President Muhammadu Buhari says the
elite might be failing Nigerians when it comes to education.
Buhari made this comment when he
hosted Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, ministers, service chiefs, heads of
security agencies and chief executives of federal government agencies and
institutions to iftar (breaking of fast) at the presidential villa on Monday.
Making reference to Almajiris,
the president said he is upset with the level of poverty in the land.
As at October 2018, Nigeria had
13.2 million out-of-school children according to the United Nations Children
Fund (UNICEF) and the Nigerian government.
Buhari said the elite should be
able to execute projects that would guarantee basic education for Nigerians
irrespective of their financial situation.
He, however, commended the school
feeding initiative, saying it has increased children’s enrolment in schools.
“When I drive around the country
what upset me very much is the status of our poor people in this country – you
see young people, the so-called Almajiris with tore dresses, with plastic bowl.
They are looking basically for what to eat,” Buhari said.
“The question of education (to
them) is a luxury. I think Nigerian elite we are all failing because I think we
should have a programme that will at least guarantee some basic education for
our people no matter how poor they are.
“So, I welcome the Vice-President
for initiating the School feeding programme. If you check in your localities
the enrolment into schools improved because a lot of children can get at least
one good meal a day. This is the position of this country.”
Commenting on Trader Moni, Buhari
said he had initially kicked against the scheme for fear that the vice
president would be mobbed.
“This `market money’ I warned the
Vice-President I don’t like him to be mobbed, especially the way I see hefty
women coming and confronting him, he should be very careful,” he said.
“These are very good initiatives.
Initially, I was quite reluctant but I
must admit that they are very good programmes and they endear this government
to a lot of poor people because of these N5,000 or N10,000 being given to them
as loans.
They are fantastic programmes and
I have to admit quite honestly that the Vice-President was ahead of me by
insisting on them.
“But he knows me if he insists I
will say `okay go and do what you like.’ He did it and I’m very pleased as he
is being very successful.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
You think? Lol
ReplyDelete