The Federal Government has called for a change of attitude from Nigerians towards education if the desire for genuine change would be achieved.
President Muhammadu Buhari who stated this at the 52nd convocation of the University of Lagos ( UNILAG), identified education and human capital as key to national development.
President Buhari, who was represented by Dr. Chris Maiyaki, Deputy Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), said only education, particularly the type of quality education produced in good universities, could guarantee rapid social, economic, scientific and technological changes needed for national development.
He said: “We need to change the way we do things in Nigeria. We need to change our attitude towards education if we desire genuine change and progress in our country.
“We are living in an age of knowledge, an age where education or human capital holds the key to our successes and is at the heart of our opportunities, as a people and as a nation.
“It remains our most portent weapon for injecting hope in our youth and in our ability to negotiate a better quality of life for our people,” the president said.
Buhari noted that the country’s challenges are multiplying daily and
would require different, but fresh perspectives, anchored on innovative approaches to education delivery throughout the country.
“It is, therefore, imperative for universities in this country to take the lead in opening our minds to the emerging scenarios and equip ourselves to meet the challenges posed by these changes. We cannot afford to be strangers in the new world being driven by education and technological advancements.
He added that the nation’s universities must be at the forefront of generating knowledge and innovations to ensure the country’s participation in the global knowledge society.
President Buhari noted that government on its part, would continue to encourage the nation’s tertiary institutions to produce the necessary skilled manpower with a view to building a strong economy.
He said government would deploy resources at its disposal to encourage the institutions, to enable them meet the nation’s obligations.
According to him, government had recently shown this commitment by releasing the sum of N22.5b as Earned Allowances and N30b as revitalisation fund for the universities.
“We have also ensured that Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is responsive and proactive, by providing among others, funds for research, infrastructure and staff development.
“From 2019 to date, a sizeable amount running into billions, has been disbursed for the funding of research. I am not aware of any other administration that has paid more attention to the funding of education like the present administration.”
However, we shall not rest on our oars. We shall continue to engage the relevant stakeholders to ensure sustainable funding to enable our universities to deliver on their mandates. Let me reiterate that education remains a top priority of this administration,” he stated.
The president commended the Governing Council, management, staff and students of the university ensuring that peace and stability reigned on campus.
According to him, without peace, the university enterprise can neither guarantee the much-needed environment conducive for teaching, learning and community action, nor effectively fulfill her mission.
Chancellor of the university, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El Kanemi, Shehu of Borno, stressed the need to intensify efforts in producing quality manpower needs to drive the growth of the nation.
