder of the organisation made the plea at an event to commemorate the Maiden Edition of the world Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day 2017 in Abuja.
The World Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day 2017 is commemorated on October 25 annually, with the theme: ‘Better Parenting, Leaving no one behind’’.
She explained that spina bifida is a birth defect that happens when a baby’s backbone (spine) does not form normally, while hydrocephalus means there is extra fluid in and around the brain of a child which causes it to enlarge.
She stated that it was pertinent for government to invest and be committed in providing free education and quality healthcare for children with disabilities as their needs were enormous.
She said: “It is challenging to have a child with disability and the health care system does not put into consideration children with special needs, neither are they given preferential treatment in hospitals or schools.
“Children are born with severe abnormalities that affect the brain and spinal cord; some are born without skull, eyes, limbs, or abdomen and these anomalies occur in the first 28 days of pregnancy.
“Mothers will have to carry these children on their backs, while standing on the queue in various hospitals, with no provision of trolleys or wheel chairs to assist them.
“The treatment and investigation requires CT- SCAN, rehabilitation and X-trays are very expensive and financially draining, that is why we are pleading with the government to provide quality healthcare.”
According to Lawal, the day was aimed at identifying, encouraging, and advocating for women and children with special needs as well as to create awareness and sensitise citizens to accept them.
She decried the level of marginalisation persons and children with disabilities encounter in the society, noting that it was pertinent for the government to invest in providing free education for them.
“The challenges are enormous, mothers face psychological and emotional trauma when they are rejected and abandoned by their spouses. Parents lose their jobs, children labelled and called names like witches, ill luck, and demons while some are raped and used as rituals.
“These challenges could be minimised if the government does the needful by supporting and providing free healthcare and education,” she said.
She further urged the government to prioritise the needs of children with disabilities so they could enjoy good health and contribute meaningfully to the development of the country.
A Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), has said free education at all levels will help government win its fight against corruption.
He suggested that for any government to nip corruption in the bud, should give the citizens free education at all levels and provide jobs for the youth.
The eminent lawyer said two of the least corrupt countries in the world – Sweden and Singapore – adopted the model, which helped in providing for the needs of the people and in discouraging them from corrupt practices.
Olanipekun spoke at the weekend at the presentation of scholarships to hundreds of pupils, under the aegis of 21st Wole Olanipekun Scholarship Scheme (WOSS) at his hometown, Ikere-Ekiti in Ekiti State.
Pupils who got cheques with varying amounts to finance their education cut across secondary schools.
Students od universities and the Nigerian Law School from the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State and other states also benefitted from the scholarships.
In an address delivered by the Chairman of WOSS Board of Trustees (BoT), Mr. Stephen Omoyeni, the eminent lawyer regretted a situation in which PhD holders applied for a N50,000 job.
Olanipekun described the situation as “a great impediment to the anti-graft war”.
He added: “In my humble view, the first thing any government should do to nip corruption in the bud or reduce it to a minimal level is to give citizens free education at all levels and strive to provide jobs for the youths.
“These are the things the least corrupt countries, like Sweden and Singapore, are doing for their citizens. These countries are providing certainty for people in their old age and they are ensuring that they will not die unattended to, particularly in the areas of their welfare.
“In my mind, rather than sloganeering and offering rhetoric on the fight against corruption, what we should do is to provide the means by which our youths can enjoy free education from primary to the university level and provide gainful jobs after schools.”
A former Deputy Vice Chancellor of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Joel Adegun, who delivered the WOSS 21st anniversary lecture suggested that the scheme must transform into a foundation for it to outlive its founder and make better contributions to scholarship.
In the lecture, titled: Philanthropy and Education Debacle in Nigeria, Adegun advised wealthy Nigerians to imbibe the culture of contributions to education as obtainable in United States of America, Britain and other advanced countries of the world.
