*Babalola, Ozekhome express worries over country’s rising debt profile
Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday lamented the deplorable conditions of roads in the country, saying it was impeding movements of citizens in the pursuit of their businesses.
Obasanjo spoke while making a brief comment at a lecture delivered by Chief Mike Ozekhome titled: ‘The Place of Education in a crisis-ridden Nigeria,’ to mark the 10th convocation ceremony of the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti(ABUAD).
Explaining his lateness to the convocation lecture in his brief speech at the occasion, the former President said: “kindly accept my apologies for coming late to this ceremony. I thought if I leave Abeokuta at 4.30am, I will get to ABUAD at 10am. But when we got to the middle of the journey, the conditions of our roads were bad.
“We started asking which was the best route to take to get to Ado Ekiti. It was tough before we could get here, kindly pardon me.”
He praised the university’s founder, Chief Afe Babalola for replicating and surpassing in ABUAD, what he did at the University of Lagos, when he appointed him the Pro -Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council of the university saying: “I am proud to associate with ABUAD.”
Babalola in his submission at the lecture, regretted that Nigeria’s total debt profile as at March 2022 was N41.60 trillion, saying the federal government and patriotic Nigerians must take proactive measures to offset the debt.
The legal icon suggested that Nigerians, who are private jet owners, proprietors of universities, all presidential aspirants, owners of multinational companies and successful individuals should to contribute millions to defray the debt which he described as alarming.
In his lecture, Ozekhome, described surging school abduction, banditry and endless borrowing as evils now killing the Nigeria’s education system, saying they portend signs of a “failed state.”
For Nigeria to restore sanity to the education sector, the senior lawyer called for proactive and aggressive actions in tackling “corruption, poverty, insecurity, commercialisation, mediocrity, illegality, deprivation, cultism, poor funding,” and other ills pummeling the education sector.
The human rights lawyer warned against commercialisation and poor budgetary allocation to education, saying allotting a paltry of 7.7 per cent to the sector rather than the prescribed 20 to 25 per cent, may continually dim Nigeria’s future and create despondency for many citizens.
Ozekhome added: “We have gotten to a terrifying situation where armed bandits and kidnappers now hoist flags on Nigerian soil, collect taxes from Nigerians; and give them identity cards and passes. They challenge Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Some hold school children hostage and demand from their parents, bags of salt, rice, maize, millet, and beans; baskets of tomatoes, pepper and mango.
“They also demand for jerry cans of palm oil, vegetable oil; Maggie cubes, ugba and other condiments. These are necessary to feed the children of traumatised Nigerians held firmly in their gulag, to keep them alive for payment of enforced ransom.
“Herdsmen invade homes and farms freely. They kill, maim, rape and pillage. The government appears helpless. When non- state actors are more powerful than the state actors, when we keep on borrowing endlessly, if these are not symptomatic of a failed state, then tell me what a failed state is?
“These alarming figures were corroborated by the United Nations International Children’s Fund in a statement to mark the International Day of Education the 24th day of January, 2022. According to the world body, in 2021, there were 25 attacks on schools, 1,440 children were abducted, and 16 children killed.
“In March 2021, no fewer than 618 schools were closed in six northern states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Kano, Katsina, Niger and Yobe over the fear of attack and abduction of pupils and members of staff. The closure of schools in these states significantly contributed to learning losses for over two months.”
Ruing the increasing number of school dropouts in Nigeria, Ozekhome, said: “The UNICEF said it was tragic how 35 per cent of children who make it to a classroom, but never make the transition from primary school to secondary school, thereby cutting off their changes for a secured future.”
