NIGERIA: A COUNTRY OF CHEAP TERTIARY EDUCATION

I was surprised when my claim that Nigeria offers one of the cheapest tertiary education in the world was met with disdain. What worried me most was the fact that the disdain came from people who enjoyed and still enjoying the highly subsidized tertiary education. Some people who agreed were quick to label the Education substandard just to ridicule the country. No matter what we feel about the country, the fact that we all enjoyed cheap tertiary education can not be controverted. The fact speaks for itself. I gained admission to the then Ondo State University, Ado Ekiti in 1996/97 session. My tuition fee was N5,150. It was one of the most expensive in the country then. I paid N4,850, N4,350 and N3,850 in second, third and final year respectively. I paid a total of N18,200 in 4 years for a University degree. At that time, my counterparts in Obafemi Awolowo University were paying N500 as tuition. You heard me right, five hundred naira. This token gave them access to the university health care as well as the library. N90 (Ninety Naira) was their hostel fees for a session. My mates got a University degree from OAU Ife with less than N4,000 . It may interest you to know that medical students in the school paid the same ridiculous amount . This is not a story of Lord Lugard Era. A Youth Corper allowee at that time was N3,750. Which means, a corper can sponsor someone in the University without blinking an eyelid . By the time I started my youth service in 2002, a youth corper allowee has been increased to N7,500. This means that my 3 months corper allowee was by far higher than what I paid in 4 years as school fees in a state university. We are quick to compare Nigeria with the US, Canada, UK and other "saner climes". Someone even said Nigeria does not have students loan. The loan system was instituted in these countries because an average citizen can not afford tertiary education. It may interest you to know that Obama was already the President before he finished paying his student loan. I don't think any bank will give you a loan to pay the ridiculous amount we pay as fees in Nigerian Universities. Till date the average tuition in public universities in Nigeria is N50,000. Nigeria, arguably, has the highest number of University graduates per square kilometre in the world . Thanks to the highly subsidized education we all enjoyed. In saner climes, no middle income earner can sponsor a child in the University without resorting to loans that will take the student years to clear. You need as high as $80,000 to study medicine and $60,000 to study law. This did not include hostel accommodation. You will pay as high as $14,000 per session for hostel accommodation. I am using Canada as a case study. Note that education is cheaper in Canada than US . A middle income earner in Nigeria will sponsor a child in a public university without any problem. Infact, a youth corper can afford to send his sibling to a university and afford the fees. As per the quality, UK has poached 7,000 Nurses from Nigeria within the last 12 months. Saudi Arabia, Canada and UK are scrambling to poach all our Doctors that were trained cheaply by our Government. I don't think these countries will come to pack our "low quality" graduates to fill their " high quality" health institutions. We believe it is low quality because we got it cheaply. Skilled workers trained by our universities are currently running the show in Canada, UK and US. I was present in a forum where Mr Babalola, a leading immigration lawyer in Toronto, was delivering a paper. The first thing he did was to thank Nigeria for the cheap education given to him. Babalola studied law at the University of Ibadan. He knew he would have paid through his nose to get a Law degree in Canada. I deliberately posted this tertiary education claim on our independence day because some people said there is nothing to celebrate in Nigeria. If an ungrateful person gets to Paradise, he will find nothing to celebrate there. It is simply a matter of perspective. You don't value what you have until you lose it. No country is completely good or completely bad. It depends on what you want to see. I have met Canadians who did not see anything good in their country. Someone said good people will always see the good in people. In the same vein, I believe good citizens will always see the good in their country. Adeola Daramola October 02, 2021

Buhari orders conditional lifting of Twitter ban by Stephen Angbulu

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, said he had directed a conditional lifting of the ban placed on the operations of the micro blogging sire, Twitter, in Nigeria in June. Buhari disclosed this in his nationwide broadcast to Nigerians to mark the nation’s 61st independence. He described the social media as a very useful platform but regretted that some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments. The President said, “Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information. “However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination. “Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments. “To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021 to allow the Government put measures in place to address these challenges. “Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government of Nigeria to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue. “The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a number of key issues. These are National Security and Cohesion; Registration, Physical presence and Representation; Fair Taxation; Dispute Resolution; and Local Content. “Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements. “As a country, we are committed to ensuring that digital companies use their platform to enhance the lives of our citizens, respect Nigeria’s sovereignty, cultural values and promote online safety.”

How Britain Massively Looted Nigeria –Ex-Head Of State, Abdulsalami According to him, growing up under colonial rule afforded him the opportunity to see how Britain plundered Nigeria’s treasury. BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORKOCT 01, 2021 Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) has accused Britain of looting the nation’s treasury. Abdulsalami noted this in his speech to mark Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary in Minna, the Niger State capital. According to him, growing up under colonial rule afforded him the opportunity to see how Britain plundered Nigeria’s treasury. He said the rail lines and roads that were constructed by colonial masters were done for selfish interests, to move Nigeria’s resources abroad through the seaports. “My generation grew up under colonial rule. And we saw how our colonial masters siphoned our treasury and whatever, out of the country. Even the rail and road system they claimed to have created was in order to cart away what they could to the seaport and export it,” he said. Abdulsalami also lamented the current economic situation of the country, noting that Nigeria went wrong when it abandoned agriculture which was its first source of revenue upon the discovery of oil in the country. He also lamented the current economic and security challenges in Nigeria, while urging citizens to celebrate the country’s founding fathers for their contribution to the story of Nigeria.

Independence Day: US will continue to stand by Nigeria despite challenges, says envoy by Kayode Oyero

United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, has pledged that the Joe Biden administration will continue to stand by Nigeria in spite of the many economic and security challenges confronting the West African nation. The American envoy stated this in an OP-ED on Thursday titled, ‘Reflections on 61 years of U.S. – Nigerian Engagement’. Leonard said the US Mission in Nigeria “recognize that security and economic concerns weigh on the minds of all Nigerians”, adding that it has been working in solidarity with the Nigerian government to address the challenges together. She wrote, “We also recognize that security and economic concerns weigh on the minds of all Nigerians. We work in solidarity with the Nigerian government to address those challenges together. Diplomacy, development, public health, and defense have long been pillars that provide the foundation for promoting and protecting U.S. national security interests abroad. “Our bilateral relationship is strong and based on such mutual interests. We share the Nigerian government’s recognition that, indeed, military aid will not be the exclusive tool to end insecurity in the country. A “whole of government” approach is required to protect citizens and stabilize the country. And indeed, all Nigerians have a role to play in improving security. “We have a long-standing partnership with the Nigerian military and the Nigerian police that consists of advising, training, exercises, education, and military systems and equipment, all of which are encompassed in the historic A-29 Super Tucano sale. These engagements emphasize the skills and processes that are critical to shaping effective militaries. “The United States supports Nigeria’s economic growth and its mutually beneficial trade with the U.S. through both private sector engagement and government-supported initiatives – such as the West Africa Trade and Investment Hub, Prosper Africa, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Foreign Commercial Service. The U.S. is proud to be the largest humanitarian donor in Nigeria, providing $1.45 billion since 2015, and supporting an estimated two million conflict-affected households in the north. The U.S. is looking forward to expanding on these economic relationships in the future.” Leonard further said that the US Mission is focused on strengthening democracy in Nigeria as the nation clocks 61 years, interrupted with years of military despotism and merciless dictators. “We commend Nigeria on its efforts to encourage dialogue and transparency at all levels of governance and continue to partner with Nigeria on efforts to improve its governing capacity. We are focused on strengthening Nigeria’s democratic processes and institutions and encouraging freedom of information, including efforts to enforce accountability through credible and transparent elections,” she said. “Nigeria’s potential is enormous. With Nigeria’s vibrant and innovative youth, we know that the best is yet to come for this great nation. As proud partners, we will continue to stand by Nigeria and work towards a more inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Nigeria,” the US ambassador concluded.

Why Nigeria produces poor PhD holders —FG by Friday Olokor

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Buhari decries illicit arms trade, solicits debt cancellation for Nigeria, others at UN by Stephen Angbulu

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday at the ongoing 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the United States of America, called for a regulation of arms and light weapons trade in the interest of human rights. Addressing the gathering of world leaders, the Nigerian President expressed deep concerns at the devastating effects of small arms and weapons, calling for accountability in the conventional arms trade. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, revealed this in a statement titled, ‘At UNGA, President Buhari raises the alarm on the erosion of democracy in West Africa, urges world leaders to reject unconstitutional takeovers.’ The statement quoted Buhari as saying, “Nigeria remains deeply concerned over the illicit trade, transfer, and circulation of small arms and light weapons. Their excessive accumulation and uncontrolled spread in many regions of the world are having devastating humanitarian and socio-economic consequences, especially on the continent of Africa. “It is on this note that my delegation calls for the worldwide application of the Arms Trade Treaty to codify accountability in the conventional arms trade, which is critical to the security of nations. This is in recognition of the need for a broad-based global partnership in the ongoing battle against trans-border crimes, including terrorism and piracy.” Buhari also frowned on the recent trend of the unconstitutional takeover of power on the African continent, saying such actions must not be tolerated by the international community. He warned that the democratic gains of the past decades in West Africa ‘‘are now being eroded’’ due to these negative trends. He affirmed Nigeria’s support to efforts by ECOWAS, AU and the UN to address this growing challenge, saying, ‘‘As leaders of our individual member-states, we need to adhere to the constitutional provisions of our countries, particularly on term limits. This is one area that generates crisis and political tension in our sub-region. “In this connection, my delegation underscores the importance of promoting peaceful, unfettered, and inclusive participation of states in global actions towards conflict prevention. ‘‘This will facilitate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063.” The Nigerian President also called for fair and equitable international trade system, which he said was more important to African countries than foreign aid. Buhari called for reforms that would engender recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, build resilience against future shocks and pursue transformative development strategies that could deliver the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He said, ‘‘Nigeria reaffirms that international trade is an engine for development and sustained economic growth, as well as the global eradication of poverty. ‘‘My delegation would like to reaffirm the critical role that a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system can play in stimulating economic growth and development. ‘‘Fair and equitable trade would eventually eliminate the need for aid. My country and indeed all African countries do not intend to stay indefinitely looking for aid. All we need is a fair and equitable system of international trade.” However, he called for outright debt cancellation for countries facing the most severe challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Buhari said, ‘‘Developing countries have been faced with unsustainable debt burdens even before the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the risk of a new wave of deepening debt, where vital public financial resources are allocated to external debt servicing and repayments at the expense of domestic health and financing for critical developmental needs. ‘‘I must commend the current initiatives by the international financial institutions and the G20 aimed at significantly mitigating the economic situation of the indebted countries and urge for more efforts in this regard. ‘‘Therefore, there is an urgent need to consider expansion and extension of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative to include all Developing, Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States facing fiscal and liquidity challenges. ‘‘In addition, a review of the eligibility criteria for debt suspension, including outright cancellation, is needed for countries facing the most severe challenges.’’ The President also advocated the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, outlining steps Nigeria had taken to achieve ‘‘moderate success’’ in containing the virus and halt its deadly onslaught in the country. ‘‘Nigeria remains grateful for the assistance received from our partners and friends all over the world. Vaccination is the key to our safe emergence from the pandemic. ‘‘We fully support the COVAX initiative from which we have benefitted. We also thank the United States of America, Turkey, India, China, the European Union, and others for the vaccines provided. ‘‘Despite the acknowledgement, however, I would like to reiterate my call for a fairer and more equitable distribution of vaccines to all countries so that, together, we can fight and contain the pandemic,” he said. On the fight against terrorism, the President told the UN General Assembly that ‘‘As a result of the renewed vigour of Nigeria’s military, many terrorist fighters are voluntarily surrendering to our security forces. ‘‘Nigeria will continue to work closely with UN counter-terrorism bodies and entities to bring this scourge to an end,’’ he said, adding that the country would spare no effort in addressing the challenges of terrorism posed by the activities of Boko Haram in North-East Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, as well as banditry in the North-West and North-Central Nigeria.” He also renewed the call for the reforms of the UN Security Council, stressing that those intergovernmental negotiations on the issue were taking too long. ‘‘No reform of the United Nations system is more urgent than that of the Security Council. Stakeholders around the world are asking how such power could be concentrated, with scant representation. ‘‘The intergovernmental negotiations have taken too long, some 15 years. ‘‘We must avoid going in circles. Consensus has been achieved in some of the elements of this reform, especially that of the representation of Africa based on the Elzuwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. ‘‘It is unreasonable to expect unanimity in this matter. The issue, indeed, is about justice, not unanimity. Without justice, the legitimacy even efficacy of our organisation is called to question. ‘‘We can and must make substantial, irreversible progress on Security Council reform in the current session,’’ he said. The President also encouraged Israel and Palestine to re-engage in dialogue based on relevant UN resolutions and Initiatives. ‘‘The two-state solution has the support of the international community and is widely acknowledged as the path to lasting peace,’’ he said. Buhari concluded his address praising the outgoing German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. He also pledged Nigeria’s unalloyed support for multilateralism and faith in the UN as the pre-eminent body for solving current and emerging global challenges. ‘‘Nigeria re-affirms its faith in the United Nations and is further resolved to continue to work with all member-states for peace and security, development and the protection of human rights. ‘‘In this regard, let me close my statement by paying special tribute to a great and humane internationalist, and an exemplary practitioner of multilateral cooperation. I am speaking of Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany. As she exits the stage, we wish her well,’’ he said. Use leadership position to stabilise W’Africa, Guterres to Buhari Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has urged Buhari to continue to use his leadership roles in Africa for the stabilisation of the West African sub-region. Adesina’s statement quoted Guterres as saying this in a meeting on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The UN Scribe observed that Africa, especially West Africa, was generally seen as an ocean of stability and good governance, but was deeply concerned at recent reversal of fortunes in democratic rule in some parts of the West African sub-region with coups overturning elected institutions. He, therefore, urged Buhari to continue to show leadership as he looked up to Nigeria to help stabilise the sub-region in terms of democracy and good governance. PUNCH

It’s compulsory for Nigerians to accept e-naira, says CBN by Eniola Akinkuotu

The Central Bank of Nigeria says the e-naira which is set to be launched on October 1 is a legal tender equal to the value of the naira and thus must be accepted as a form of payment by all merchants and business outlets. The CBN Director, Payment System Management, Mr. Musa Jimoh, said this during an interview on the ‘Business Morning’ programme on Channels Television on Monday. Jimoh said, “Today, anywhere you present naira to pay, compulsorily it must be accepted because that is our fiat currency. So, the same way naira is accepted that you can’t reject it, is the same way e-naira must be accepted. Anywhere in this country where e-naira is presented, it must be accepted. So, merchants must accept e-naira as a means of payment.” He advised Nigerians to open e-naira wallets which could be downloaded on their phones from October 1, adding that CBN bears all liabilities. “The liability of the e-naira money is directly on CBN which is similar to the cash you hold. The liability of the cash you hold today rests with the CBN. So, it gives Nigerians the opportunity to bank with CBN,” Jimoh said. On whether Nigeria was ripe for the e-naira due to the technological challenges in the country, Jimoh said he didn’t expect it to be a major problem. PUNCH.