By Jethro Ibileke
Nigeria’s outgoing minister of education, made a shocking confession on Thursday, 26 May, that he knew nothing about the sector when he was appointed in 2015 to supervise the ministry by President Muhammadu Buhari. He made the confession at a valedictory session with officials and heads of parastatals of the ministry. According to him, upon his appointment, he had to engage the assistance of some people who’s names and qualifications he did not mention, to help him draft a policy document on education.
He confessed thus: “I didn’t know anything about the education sector when I was appointed minister except superficially. But when Buhari decided to make me minister of education, I called some people to assist me work on a policy document on education because I was a novice in the sector. I shared my idea with them and they assisted me greatly.”
He said: “I was busy making recommendations and suggestions to the President on who to appoint into his cabinet in 2015. All of a sudden, he announced my name to my surprise and that was it. We worked together till 2019. In 2019, I approached the president and suggested that he reshuffle his cabinet because, in the eyes of many, it was unusual in our society for a President to work with the same ministers for four years. Buhari had graciously allowed his Ministers to stay in office for four years. Ordinarily, ministers stay in office for two years before they are reshuffled.
“But I know him very well and I knew it will be difficult for him to do that. But I decided to make it easy for him by promising to bring people that would do the job better for me and others who served as ministers in the first tenure. I promised him that I will give him names of competent people from at least, 19 northern states. So, I suggested to him to drop all the ministers that worked with him in the first tenure including me, but I knew it would be difficult for him. But to confirm that I can do the job, I gave him a name from Bauchi state whom I had expected him to replace me within the cabinet. That was how Maryam Katagun became minister of the Federal Republic,” Adamu confessed.
Unfortunately, this inexperienced man was imposed on one of our most critical sectors for eight years by an equally clueless president, “even when [he] was apparently not ready and unprepared for such task”. Imagine! His lack of knowledge explains his ineptitude performance in the ministry. This undoubtedly explains why our educational system nosedived under the watch of this outgoing government.
Adamu’s shameful confession may sound absurd and shocking to some people, but, not to all. Indeed, not many have tookvBuhari serious when he appointed Adamu, a relatively known journalist to head the education ministry. What are his antecedents?
After graduating from Amhadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria, the Azare, Katagum, Bauchi state indigene worked briefly as an accountant before later venturing into journalism. He began his journalistic career as a public analyst and writer on a variety of different themes and subjects. He later got his first job with the New Nigerian Newspapers as Special Correspondent and member of the editorial board of the New Nigerian group of newspapers in 1984. Although he rose to become deputy editor of the newspaper, Adam’s name did not ring bell in the pen-pushing industry.
The fact that Adamu served as a special assistant to Buhari when he was chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, PTF, and secretary of his presidential transition committee in 2015 does not justify his appointment to head such sensitive and all-important ministry in a nation with abundant education administrators and managers. To further denigrate the education sector, Buhari appointed a university professor and lawyer, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, as junior minister of education, to be supervised by a not-too successful journalist.
There is no gain saying that Adamu Adamu’s performance as the supervising minister of education destroyed the sector. Under his watch, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, embarked on many months of strike, with the longest being eight months uninterrupted. That explains why the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, kicked against the national honour of Commander of the Order of Niger, CON, conferred on him by President Buhari, in October, 2022. NANS, in a statement, noted that the national honour bestowed on Adamu was “a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerian students have been taken for a ride”. The students blamed Adamu for the eight-month-long strike by the adding that the Nigerian education sector has “totally collapsed” under him.
NANS statement read further: “It constitutes an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerian students both home and in the diaspora that the minister of education, Mallam Adamu Adamu under whose nose university students have been home for close to 8 months is to be awarded the National Honours of Commander of the Order of Niger (CON). This singular act of the Buhari’s administration is a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerian students have been taken for a ride. And, we see this as the final straw that breaks the back of the camel of Buhari’s much-touted integrity.
“Over the years, successive administrations in the country have shown to the Nigerian people that the national honours is more of recognition of patronage than recognition of excellence. But, Maj. Gen. Buhari (rtd.) has taken a step further to show to the mass of Nigerian students that we are not on the priority list of the administration. It is so unfortunate that a country which offered so much in hope and possibilities at independence has today become a land of suffering, insecurity and near hopelessness signposted by youth unemployment and an underfunded educational sector.
“To say that a man under whose watch university students have been at home for close to eight months because of the strike embarked upon by lecturers got recognised by the President to be conferred with a national honour is a direct attack on the students. Rather than concentrate on the task of governance, the President is distributing national honours to different characters, mostly misfits. How can you be honouring people who have made the cost of living so high, as well as drastically poor standards of living?” the NANS stated.
“In a functioning country, both the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige who shamefully walked out of a meeting with the national leadership of ASUU at the instance of the House of Representatives and his Education counterpart would have been fired before now. But, the reverse is the case as Adamu Adamu under whose watch the educational sector of the country has totally collapsed is to be recognised with a National Honours for a job well done.”
Shameful! But, there is no shame in Nigeria! If indeed, he did not know anything about the sector, why did he not resign immediately, rather than destroying that critical sector? That is what they do in saner clime, where, in the first instance, a round peg would be selected for a round hole. Unfortunately, the outgoing government of Buhari has most often than not, selected the wrong pegs.
Let’s hope the incoming administration can salvage whatever is left of the education and other sectors. God help Nigeria!
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