Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has appealed to Nigerian students not to lose faith in the Nigerian project.
Fayemi said the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari would continue to prioritise education and initiate policies that would add values to the youths and students’ lives.
Fayemi, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), stated these in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, at the weekend during a reception organised by the Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University (EKSU), Prof. Eddy Olanipekun, for the President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Sunday Asefon.
Asefon, who is an alumnus of the university, is also a postgraduate student of the school.
Fayemi, who was represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Students’ Affairs, Olalekan Soyombo, commended the NANS’ leader for promptly fulfilling many revolutionary promises targeted at alleviating the sufferings of the students.
The governor said: “You should keep faith with the entity called Nigeria. You must be patriotic and work as progressive tendencies to move Nigeria forward.
“This project called Nigeria must not fail and students have a lot of roles to play. Students are potential future leaders. As you are being trained here, you are gradually being prepared for leadership in the future.
“It is important that you have to be morally upright with your academic competence; these are what make a complete leader. Stay away from all vices like cultism, internet fraud, drug and those things that can mar your future.”
He added: “You (Asefon) got massive support from all quarters while vying for NANS presidency. With this, you must ensure that you don’t betray the confidence reposed in you by EKSU, where you are an alumnus, as well as the Ekiti State, where you are a citizen and among students, which are your main constituency.”
On his own, the Vice Chancellor of EKSU, Prof. Eddy Olanipekun, assured the students that the university would continually initiating student-friendly programmes to boost the standard of education as well as ensure stability on campus.
“I will partner NANS to bring stability to this campus. This is a citadel of learning, and whatever it will take to make students comfortable shall be done in the interest of our future and Ekiti State,” he stated.
In his response, Asefon regretted the gross deficiency in the country’s education, which he said must be discussed by stakeholders at a proposed education summit to be convened by NANS.
He said: “There was need for us to rejig our deficient curriculum, so we are planning an education summit where we will cross fertilise ideas and form a policy that will be submitted to the presidency for consideration on how to rejuvenate the educational system in the country.
“If you check the budget this year, we have the lowest appropriation in the last one decade. That is bad! We must have a database where will we know the true numbers of students in the country, as this estimated 41 million population being bandied around is not acceptable to us.”
On his plans for students, Asefon said: “We will support managements of schools that support Nigerian students, so that there would be stability and high standard of education.
“I am also going to work with TETfund and other beneficial federal agencies to facilitate projects to my school, EKSU, as this is my primary constituency.”
