Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, has said investment in education pays the best dividend than any other investment.
Atiku made the statement yesterday on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony of the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The ARU Awards Board on November 12, 2021, confirmed the award of Master of Arts International Relations to Atiku Abubakar, following the successful completion of his Master’s degree program at the university. The graduation ceremony could not hold then because of the Covid-19 disruptions.
However, the former Vice President was not physically present at the graduation ceremony yesterday having collected his certificate earlier. He was also not represented in line with the policy of the university.
The PDP presidential candidate stayed away from the event in solidarity with Nigerian students (and their parents and wards) who have been at home for months with no end in sight to the protracted strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
“In all honesty, I could not mount the podium with other graduands to collect my certificate today. I had worked hard to complete my studies and was excitedly looking forward to donning the graduation robe and collecting my certificate.
However, I am compelled to skip the event in solidarity with our students who through no fault of theirs are being degraded at home”. Atiku restated his position that the mind is a very terrible thing to waste. He noted that no return on investment can surpass that on education. “Education is a game changer because it unlocks the sustainable “crude oil” in the brain as against that in the bowels of the earth.
“Education remains a priority to me. That explains why I invested in it and was prepared against all odds to walk this journey that has earned me a higher degree today.”
He pleaded with the Federal Government and ASUU to resolve all extant issues to pave the way for the strike to be called off so that students can return to school for their good and the benefit of our country. Even more importantly, he counseled on the need for all stakeholders in the society to make the funding of ASUU a continuous and deliberate policy for the sake of our youth.
Ada Peter
