Our Leaders Don’t Have Education, So They Can’t Give What They Don’t Have
The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged the Federal Government to channel trillions of naira spent on petroleum subsidy to education. He made the call yesterday, in Abuja, at the 6th convocation ceremony of the Nile University.
He said: “Let us spend money to educate our children, so that they can build these roads and bridges. We don’t need to invite the Chinese to do that for us.
“The leadership, at all levels, and followers must understand that this is what is most important. Our people do understand sometimes that if a governor does not build a bridge, he is seen as a non-performer.
“We build all these highways and there are more pedestrians on the highways than cars. Of those pedestrians are people without education. Let us invest more in education.” He added: “We complain about parents not sending their children to school. We complain about fathers not sending their girls to school because of cultural considerations.
Before I became an Emir, I used to complain about northern Nigeria not sending their children to school, but since becoming an Emir, I have realised that these complaints are ways of running away from responsibilities.
“Where are the schools? Where are the teachers? Where is the funding? We need to lay more emphasis on the quality of leaders we select into legislative and executive offices. We need to ensure that those whom we entrust policies are educated and know the value of education.”
