New Ministers: Fast-tracking Education Through Creativity

With the appointment and swearing-in of Prof Tahir Mamman and Dr. Yusuf Sununu as the Minister of Education and Minister of State for Education, respectively, experts explained why they have to bring on board their creative capabilities to succeed and accelerate progress in the education sector. Funmi Ogundare reports

On Monday, August 21, President Bola Tinubu swore in 45 ministers, 84 days after he assumed office, following the approval of the Senate. Among whom are the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman and Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu.

Before his appointment, Mamman served as the vice-chancellor of Baze University, Abuja. He has played a role as an academic leader in shaping the minds of future legal professionals and the advancement of legal education as a whole.

In recognition of his exceptional contributions, the federal government bestowed on him the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) honour, a testament to his commitment to nation-building and the advancement of legal education. His practice areas include Arbitration and Mediation and Corporate and Commercial Law. As an esteemed member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the International Bar Association, Mamman remains at the forefront of legal discourse and innovations.

Sununu is an obstetrician and gynaecologist. A member representing Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski federal constituency in Kebbi, he obtained a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), between 1992 and 1996. He was the personal physician to a former governor of Kebbi at the Government House Clinic, Birnin Kebbi from May 2003 to April 2005. He was the medical officer at General Hospital, Argungun from January 2000 to March 2003.

He was on the management board of the Federal Medical Centre, Katsina (2013) and Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital Sokoto (2018). He is a member of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and of the Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (SOGON), life member World Association of Laparoscopiic Surgeons (WALS) India, and a member of the Medical and Dental Consultant of Nigeria.

At the swearing-in ceremony held at the Conference Hall in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and witnessed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, among other dignitaries, Tinubu admonished the ministers to meet the expectations of Nigerians. He explained that the ministers were selected based on personal experiences to continue with the work of nation-building. He noted that the challenges before them could be very daunting, but that the government was hell-bent on the push to introduce renewed hope.

“It is all about a great team and I believe we have them here.The greatest number of Nigerians are highly expectant. They believe that you will serve with integrity and deliver. I will hold you to account,” said the president.

The president urged the new ministers to note that their assignment begins immediately, adding that they should also restore faith in governance so that the governed could believe in government.

“I welcome you to the administration of ‘Renewed Hope’. We are in this boat together. This is a vehicle and I am the driver. The entire Nigerians are watching as we navigate this vehicle. We have to do the job to meet the expectations of all Nigerians,” Tinubu stressed.

Experts who have been paying keen interest to the education sector, explained that the ministers have to hit the ground running by bringing on board their creative capabilities and competence of the human capital available to them to fix the sector.

In his submission, a member of the advisory board of the Chrisland Schools Limited, Mr. Akin Fadeyi explained that a minister will excel if he or she is able to deploy competence, management aptitude, leadership capabilities, listening ear and integrity.

“As enshrined in our constitution, ministers are appointed by the president subject to approval of the senate to advise the president on policies that enable governance. What makes ministers fail are the opposites of these attributes,” he stated.

He recalled that as education ministers, the likes of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili and Prof. Chinwe Obaji were put up for good mention in their stewardship at the education ministry, adding that Prof. Tunde Adeniran was also acclaimed to have introduced a couple of reforms to aid development of the Nigerian education sector. He noted  that as a a political scientist, he stood out for his policy direction of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme and the establishment of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

“Prof. Babalola Borishade was also famous for the ban on satellite campuses and promotion of the core values of NOUN. Madam Oby Ezekwesili and Prof. Chinwe Obaji have all been put up for good mention in their stewardship at the education ministry,” he explained. “These were not professional Educators. Anyone can therefore move any institution forward.”

The bane of efficiency and performance, Fadeyi noted, includes corruption, ineptitude and lack of political will.

“If you are a thinker who can mobilise resources and galvanise the competences of the human capital available to you from your permanent secretary to other experts within your ministry and within the stakeholder-community, you will perform superlatively,” Fadeyi said.

Fixing the nation, he noted, is the collective responsibility of all saying, “We should allow this government to settle and deliver. This nation is at a critical juncture. This government inherited a near mess. Fixing the nation is a collective responsibility of all, not ministers alone.”

An associate professor of journalism at the Lagos State University (LASU), Tunde Akanni, said he is looking forward to a good performance from the new education minister.

“I read it somewhere that the Law School he ran for sometime recorded massive development under him,” stated Akanni. “I can’t wait to see him work with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to accelerate progress in the education sector. I will be most delighted to see them reject Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Systems (IPPIS) together.”