Northern States Urgently Need Skilled Teachers To Progress – Ex-Gov Aliyu
Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has raised alarm that the dearth of skilled teachers is a ‘time bomb’ waiting to explode in Northern Nigeria, insisting states must take urgent steps to fix the problem.
Painting an ugly picture of the situation, he said things are so bad that none of the States can boost of 50 percent workforce of qualified teachers within its educational system.
Aliyu, who coined the “Chief Servant” tag during his eight years tenure in the Niger State Government House, made this submission at the 22nd Daily Trust Dialogue with the theme; “Food Security: Availability or Affordability” held at NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, on Thursday.
With growing concerns about the widening educational gap in Northern Nigeria, the former governor described the situation as a “time bomb,” warning that this unfortunate state of things continue to threaten and hamper the region’s development and competitiveness.
He said the time is now for Northern governors to prioritize teachers’ training and recruitment, noting that the future of millions of children hangs in the balance.
Hear him; “Without qualified educators, we are building a house on sinking sand,” even as he demanded urgent action to reform and revitalize the region’s education system.
Putting the disturbing situation in perspective, Aliyu who ruled Niger State from 29 May 2007 to 29 May 2015, said; “In the northern states, there is no state with 50% qualified teachers. Even those who are attending schools now, let alone those who are not able to attend school. Use federal universities of Agriculture and universities of education to educate people.
“We need education to have people who are passionate about a particular thing”, in order to address the dire state of thing within the region.
On the way forward, the former ‘Chief Servant’ tasked the Ministry of Livestock to partner with Universities of Education and Agriculture to educate farmers on best global practices in growing the sector.
Also questioning the rationale behind border closure, he said despite the arrangement, goods from Nigeria still find their way to other ECOWAS nations without any restrictions.
According to him; “What is the importance of closing borders? What is the importance of that while the population of Nigeria is almost the population of other ECOWAS members?
“And every market you go to in ECOWAS countries you will discover that more than half of the things in that market are from Nigeria.
“For example, in Niger Republic, the cow is still cheaper than in Nigeria. Apart from the inflation, it has always been like that because we used to send people there on good days to get these cows either for slaughter or Sallah. Why is this so? Please, do what you have to do. Do also the education.”
