Ekiti
State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, on Friday condemned Nigerian public officials
who send their children to schools abroad, saying it is wrong for government
functionaries to educate their children outside Nigeria.
The
governor’s comment appears to have been directed at President Muhammadu Buhari,
Senate President Bukola Saraki and other top Nigerian officials, including
fellow state governors, whose children recently graduated from or are in
universities abroad.
Mr.
Fayose urged the affected officials to emulate him, saying all his children are
products of Nigerian universities,
Mr.
Fayose, who was at Covenant University, Ota, in Ogun State, to witness the
graduation ceremony of one of his sons, Ayorogbayimika Fayose, told journalists
that there was no reason children of public office holders should study in
universities outside Nigeria, except in cases where courses they are interested
in are not offered in Nigerian universities.
The
governor’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere
Olayinka, quoted Mr. Fayose as saying, “We talk and do. Whatever we say is what
we practice. Apart from the fact that none of my children attended schools
abroad, I have never travelled out of the country for Medicare.
“Even
though the views of people like us might not be popular among the powers that
be because we say the truth and act the truth, we won’t stop telling them what
they do not like to hear and one of such is that the only way to improve the
standard of education in the country is for children of holders of public
office to experience what children of ordinary Nigerians are experiencing in
schools in the country.
“During
my first tenure as governor, I took my son from a private school and enrolled
him in SUBEB Model Primary School in Ado Ekiti.
“Today
again, I am here to witness the graduation of my son and I make bold to say
here that none of my children attended tertiary institution outside Nigeria.
“That
should be the spirit not a situation where someone is the minister of education
in Nigeria and his children are schooling abroad. And by enforcing this too, we
will be saving Nigeria a lot of foreign exchange being wasted on medical and
academic tourism.”
While
condemning what he described as the hypocrisy of some Nigerian leaders,
especially those in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Fayose said;
“Even children of President Muhammadu Buhari that they told us lived a modest
life attended universities abroad.
Shouldn’t
President Buhari have lived by example by enrolling his children in
universities in Nigeria?”
While
reiterating his commitment to the uplift of education in Ekiti State, Governor
Fayose added, “We are after quality education and we want to maintain our
position as leaders in the education sector. We are first in NECO examinations
and we are among the best in WAEC and the only industry in Ekiti State is
education and we can’t afford to let it depreciate.”
The
governor also called on parents, corporate bodies and others to support the
government in the task of improving the standard of education in the state.
-Premium Times
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