Collapse of education system fuelling youth unrest, says Abubakar
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has established a nexus between youth unrest and the collapse of the country’s education system as well as the apparent lack of zeal by government to expand access to quality education.
Abubakar spoke in Yola, Adamawa State capital during the flag-off ceremony of Technology Enhanced Learning for All (TELA) programme, initiated by the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, and sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
He regretted that the leaders who largely benefited from quality education back in the day, have turned their back on a sector that made them great men and women.
According to him, “The primary school that I attended in 1959 in the present Jada council area here in Adamawa is still standing with the same structures we used when I was a student. There is no new building in the school. This is to tell you that there is no sector that has been neglected like the education sector.
“Teachers are poorly paid, but those that they train collect huge money as salaries. I build science school in Jada and donated to the community. I also reconstructed the primary school where I finished and equip the school to improve the standard and increase the students enrollment in the school,” he stated.
Atiku who is the founder of AUN further stressed that total neglect of the sector was what gave birth to the present unstable economy and youth unrest in the country.
He maintained that no country would be peaceful when several millions of its youthful population were poorly educated or completely denied education, adding that illiterates hardly abide by the law since they are not aware of the law they are meant to obey.
“I don’t want to include myself, but truly speaking Nigerian leaders have failed our children and cheated the country. The only substitute to lack of education is for the uneducated to create crises, because they stand to lose nothing at the end of the day,” he stated.
The Turakin Adamawa, who said that his passion for establishing schools was to ensure that Nigerian youths get quality education in the country without having to travel abroad stated, “When I initiated the ideal of building this university, I told those that were in charge of running the school that my aim of establishing this university would not be achieved if the people and the children of the North East especially did not benefit directly from the university.
“Today my aim is achieved, as I watch children with poor backgrounds attending schools with quality facilities courtesy of my university.
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1 Comments
Turaki is really a man of the people as he really believe in the provision of education in his community, and we hope others will emulate him on his good deeds. God bless Nigeria amen.
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