A former Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Peter Okebukola, has called on African countries to invest more in education in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Okebukola made the call at the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Africa Forum 2023 on Monday at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun.
The conference has as its theme: “Education Africa 2030 and Beyond-Sustainability and Social Impact in an African Context”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the two-day conference was organised by Covenant University in collaboration with QS will end on Tuesday.
The former NUC boss said the implementation of policies on areas like education and food security require political will from both the leaders and followers.
He noted that looking at the SDGs; most African countries are still far from achieving them due to poor investment in education.
He said that continents outside Africa are already moving closer to achieving the goals by 2030 as a result of their massive investments in education.
“The 55 countries in Africa are far from investing enough in education which will make it difficult to achieve SDGs by 2030.
“There is the need for African countries both the leadership and followership, to strive towards putting more money in education, because there is a need for a greater investment in education.
“And within the greater investment framework, they should ensure that there are no leakages into pockets,” he said.
Okebukola further appealed to all stakeholders to do the needful by tackling corruption so that by 2030 and beyond, African countries will get to the Promised Land.
He explained that the conference was about using education as a catalyst to accelerate and drive attainment of the SDGs.
Indigenous solutions
In his opening remarks, Dr David Oyedepo, Chancellor, Covenant University, said that every great nation is a function of the valuable contributions from individuals and organisations within its domain.
Oyedepo stressed the need for African countries to find indigenous solutions to their problems through massive investment in education.
“A lot of potential is wasting away because Africans are not committed to solving their problems,” he said.
The Chancellor said it is time for Africa to look inwards and proffer numerous solutions by investing more in education.
Similarly, Ms Veronica Omeni, Principal Consultant & Forum Chairman, QS, United Kingdom, said that the Africa Forum 2023 was not just a conference but a meeting of minds with lofty ideas.
Omeni said it was a call to invest in data-driven strategic approaches to designing, managing and developing education that meets the needs of Africans in an African context.
She said the need for more investment in quality education had never been more urgent, adding that it acts as a catalyst for profound societal change and empowering individuals to transform their lives and communities.
Also, Dr Ashwin Fernandes, Executive Director, Africa, Middle East/South, Asia, QS United Kingdom, said the focus was to explore and strategise on educational approaches and systems that can foster sustainability and encourage social impact.
Fernandes said that the theme of the forum is pertinent, as it stands at the height of a rapidly evolving world.
“There is a profound understanding that the role of education remains as pivotal as ever, serving as the cornerstone for cultivating sustainable growth and driving meaningful social change within our African communities.” he said. (NAN)
Pull quote
The 55 countries in Africa are far from investing enough in education which will make it difficult to achieve SDGs by 2030.
Contractors using asphalt must sign 30yrs indemnity agreement – Umahi
The Minister of Works, Sen. David Umahi, says contractors using asphalt in road construction must sign an indemnity agreement of 30 years duration of the roads with the ministry.
Umahi said this on Monday in Abuja at a news conference to unfold the general direction of the ministry during his tenure.
He said that contractors using asphalt would not be stopped but must sign the durability agreement.
The minister, however, said that construction of concrete road would not be enforced on projects awarded already.
He added that contractors would need to give assurance that roads built with asphalt would last up to 30 years though the concrete roads would last longer.
“We are not stopping asphalt works but it is not possible to be paying for a job that we know will not stand for five years.
“Contractors hide under the funny excuse of overloading for roads not standing long.
“Nigeria must get value for their money paid as tax, enough of contractors doing shady work and getting paid for it.
“The concrete road when properly done will last for 50 years and we have success where we have done that apart from the one I did in Ebonyi.
“In fact, before I left office, we delivered the Abakaliki Ridgeway Road, which was funded by the African Development Bank,” he said.
Contractors hide under the funny excuse of overloading for roads not standing long. Nigeria must get value for their money paid as tax, enough of contractors doing shady work and getting paid for it.
Release of funds
Speaking on funding for roads, Umahi however, noted with concern that the way Nigeria’s budgetary allocation is designed was not encouraging for contractors to timely complete federal road projects.
Umahi said the release of funds to contractors on an annual basis made road projects linger, as in most cases the contractors accessed little from the funds to purchase the raw materials.
He said that the delay further gave rise to contract variation as inflation affects the original amount agreed for the project.
“When you give a contractor N150 million a year for a N600 millions road project, he will pocket it while mobilising to site without doing anything on ground.
“When confronted, he will say he is yet to get the material he requested from outside the country as the money was not enough,” he said.
He appealed to the National Assembly to release over N650 billion it withheld for some projects across the country, which he said were almost completed but lack of the funds is still keeping the contractors on site.
He said if these funds were not released the roads will not be completed, and this will have negative economic impact.
The minister advised that members of the National Assembly, who are representatives of different Senatorial districts should meet with their state governors and determine priority projects that could be completed in time.
He advocated that to curb the instances of kidnapping of citizens along the highways, economic trees and cash crops need to be planted on road corridors to prevent the menace.
“Nigerians must get value for their taxes, roads are everything, where we are having kidnapping is on the spot where roads are bad, we should remove the bushes and plant cash crops.
“It is ideal and acceptable, and we should replicate it in all parts of the country. It will remove the kidnappings,” he said.
He added that the Ministry would review the operations of the Federal Road Management Agency (FERMA) to ensure that any intervention in states would be done with the input of the state government, to determine the priority areas. (NAN)
