Education and National development: The Jonathan example BY PETER OBI

Many years ago, the Philosopher, Aristotle observed that the dif­ference between the educat­ed and the uneducated is like that between the living and the dead. To Aristophanes, it is the dissimilarity between bro­ken and unbroken horses. As President of the US, Lyndon Johnson had declared: “At the desk where I sit, I have learned one great truth. The answer for all our national problems; the answer for all the problems of the world — come to a single word. That word is education.”

All these notions about edu­cation have been with man as far back as we can trace its his­tory. Efforts have always been on-going to improve on educa­tion among nations and their peoples.

It is universally acknowl­edged that the distinction be­tween success and failure lies in education; in the same way that educational attainments explain the disparities in the growth and development of nations. The great countries of Europe, the Americas and Asia are what they are today due largely to consistent investments in edu­cation. Great inventions and innovations that have propelled the world to greater heights, in­cluding going to the moon, are products of education.

The Asian power houses — China and India – have become the dominant growth areas of the world; and this rooted in education. Among the legion of examples are: India’s ascendan­cy in ICT; Singapore’s elevation from the 3rd to the 1st World; China’s current economic rank­ing.

Coming home to Africa, the Mandelas, Ziks, Awolowos, Nkrumahs, Nyereres, Balewas and others who fought for the freedom of their peoples had the benefit of early exposure to education. The achievements and development of Nigeria to date in the polity, economy and society have come mostly from educated minds. One can hardly imagine what would have hap­pened if we did not have law­yers, doctors, bankers, academ­ics and the like.

At the recent launch of UNESCO Education for All, the organization’s Director in Nigeria, Professor Hassana Ali­dou revealed that said that Ni­geria shared some of the worst education indicators in the world. The country has about 10 million out-of school chil­dren — the highest in the world – the majority of who are in the North. Experts contend that this deplorable state of education in Nigeria is traceable to the long governance of the country by persons with limited educa­tional attainments and the con­comitant little appreciation of its benefits. The statistics show that the levels of development of the Zones in Nigeria and their embrace of civilization are directly proportional to their educational exposure.

Alas, against this back­ground and in the heat of elec­tioneering — during which the three dominant issues should be education, education and edu­cation — it is very worrisome that our leaders are actually busy talking down on educa­tion. In one of the APC’s recent rallies, for instance, somebody queried the country’s benefit in having a President Goodluck Jonathan and his Vice, HE, Na­madi Sambo with a Ph.D. and B.Sc. Architecture respectively. With evident glee, the party stalwart gave the ‘verdict’ that the educational attainments of the two gentlemen have not translated into goodies for the country. Even more embarrass­ing was that the APC crowd cheered!

Education provides the plat­forms for planning and proper articulation of policies – not just for today but for the future as well. Since failure to plan is planning to fail, the genera­tion of good policies and pro­grammes starts with recruiting educated minds. Take the case of President Goodluck Jona­than and the positive difference his tenure has made in educa­tion:

Today, there is better and sustained funding of Univer­sal Basic Education in the country through the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Among others, this is reflected in improvements in the country’s performance in various examinations. For instance, the WASCE pass rate was highest in 2012-2013 [38% & 36%]; as compared to the 15%-25% of 2000-2009. NECO statistics reveal that in 2010, 9.36% of the total number of candidates made 5 credits & above [including in Mathemat­ics & English]. Corresponding figures were 8.06% in 2011; 32.22% in 2012; 48.37% in 2013 and 52.29% in 2014.

Unlike the road-shows of the past, President Jonathan fur­ther demonstrated his love for and commitment to education with the firm establishment of schools for the Almajiris in the Northern parts of the country; even as he is taking on the chal­lenge of male child drop-out of schools in the South. With the establishment of 14 new univer­sities – 10 in the North and 4 in the South – he has ensured that practically every State of the Federation now has a Federal University – with the additional benefits expanding admission opportunities and development hubs.

Because of his exposure to education, President Jonathan has done a lot of things differ­ently — carefully assembling core teams of people with the requisite educational exposure & cognate experience. A few examples are instructive: Under the competent management of the Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Dr. Akin­wunmi Adesina, a renowned Agricultural Economist, the administration’s programme of action for the strategic agricul­tural sector is encapsulated in the Agricultural Transforma­tion Action Plan [ATAP] and Agricultural Transformation Agenda [ATA], with the ac­tive involvement of practicing farmers, especially women and the youth. The key emphases are to strengthen linkages be­tween production, marketing, processing & storage as well as between agriculture & rural de­velopment. Critical success fac­tors in efforts to transform the sector to commendable heights include funding, technological support, promoting Made-in- Nigeria, concrete export sup­port, Public-Private Partner­ships [PPPs], from subsistence to mechanized farming, natural fertilizer from organic waste, agricultural extension services, and agro-allied industries.

The ATA is easily the larg­est-ever government-enabled private sector-led effort to de­velop Agriculture in Nigeria. It classifies and treats agriculture as a development programme; a business that would boost do­mestic food production, reduce dependence on food imports, expand value-addition to local­ly-produced agro-products and create wealth for millions of Ni­gerians. In the process, the sec­tor will become steadily fruitful, efficient and competitive. On the bases of the success stories to date, conservative projec­tions expect additional 20 mil­lion tonnes of food to domestic supply and 3.5 million jobs by 2015.

As Minister of Finance & Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala has infused quite a num­ber of creative measures in the financial sector and economy at large. Initiatives of this globally-renowned and Harvrd-trianed Economist & erstwhile Manag­ing Director of the World Bank include the Sovereign Wealth Saving Fund, Subsidy Re-In­vestment Programme [SURE-P] and YOU-WIN scheme. The creation of the Mortgage Refinancing Company to make long-term funds available and increase liquidity in the sub-sector has greatly boosted the Housing sector. Aside from generating several thousand job opportunities, the boom is ex­pected to steadily reduce the na­tion’s housing deficit [currently estimated at 17 million].

Prior to his appointment as Minister of Trade & Invest­ment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga had served as Managing Di­rector of the famed Goldman Sachs. Under his management of the Ministry, Nigeria now has an Industrial Policy. Among other outcomes, investment in the sugar sub-sector has grown from US$100 million in 2011 to some US$3.2 billion in 2013. The National Automo­tive Policy has enabled the re­suscitation of moribund motor assembly companies such of PAN and ANNAMCO as well as the firm emergence of oth­ers, including INNOSON and NISSAN. In the same vein, the Cotton & Textile Development Policy and the N200 billion SME [low interest]financing scheme are progressively creat­ing many jobs and expanding the economy.

The Minister of Commu­nications Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson was the Managing Director of Accen­ture, and is doing very well. Un­der her management, Nigeria now has an unambiguous clear template on ICT development. Professor Chinedu Nebo, the Minister of Power served as Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka; even as his predecessor, Barth. Nnaji is a celebrated Professor of Robot­ics. The Federal Ministry of Education is headed by a vet­eran educationist & administra­tor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau – ably assisted by Mrs. Viola Onwuliri, a reputable Professor. The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki is a highly-respected Senior Ad­vocate of Nigeria.

These and other key Minis­ters of the Jonathan administra­tion could not have achieved the much they have without the privilege and benefit of good education. This [and of course, more]is what Jonathan wants for the entire country.

The person who raised the issue of Mr. President’s educa­tional qualification also derided the value of the Vice-President’s degree in Architecture, won­dering how many roads he has built. It is known that the VP has his schedules, while there is a full-fledged Ministry of Works headed by two Ministers.

Be that as it may, the Jona­than administration has done a lot on road construction and transportation. Under SURE-P funding alone, it has vari­ously completed work and is undertaking projects on sev­eral roads across the country. These include: dualization of the Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road; dualization of Kano-Potiskum- Maiduguri road; reconstruction of Benin-Ore-Shagamu dual carriageway; rehabilitation of Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway; construction of Loko/Oweto Bridge across the Benue River; construc­tion of the 2nd Niger Bridge at Onitsha/Asaba; rehabilitation, reconstruction & expansion works on the Lagos-Ibadan dual carriageway; Calabar- Katsina Ala road, among other projects. The railways, which became moribund over 30 years ago, have been resusci­tated. While the narrow gauges are coming back into opera­tion, the Federal Government is building standard gauges as part of the 25 years Strategic Rail Development Plan.

Even for the sake of argu­ment and in the worst-case scenario, the apparent failure of those that are educated to lead us is not an excuse to go for those that are not educated. That alternative is scary. At a point in history, companies like Enron of America, Globacom of Canada and Lehman Broth­ers of America [which were run by the best brains from the best schools]experienced failing fortunes, but nobody advocated that uneducated persons should take over their management. That people still die in the hands of qualified medical doc­tors is not a basis for us to start patronising Native Doctors.

Without dabbling into the certificate controversy, I have always maintained that Major- General Muhammadu Buhari [rtd.] is a respected elder states­man of integrity. Similarly, I have also noted that educational qualification is not a measure of integrity. However, I am con­strained to add that those who want to lead must strive to play with the laws of the com­munity and the norms of the community. Though none of us is perfect, but the rules of engagement have prescribed minimum qualifications to con­test for public offices; and they must be adhered to.

Mr. Peter Obi is the im­mediate past Governor of Anambra State and the Deputy Director General, South, of the PDP Nation­al Campaign Council.