13/03/2021
SPEECH BY RT. HON. AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL, CFR (MUTAWALLEN SOKOTO), AT THE COMBINED FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD CONVOCATION CEREMONY OF THE SOKOTO STATE UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO, ON 13TH MARCH, 2021, AT THE CONVOCATION ARENA, SOKOTO STATE UNIVERSITY, SOKOTO.
PROTOCOL
It is with deep sense of gratitude to Almighty Allah that I welcome you all to this all important event that is indeed, a celebration of academic excellence. I give special thanks to His Excellency, the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, GCON, for accepting to give the first convocation lecture of this University and for being with us to grace this occasion.
2. We are grateful to other dignitaries from within and outside the country, who accepted our invitation to join us in celebrating this day. We join our children, our brothers and sisters, the pride of this great nation, and the administration of Sokoto State University to celebrate this landmark maiden convocation ceremony and installation of the University’s Chancellor, His Royal Highness Alhaji Dr. Nuhu Muhammad Sanusi, CON, the Emir of Dutse.
3. Education remains the pivotal factor in achieving any meaningful development in every society, particularly in this age of enlightenment, when knowledge remains the driver of socio-political, technological and economic development.
4. It is in line with this reality seethat education remains at the top of the priority list of this administration. Pursuant to our policy of a State of Emergency on Education since 2015, when we first came on board and in the current dispensation from 2019 to date, our budgetary allocation to education has never fallen below 26%. In 2016, we had a whopping 29% allocation to education above the UNESCO benchmark and ever since, we have maintained the tempo by ensuring sustained funding for the education subsector.
5. Funding coming from the education levy, through the concern and goodwill of political office holders and civil servants in the state and a handsome budgetary allocation to education, have greatly assisted in turning around the fortune of the subsector in the state.
6. The construction in 2016, of Model Government Secondary School, B***e in Gudu Local Government, hitherto the only Local Government Area without a Senior Secondary School in Nigeria, has set the standard guiding the expansion of the education subsector in Sokoto State.
7. The intention is to build 40 such model secondary schools in the state, while our agenda of building 160 new primary and secondary schools in the state has recorded more than 50% of accomplishment. These, coupled with the renovation of 1500 primary schools and 180 junior secondary schools clearly point to our commitment to the enhancement of the fortunes of the education at the basic and secondary levels.
8. Indeed, this unprecedented expansion is meant to provide access to education, particularly to the rural areas and the disadvantaged groups. The creation of the Agency for Girl-Child Education by our administration is aimed at implementing policies that are designed to promote the education of girls in the State.
9. Among other things, the Agency sponsored the training of the first batch of 250 female teachers at Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto, in addition to the recruitment of teachers and establishment of Girls Secondary Schools in various parts of the state. The Model Government Girls Science Academy in Kasarawa and similar Girls Secondary Schools are intended to provide equal access to education for women in the state.
10. Our administration has not been unmindful of the problem of out of school children. The establishment of additional primary and secondary schools is aimed at providing access to education and thus addressing the problem of this category of children in the state.
11. Associated to the problem of out-of-school children is the problem of street begging by school age children. The various steps taken and still being taken by the state and Federal Governments towards addressing the problem of Almajirci will be pursued regourously.
12. Using the Malaysian Pondoc System of Quranic Education, the State Government in partnership with the Sultanate Council, has attained significant level of progress in reforming Almajirci, which the traditional Quranic Education in Northern states.
13. We appeal to all well-meaning citizens, particularly the Ulamah, to complement government’s effort in providing sound education and training to our children. Only through that, we can help secure for them respect, as useful no members of the global community.
14. Let me seize this opportunity to congratulate the management, staff and students of the Sokoto State University for successfully organizing this convocation ceremony, and for the numerious successes recorded in less than one decade of its establishment.
15. The Sokoto State Government is very much aware of the many success stories recorded by the university’s staff and students within and outside the country. Just last year, despite the challenges associated with the Covid-19, the University beat other tertiary institutions in the State in a keenly contested debate competition. So far, its products have not only been able to favourably compete against their peers from other institutions in the country, but are making significant contribution to the nation’s socio-economic development.
16. Apart from many of its graduates serving in different capacities in the state and around the country, the University has produced a member of the Sokoto State Executive Council, in the person of Comrade Bashir Gorau, who is already making significant impact as Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development.
17. On this note, I will like to enjoin the University Management to liaise with the Governing Council to facilitate the recruitment of students who attain academic distinction, particularly those who graduate with First Class, as is the tradition in the university system.
18. On our part, we shall not relent in providing all the necessary support and encouragement the University may require to achieve its mission, in line with the dream of its founding fathers. And in addition to sustained funding and grants, the State Government has always responded positively to the other needs of the this institution.
19. We have recently approved the payment of different allowances for the University Staff, with a view to raising their morale to deliver on their core mandate of teaching and research. The state government is willing to provide necessary funding for research, so as to lay a solid foundation for a knowledge driven polity in the State.
20. The ongoing construction of the State University Teaching Hospital and allocation of a building to the University at General Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital are to facilitate the successful take-off of the College of Medical Sciences in the institution.
21. Government has equally made a provision for the establishment of two additional Faculities in the University in the 2021 Budget. There has equally been a provision for the construction of an additional student’s Hotel and completion of Staff Quarters.
22. Towards providing qualified teachers for our rapidly expanding primary and secondary schools in the state, the State Executive Council has approved the upgrading of the Shehu Shagari College of Education to a University of Education. Already, an advisory Committee is set up to advise the government on steps for the successful take off of the University.
23. The State Government has equally provided land for the establishment of Federal College of Education at Gidan Madi in Tangaza Local Government by the Federal Government. We have already provided a temporary site for the College. While we commend the effort of the Federal Government for such a wonderful intervention, we look forward to the establishment of a Federal Polytechnic in the state, considering that ours is among the few States in the Federation without a Federal Polytechnic.
24. I will like to, at this juncture, thank the Vice President, His Excellency Professor Yemi Osinbajo, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar CFR, mni, my friends, State Governors and other important personalities for honouring our invitation to grace this occasion.
25. To the Chancellor and other recipients of the Honourary Degrees, I heartily congratulate you for the investiture, which is in recognition of your service to the nation and humanity. We sincerely thank you for your selfless service to the growth of the University, the state and the nation as a whole.
26. To the graduands, I congratulate you for the successful completion of your various programmes and wish you Allah’s guidance and assistance in your endeavours, as you joined the league of enlightened members of the global community. And where ever it is you find yourselves, do always remember, "it all begins here!"
Thank you and Wassalamu Alaikum.
