VP Osinbajo Reiterates Government's Commitment to Tertiary Education

The Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Profes- Tsor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, has reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to the sustenance of tertiary education in the country. He gave the assurance on Monday, 28 November, 2015, at the 3rd Annual Conference of the Association of West Africa Universities (AWAU), held at the Nigerian Turkish Nile University (NTNU), Abuja. The Vice President, who was represented by the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, revealed that the Federal Government, under the l e a d e rs h i p o f P r e si d e n t Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, was committed to the expansion of access to quality tertiary education, through the establishment of new programmes, development of physical infrastructure, recruitment and training of teaching and nonteaching staff as well as the implementation of the recommendation of the Needs Assessment Committee on Nigerian universities. He said that the Federal Government had already started releasing funds to some benefiting institutions. Delivering the keynote address titled, “Turbulence in University Education in West Africa: Quality, Mentorship and Access,” former President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, called on African universities to develop curricula and engage in research that would address the current challenge of insecurity and foster peaceful coexistence in the African continent, in particular and the world in general. The former President, who was represented by the former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Peter Okebukola, said that as research centres, universities were expected to respond to societal challenges. Chief Obasanjo, who lamented that world peace, especially in Africa, was being threatened by the activities of violent extremists and terrorism, called on universities across the continent to rise up to the occasion. He observed that physical development could only thrive under a conducive atmosphere and further called on universities to take the lead in addressing the menace. In the words of the former President, “Peace in Africa and the world is getting increasingly compromised through violent extremism to which our universities should rise stoutly to defend and find solutions. The West African sub-region is not spared the scourge of Boko Haram. We need our universities to come up with creative solutions, if possible a curriculum and research methodologies that will foster a culture of peace and human security in Africa and World.” The Executive Secretary, NUC, Professor Julius A. Okojie, was represented by the Deputy Executive Secretary I, Professor Chiedu Mafiana. Also at the event, was the NUC Director, Quality Assurance, Dr. Noel Saliu.

Unlock Agricultural Potentials in your Domain - President Buhari Challenges OAU

The President, Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has challenged the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to unlock the nation's vast agricultural potentials by resuscitating the production of Cocoa and the variety of Soya Beans called the “Ife Brown” through more potent research in Agriculture. He stressed that doing so would not only provide the springboard for the nation's industrialisation, but bring back the contributions of the cash crop, Cocoa, that once supported the economy of the old Western Region, to the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in the wake of the dwindling fortunes of the oil sector. Speaking, on Saturday, 12 Decemst ber, 2015, at the 41 Convocation of the University, the Visitor, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius A. Okojie, OON, said that the fate of Cocoa had happened to most other cash crops cultivated in Nigeria which, if revitalised as accomplished in rice production, would add to the resultant value chain. He also recalled that the “Yam Pounder” was researched and developed in OAU and reiterated the need to make Agriculture the backbone of the nation's economy. President Buhari noted the giant strides of OAU, hosting the first and best Faculty of Pharmacy in Nigeria and the tremendous progress in research into the management of Sickle Cell Anaemia as well as producing great Pharmacists like Prince Julius Adeluyi, a former Minister of Health. He raised concern on what had happened to some research results from the Institution, noting, however, that although the Bone Marrow Transplant procedure was providing promising results for the cure of the disease, other Nigerian universities have not emulated the Ife example. He added that as soon as the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programme was finally approved, it would support the clinical management of prescribed medications. The President disclosed that the Ife Model for the training of medical doctors was now being revisited in the Nigerian University System (NUS) because the products of the University had excelled in many developed countries, with over 2,000 renowned physicians of various specialisations, some of whom had received mention by the US Congress, practicing in North America. He, particularly, commended the exploits of one of its product, Dr. Oluyemi Badero, a distinguished Nigerian Cardiologist in the USA and encouraged the country's experts in the diaspora to utilise the opportunities provided by the NUC’s Linkages with Experts and Academics in the Diaspora Scheme (LEADS), to assist the tertiary institutions on short term visits. The Visitor informed the Convocation that, while his Administration would continue to improve access, equity and quality in the NUS, he would place emphasis on infrastructure and teacher development, curriculum reform, relevance, funding and planning, in order to bring about the expected change in the nation's socio-economic, political, cultural and technological endeavours. He added that the Federal Government would also invest heavily in Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and skills development to meet the nation's middle level manpower needs and eventually promote national growth. The President noted that TVET would impart the necessary skills and competencies required by artisans, technicians and technologists as well as ensure that they were enterprising and self-reliant. The President also gave the assurance that Government would provide the necessary support for the 10 Centres of Excellence in the country one of which is being hosted by OAU; the Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering, to guarantee their sustainability. He implored the Institution to be at the vanguard of the nation's economic diversification through the establishment of Industrial Parks. He observed that the University could be the Silicon Valley of Nigeria with the harnessing of its Nigerian Museum of National History as well as other sites and facilities in and around Osun to promote research and tourism. He advised all universities to leverage on the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), an IT Platform that was domiciled in the NUC, being the only one that was in operation in West Africa, saying that it would encourage the development of West and Central African Regional Education Network (WACREN) for the sub-region.

President Buhari Reiterates Govt's Commitment to Job Creation

His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, President, Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces Federal Republic of Nigeria

The President, Commander in Chief, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, has reiterated his administration's commitment to making job creation a priority agenda for the teeming youths of the country. He stated this in his Keynote Address, with the theme, “Entrepreneurship for Development”, on Saturday, 12 December, 2015, at the Second Convocation Ceremony of the Kaduna State University (KASU), Kaduna, where he was the Special Guest of Honour. President Buhari stressed that his administration would support all efforts aimed at creating more jobs by the re-orientation of Nigerian youths on Entrepreneurship which, he said, was a potent tool for the attainment of the Federal Government's objectives of improved security and poverty reduction. In his words, “This administration will ensure that youths in the country are gainfully employed and youth restiveness curtailed. One of the focal points of this administration is job creation. Job creation will help in the achievement of other objectives of the Government such as poverty reduction and security,which are some of the challenges this administration is confronted with. Insecurity cannot be divorced from unemployment and poverty because an idle mind, they say, is the devil's workshop.” The President observed that with declining revenue due to the fall in the price of crude oil, it was necessary to seek for alternative sources of revenue by diversifying the economy. According to him, “One of the ways we can achieve this is through the reorientation of our youths towards an entrepreneurial mindset. We must, therefore, promote and enhance the teaching and learning of entrepreneurial skills in all schools and tertiary institutions, thereby exposing our youths to the basics and rudiments of starting and sustaining their own businesses”. To enable the youths contribute meaningfully to the nation's economy, President Buhari promised that his administration would sustain and improve the on-going programmes by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Bank of Industry (BoI), the Bank of Agriculture and other Federal agencies, to grant them start-up loans at concessionary rates. He also called on the private sector to support Government's efforts to boost youth entrepreneurship and the development of micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the country, adding that it was in a bid to address youth unemployment, that the Federal Government, through the National Universities Commission (NUC), made it mandatory for all universities to teach entrepreneurship skills, so that graduates could become jobcreators rather than job-seekers. In his address, the Visitor and Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufa'i, while eulogising the successes of the Institution so far recorded in the area of Entrepreneurship, gave the assurance that the State Government would continue to support all the stateowned tertiary institutions by increasing their annual grants and employing additional staff. Vice Chancellor of the University, Professor Barnabas Quirix, disclosed that out of the 4,000 graduands, 38 bagged First Class in various disciplines, adding that the Ceremony was a combined Convocation from 2012 to 2015 sessions. He charged the graduands to be focused in their future endeavours and to be good ambassadors of the Institution, adding that KASU had continued to strive for excellence in all its activities. The highlight of the Convocation was the conferment of honourary doctorate degrees on President Buhari, Mall. El-Rufai and Alh. Aliko Dangote.