Buni’s Misplaced Agenda

 Notes for File

The news that broke last week that Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State visited the 233 students sponsored by the state to study various courses at Glocal University in Utta Pradesh, India is another evidence of the misplaced priorities by Nigerian leaders.

Buni was represented by the state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Idi Gubana.

The students, drawn from the 17 local government areas, were studying medicine, pharmacy, engineering, as well as paramedic sciences, among others. 

Recall that the state had in 2021 spent over N800 million on foreign scholarship for 316 students in various universities across the globe. While 233 were sponsored to India, 83 others are studying in United Kingdom, Sudan and Uganda, among others.

The state government said the sponsorship was part of efforts aimed at raising standard of education and addressing manpower shortages in civil service.

It is unbelieveable that the state that has two universities – Yobe State University, Damaturu; and Federal University Gashua – yet it choses to spend money in foreign universities educating its people.  Besides, there are hundreds of private universities in the country with high academic standard where these students could have been educated to save the state of scarce resources.

Giving scholarships to students to study abroad clearly show that Governor Buni does not have any iota of confidence in the stardard of education in his state and other parts of the country. It also shows that he does not believe that the graduands from the institutions in the state can address manpower shortages in civil service. The monies budgetted for these scholarship prgramme could have been channelled into improving the institutions in the state.

Governor Buni’s action is part of the deliberate efforts to destroy education and public universities in Nigeria by those who can afford to sponsor their children abroad.