Ahead of the 70th anniversary of Free Universal Primary Education slated for October 9, 2025, in Lagos, elder statesman and former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, has urged State Governors to work within the constitutional framework of federalism regarding governance, especially educational delivery in their respective states, noting that states are not subordinate to the central government.
He said state administrators tend to think that they are subordinate to the federal government when it comes to administering their states to deliver dividends to citizens.
He said if only they could imbibe the free universal primary education as championed by former Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the country would be the better for it.
Pa Akande described education as the true liberator of the human mind, stressing that its value goes beyond monetary consideration.
Akande voiced his opinion in an exclusive interview as part of activities marking the Platinum Jubilee of Free Universal Primary Education, being organised by the Independent Newspapers Limited.
The event will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos. It will feature a Public Lecture (6-7 pm) and Platinum Awards/ Gala Night with a red carpet (7 pm).
Passing the bulk of the blame on previous military administrations, Pa Akande said, because the military concentrated power at the centre, most states abdicate their responsibilities to the federal government.
According to him, many Nigerians think we run a centralised system of government when, in actual sense, no component is subordinate to the other.
His words, “Many of the elites in Nigeria are so uneducated politically, and they think Nigeria is centralized. Nigeria was never centralized at any time. Only the military made Nigeria look centralized, and may God not let military administration anywhere in the world again, because it set Nigeria backward by a generation, and that is the problem we are wallowing in now.
“That is a debate for another day. But what I’m saying is that from the beginning, I don’t know what happened before we were born.
“But from the beginning of native administration, which we did, there were three regions.
“From the beginning, when the nationalists started governing this country, it had been three. And throughout the 1950s up to the independence in 1960, the idea was unanimous. Well, at least the consensus.
“I won’t say unanimously. The consensus was that Nigeria should be a federal system of government. And it has only been federalized as the north, the east, and the west. Up till now, it’s never been centralized. And what’s the meaning of federalism? Federalism means there will be a central government, which we call the federal government now, and there will be subsidiary governments or subnational governments, which we call states. Okay!
“The state will have its own job. In some countries, the state will have its own jobs spelled out in the constitution, and the rest will be taken over by the federal government.
“There was a state government. The Western Nigerian government was not subordinate to the federal government. The Western Nigerian government was coordinated with the federal government.
“Even today, as it’s written down in the Constitution, no state is subordinate to the federal government. All states are coordinated with the federal government. But because we have immature politicians everywhere, everybody feels that the federal government is the boss, and they all run to Abuja to see the boss.
“That’s not what the Constitution says. The president oversees the affairs of the federation over certain subjects, while the states are supposed to oversee the affairs of their own areas over certain subjects. But because most of our leaders nowadays don’t even read to know what was expected of them, they just do it the way the military handed it over to them, and that’s why when there is no food in the sector, we blame it on the center. No, no.
“The subnational had a function. They are the owners of the land. That’s why, when you want to take a C of O, you go to the state government. They are the owners of the land where you can plant food. So they are supposed to be the creators of food, but people don’t know. They take it the other way around”.
Reacting to investment and commitment to education delivery by the crop of leaders being churned out after the post-independence era, Akande said most of the states run inconsistent education policy and term it free universal education.
He said that despite the existence of the Universal Basic Education, parents still end up getting assistance to educate their children and wards.
“Today, the federal government is heavily assisting the students at the university level by granting them loans. Take a loan, which you will not pay back until you get a job, and you will pay no interest on it to assist your parents. Because parents are not the same.
“You won’t say, I don’t go to school because I have no money. The federal government owns it. So this federal government, the one that started two years ago, of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the one doing that.
“It wasn’t there before. And that was why, when some states are making education free, some are not making it free, and some may opt for a scholarship. They say, we don’t make it free, but the talented ones, we will pay for them, or we send them to school.”
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