Govt Should ‘Enforce’ Schooling Just As It Does With Vaccination – Atiku

Nigeria’s former vice-president and presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubakar has advised the government to use the same energy they used in enforcing the covid-19 vaccination and enforce schooling for all and sundry.

Mr. Atiku said this during his lecture at the Achievers University 11th convocation ceremonies, where he spoke on the theme; “Diversity, Education and Autonomy: Developing Nigeria in the Years Ahead.

He said; “We persuade parents to vaccinate their children against infectious diseases because vaccination is a good thing. Why don’t we do the same for education? Parents should be persuaded, even forced, to send their children to school so they, at least, acquire basic education. That basic education should be free and compulsory.

“I believe that if there are severe consequences for parents who refuse to send their children to have free primary and secondary education, we would not have over 13 million out-of-school children in Nigeria. Certainly not. Our per capita income would not have stagnated for 40 years. Think about it, our per capita income is today what it was forty years ago.”

While advising the graduating students, the former Presidential aspirant said:

 “Let your imagination run wild. Imagine where you would be in 10 or 20 years from now. Imagine where Nigeria would be. Would you be satisfied with it?

“If so, what role would you have played in getting it there? If not, what role would you play in helping to get it to where you would be satisfied with its progress? What would be Nigeria’s population then? How educated would that population be? What would be the place of crude oil in the world’s energy mix by then?

“What would that mean for Nigeria? Is there a role that you can play in positioning Nigeria for that trajectory? Or would you just be fighting the wars we fight today over the sharing of oil revenues? Would you rather be one of those who move Nigeria beyond oil and other fossil fuels not only to help the country’s economy thrive in a new post-oil world but to also reduce global warming and protect our eco-system?

“Would you be the one who solves Nigeria’s perennial challenge of providing electricity? Could you be the one who transforms the Made-in-Aba brands into global icons? Would you be content with debating about which region or zone should produce the next President or governor or rather organise and work to ensure that the country has governance and accountability structures, rules and processes which would ensure that where the president or governor comes from becomes less important.”