No Nigerian parent plays with education, Buhari tells Summit; Welcomes Commonwealth support on security, climate change, others

Global Patriot Staff July 30, 2021 Education, Lead Story, Local, News, World Leave a comment 228 Views

President Buhari with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a Bilateral Meeting at the sideline of the Global Education Summit on Financing Global Partnership for Education (GPE) 2021-2025 on 29th July 2021

President Buhari with L-R: Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, Special Envoy on Girl’s Education Helen Grant MP, Former Prime Minister of Australia and Board Chair GPE Hon. Julia Gillard and Nigeria High Commissioner to United Kingdom Amb. Sarafa Ishola at the Global Education Summit on Financing Global Partnership for Education (GPE) 2021-2025 on 29th July 2021

President Buhari with L-R: Ghanian President Nana Akufo-Addo, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Moderator Edwin Macharia, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe and Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera during the Global Education Summit on Financing Global Partnership for Education (GPE) 2021-2025 on 29th July 2021

No Nigerian parent jokes with education, as they know that if their children or wards missed the opportunity of being educated, they have missed a lot, President Muhammadu Buhari has declared.

Speaking during a panel session Thursday at the Global Education Summit in London, the President according to a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), said the size and population of Nigeria are challenges for any administration, but despite this, the government and people realize that education is the starting point for success.

President Buhari said: “You can’t succeed outside your educational qualification. Anybody who missed education has missed everything. Nigerians are acutely aware of the priority of education, and parents are making sacrifices to ensure that their children and wards get educated.”

On the panel with President Buhari were Presidents Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, Faure Gnassingbe of Togo, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, and Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi.

Each President spoke on the peculiarities of the education sector of his country, and how budgetary provisions would be increased to ameliorate the situation. They all raised their hands as a sign of commitment to that resolution.

President Buhari had earlier committed to raising the budget for education by 50% in the next two years, and the country would attain 100% increase by 2025.

Meanwhile, speaking during a bilateral meeting Thursday with Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland, at the sidelines of the Global Education Summit, President Buhari said that Nigeria will be glad to receive support from the Commonwealth in diverse areas of needs and challenges.

Saying Nigeria was doing a lot to address food security through heavy investment in agriculture, and the security issues confronting the country in different regions, President Buhari welcomed the offer of assistance by the Commonwealth scribe.

Baroness Scotland said the Commonwealth had developed programmes on agribusiness, adding value to agriculture products for young people to get involved, climate change, criminal justice reforms, police reforms, and security, inviting Nigeria to benefit from technical assistance that can be provided.

She added that since President Buhari was the Champion for Anti-Corruption in Africa, the Commonwealth has developed anti-corruption benchmark tools, and would like to work with Nigeria in both public and private sectors.

Other areas the Commonwealth could assist, according to Baroness Scotland, include countering violent extremism, trade, and modalities to implement the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).