The Chairman, Bi-Courtney Limited, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), yesterday, identified poor level of education as the reason insurgency thrives in North-East Nigeria. Babalakin explained this while delivering a lecture on the theme: “Education: Panacea to Insurgency” at the University of Ibadan.
The lecture was part of the Second Decade of the University of Ibadan Muslim Graduates Association (UIMGA) Education Summit. According to the erudite lawyer, very poor level of education in the region breeds hopelessness, which in turn, makes it easy for youths to take to violence and other anti-social behavior against the state.
He explained that the situation, which is strengthened by high level of poverty, allows promoters of violence to indoctrinate the youths and easily enlist them in carrying out insurgent activities. Babalakin, who was the guest lecturer, recalled that the first generation universities in Nigeria were among the top 15 in Africa at a time, adding that the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was also the fourth in the Commonwealth. He disclosed that he is today always gripped by depression anytime he reads about how poorly Nigerian universities and health institutions rank among others in Africa and the world.
Emphasizing that Nigeria derailed from the sound foundation in education and civil service, the successful entrepreneur insisted that the country must return to quality and affordable education for all citizens if it seriously hopes to overcome the social vices and return to the path of greatness. He said: “Insurgency is being created largely by hopelessness. It is the worst thing that can happen to anyone.
We became hopeless because the intelligentsia failed Nigeria; because we refused to sustain the quality of education and excellence. The good schools should be used as benchmarks against new ones to enable them operate at the level of quality of the existing ones.”
Earlier, the President of UIMGA, Dr Saka Adewumi, said the theme of the summit was aimed at assessing the objectives of the association which was formed in 2005. They include creating awareness on the need for active participation of Muslims in all levels of education, securing and sustaining Muslim education and changing the attitude of Muslims to education across cultural and ethnic diversities. Vanguard.
