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The last time I wrote anything about
Zamfara State in th Nigerian newspapers was in 2001 when the then
Governor Ahmed Sani Yeriman Bakuri allocated N18m or N80m there about
for the purchase of turbans to pupils and students. I was in the United
States doing a Fulbright fellowship. I remember sending an article in
the New Nigerian condemning the action while arguing that bthere are
more important things to do in education rather than buying turbans. The
turbans were not bought for whatever reason and nothing was done to
improve the education sector, except perhaps the new scholarship scheme
(which was handy for politicking). Even the scholarship scheme was
selective because I know PhD candidates that were not given a kobo by
the Yarima administration.
Few weeks after the swearing of Mahmuda
Aliyu Shinkafi as the Executive Governor of Zamfara State, we begin to
see schools being fenced, new classrooms being built a befitting NYSC
camp being built and so on. That gave us some hope that this man is
interested in the education sector. We crossed our fingers and kept
praying. The Hausa have a saying Ba a saurin yabon dan kuturu sai ya
tashi da yatsunsa.
Suddenly in the daily Trust of Wednesday,
December 5, 2007 a caption “Education tops Zamfara’s N76.5b budget”
captures my attention with such a magnetic pull that surprised me. The
report said “education sector got the lion’s share of 26% of the total
budget” this was because according to His Excellency Governor Shinkafi
“having taken into consideration the significance of this sector in our
desire to attain meaningful development, we decided to give education
the highest share…” he intended to build more classrooms, hostels, staff
quarters and generally improve the quality of education.
This is a welcome development and good
tidings to all the indigenes of the State and indeed to all responsible
people of Nigeria. In fact, ASUU would be highly delighted to hear this.
ASUU has been struggling for the allocation of 26% of the Nigeria’s
annual budget (to be done in phases) since Abacha, here we are, a State
government out of its vision, just doing that without anybody formally
asking her to do so. This is commendable.
Now, the government has shown its
willingness to support the education sector, the governor has also
promised in the same report that total implementation of he budget will
be ensured. The education sector of the State is in shambles, there just
too many problems that discussing them here will be tantamount to waste
of time. In view of that I wish to call on the State government to
organize a stakeholders meeting on education, it should invite all its
indigenes that teach in the Universities and other institutions of
higher learning, educational administrators and others to seriously
discuss the problems and strategize on how to handle them. It can borrow
from Bauchi and Jigawa States and have a committee that can help the
State develop a Strategic Plan for education. I was part of the Bauchi
State effort and therefore willing to help my State.
We hope that the Government would conduct
a baseline survey in order to establish a benchmark that would serve as
a basis for monitoring the progress it sets to make in the coming years.
This amount of money that would be invested must yield sweet fruits.
Mahmuda, we wish you Allah’s guidance and assure you of our unfailing
support.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
Signed
Dr Yusuf M Adamu
Senior Lecturer in Geography and Acting
Executive Secretary, Strategic Planning Unit, Bayero University, Kano.
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