Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has attributed the wave of insecurity and systemic decay in the country to the longstanding neglect of the education sector.
Atiku made the remarks on Saturday in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, during the 17th Annual Founder’s Day of the American University of Nigeria.
“The crass disregard for education inflicted upon us by the current and successive governments since 2007 has transformed what could have been a vibrant future into a bleak landscape,” he said.
According to him, as daunting as the country’s divisive challenges may appear, the most insidious threat does not stem from the visible chaos unleashed by armed groups but from the far deeper neglect of education, health, and human development services.
The former vice president cautioned that while the nation grapples with violence and turmoil from armed groups, the consequences of overlooking human development sectors do not merely endanger the present but also cast a long shadow over the future.
He urged individuals and the private sector to pay closer attention to the condition of Nigeria’s education system, stressing that idle youths have become fertile ground for criminal recruitment.
He added, “Our beloved country, endowed with a youth population of enormous promise, faces staggering challenges that threaten to undermine our most precious asset—our children.
“Currently, millions of children remain out of school, and among those who do enrol, many find themselves disillusioned and trapped in an outdated system that fails to prepare them for the demands of an increasingly complex and competitive world.”
Atiku described Nigeria’s education statistics as sobering, lamenting that the nation now bears the regrettable distinction of having the highest number of out-of-school children globally.
