Press Releases

National Development: "We Must Go Back To Our Education And Get It Right Before It Becomes Too Late", Fashola Warns
• Explains government's aim to build a solid institution out of LASU

Dec 4, 2011 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Sunday warned that Nigeria must return to its educational system and get it right if she hopes to meet the rest of the world in the current race for economic and technological advancement.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja venue of the Annual Luncheon Party of the Government College, Ughelli Old Boys' Association, said the warning has become expedient because it is clear that the future of the country depends on its ability to fend for itself.

The Governor, who lamented the current state of the nation's education system, described as unfortunate the fact that the system is currently being associated with the word 'decay' which, according to him, "suggests a thing of good and vibrant beginning getting spoilt, losing its goodness and progressing gradually to a sad end".

"The word gets more troubling when it is used in reference to our dear country. But it could be easily explained if we are mindful of and care to observe the correlation between a country and its educational institutions", the Governor said, adding, "When we look at the countries that are leading the world today, they are as good as the education their citizens get.

"We all know how universities fight hard to attract funds and retain the best brains from all nooks and crannies of the world, but as we speak, we have no less than 20, 000 Nigerian medical doctors outside this country. We see how those advanced economies, at all levels and at all cost, promote all branches of educational research and give innovation a driving seat. Countries are launching expeditions to Mars and we expect to compete with them", Governor Fashola said.

He pointed out that the undeniable consequence of countries that ignore matters of education is that "they are subjugated to the rank of perpetual importers; always importing goods and services including food and education when they can and literally suffering in the midst of plenty when they cannot".

"Oftentimes I wonder where Nigeria would be today if we had no oil from where we derive the constant flow of foreign exchange we now squander shamelessly on all manner of imports. Perhaps we would now be in abject poverty, facing famine and civil strife or perhaps not. Perhaps, we would have taken education more seriously, promoted local industry more tenaciously and become more self-sustaining and influential, leading Africa in the Arts, Science, Technology and innovation", the Governor said.

Pointing out that Nigerians are today acclaimed all over the world for their intelligence, drive, vibrancy and creativity, Governor Fashola lamented, "It is instructive to report that today we export our medical liabilities to Saudi Arabia. But let us remind ourselves that the doctors and nurses who built Saudi Arabia Medical System were taken from LUTH Idi-Araba".

"In what way then has our supposed wealth killed our creativity? How has it happened that in spite of our intelligence, creativity and our hope, in spite of the education you and I were equipped with, in spite of our country being the first in Africa to strike oil and earn foreign exchange in large quantities, we are still depending on the rest or the world for our under-wears, our shoes, our suits and even our Ankara fabrics?

"Why is it that we, as a 57-year old oil producing country, rely on the rest of the world for petrol to drive our imported cars, diesel to fuel our imported generators and kerosene to cook our imported rice?", the Governor further queried.

Citing the Lagos State University (LASU) to illustrate some of the reasons for the collapse of the nation's education system, the Governor said although the institution started very well as an effort to make tertiary education more readily available to the people, over the years, the students population grew and funding became strained while facilities were stretched beyond capacity but both the curriculum and school fees remained unchanged to reflect these changes.

"In the meantime, rather than reflect the dire needs of its community, the university curriculum remained stubbornly inflexible. Rather than reflect the paucity of funds, the school fees remained equally stagnant", the Governor said adding that as a result, the Nigerian Universities Commission began to withdraw accreditation from the University's Faculties one after the other.

He continued, "Before our very eyes, what was supposed to be the symbol of Lagos as a centre of excellence was beginning to wallow in mediocrity. In the midst of all that, campus politics became dangerously divisive. The teachers' union went from one strike to another. The students' union became resistant to change and the university administration was in regular conflict with all the unions. As a community, constant strife was becoming the norm at LASU".

Pointing out that funding was the first challenge in the attempt to resuscitate the university, Governor Fashola said as a result of competing demands on public resources as well as the growing population, Government could not adequately fund the institution with the meager fees of N25, 000 per annum which the students currently pay.

According to the Governor, "In all parts of the world, it has become increasingly obvious that education is a costly venture. Academics are more or less international personalities and to retain them in service, the reward must be good enough. Books, laboratory equipment, chemicals and other teaching aids must be of international standard and would cost more or less the same whether procured by English or Nigerian University".

"The occasion compels me to define the frontiers of the argument and it raises the choice we have to make at the tertiary level of education. In 1955 when free education was launched, the problem was that of poor access to education and low literacy level. In 2011 when we have 34 state universities and 41 Federal universities, clearly the problem of access is mitigated", the Governor said.

Governor Fashola said the only way to successfully run universities that compete with Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and others of that quality and standard, we must do what they do adding, "The question to honestly ask ourselves is this, do they pay N25, 000 in those foreign institutions?"

Lashing out at critics of his administration who according to him, "have the temerity to accuse us of not loving the poor", Governor Fashola declared, "Please ask them where their own children are receiving education. How many of them have children in Nigerian schools not to talk of in LASU?"

The Governor said by the current trend of things where state universities attract a steady stream of students from all parts of Nigeria who seek university education for little or nothing, "If we do not arrest the situation, the bitter pool we so create may become intensely destructive of our societal cohesion".

"If we continuously pretend to run a university where the middle class and upper class of our society do not feel able to send their children to, and we pursue this in the name of cheap populism, I truly fear for the children of the poor and their future. What I am saying in essence is that we must either build proper educational institutions or simply leave the business to those who can", the Governor said.

He added, "We must build solid tertiary institutions with an environment that inspires infinite hope and creativity; Only then can we produce graduates who stand with confidence alongside their counterparts and are able to compete all over the world in terms of employability, creativity and productivity. Only then can Nigeria stride to its rightful place among the comity of advanced nations".

Congratulating the members of the association for making the occasion such a happy reunion, Governor Fashola declared, "As usual, the coming together of old students offers an opportunity to be young again; to cast our minds back to those years when, with much vigour, relative innocence and not so many concerns and responsibilities, we lived life more freely and spontaneously".

"Government College Ughelli is one of those Nigerian colleges of stature of which we can be justifiably proud. In fact, Nigerians who had their secondary education here in the country achieved great notoriety for leading their university classes wherever they found themselves all over the world. For those, like me, who chose to remain at home, our grounding proved equally firm. We completed our education and took on the world without even a stray thought of having missed anything", the Governor said.

In his remarks, Chairman of the occasion and former Nigerian Foreign Minister, Senator Ike Nwachukwu, described Education as the most important experience in anyone's life recalling that in the post Independent Nigeria both parents and Federal as well as Regional governments did everything humanly possible to give the children that experience.

According to Senator Nwachukwu, "Seated among us today are Nigerians who set the country on the path of greatness. At that time neither religion nor creed meant anything more than mode of worship. Development of country was paramount and honour, integrity and excellence were everybody's concern".

Lamenting that education system in the country has suffered greatly over the years, Senator Nwachukwu, who did not absolve his generation of blame in the fallen standard of education in the country, however, called for concerted efforts to revive the system.

Also present at the occasion were Professor John Pepper Clark, Dr. Titus Okereke (Representative of the President General of the Association Worldwide), Professor Itse Sagay, Mr. Gamiliel Onosode, President Lagos Branch of GCUOBA, Mr. Alfred Okoigun other prominent Nigerians who were former alumni of the College and foreign dignitaries as well as top government functionaries.