Declare emergency in education, Adeniyi urges FG

Former Special Assistant to late President Umaru Musa Yar ‘Adua (Media and Communications), Mr. Segun Adeniyi, has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to consider character and morality in his choice of a minister of education.

He also asked the Federal Government to reverse the deplorable education system in Nigeria by declaring a state of emergency in the sector.

According to him, most of the social ills affecting all segments of the Nigerian society are caused by neglect of the education sector, particularly public schools, which produced most of the present crop of leaders in the country.

The ex-presidential aide said one of the first steps the government should adopt in revamping the education sector was to overhaul the teaching workforce, most of whom he said were “certificated illiterates.”

Adeniyi spoke in Abuja while delivering a lecture on “The role of alumni associations in the revival of public education in Nigeria” during the national convention/annual reunion of Federal Government College, Okigwe, Old Students Association.

He said, “The President has to pick somebody who has a broad understanding of the challenges in the education sector and somebody who has the character and the capacity to carry out the reforms.

“Practically everybody there understands the challenges we have in the education sector but we need a strong character.”

Explaining the cause of the rot in the country’s education sector, Adeniyi said government indirectly created room for exploitation by allowing private investors to drive the education sector.

He added that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari should liaise with alumni associations to find lasting solutions to the challenges affecting the sector.