Buni: Making Yobe’s Education Enviable

Yobe used to wear an unenviable medal of the worst state in literacy in Nigeria for so long, but recent evidence shows things have changed for the better with interventions from the present administration of Mai Mala Buni, reports Michael Olugbode

There was once the statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics showing that Yobe has the lowest literacy level of 7.23 per cent, Zamfara 19.16 per cent, Katsina 10.36 per cent and Sokoto 15.01 per cent, indicating that Yobe had the unenviable medal of worst state in literacy in the country, but this anticlimax with strategies and infrastructure now in place in Yobe State is definitely a thing of the past.

There is an inferred correlation between the Boko Haram crisis and education, though many may want this restricted to Western education for the leaders of the insurgency claimed to be well-schooled in Islamic education, even as many would want to agree that it is skewed Islamic education. If the level of education in Boko Haram-affected Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe (BAY) states is not enough proof of the level of education directly correlated to violence and religious extremism, the growing insurgency or violence in the Northwest showed that the level of education shows prominently in the argument. 

It is a known fact that education has the power to change life. Learning changes thinking capabilities and perception. Due to teaching and learning, one tends to break preconceived notions. This difference in learning helps in interaction with others without prejudice and expands horizons. The function of education is to think better and critically and help develop a perspective and opinions about life. It can help one gain respect from others and sharpen the mind.

Education helps to change society for the better. Society consists of various kinds of people with different mindsets. A person with a plethora of ideas can discuss and dabble in various topics such as society, politics, and the environment. Knowledge gained through education is powerful in helping one make the right decision and walk the right path.

Education helps in solving issues: Problems always come with solutions, but solving them can always be confusing and tedious, which is where education helps. An educated person can answer questions like why, what, and how to every problem. The problem-solving attitude will place him above the rest.

Education helps eradicate poverty: Due to poverty, people sometimes stop their education as they cannot complete it. But if you have completed your studies, it increases your earnings, eradicating poverty.

Education gives one the strength to fight against injustice: If something is wrong or injustice is committed, a truly educated person will fight against the wrongdoings and will not hesitate to stand up against injustice.
Education helps impart knowledge: We must be aware of our surroundings and society so that some improvements can be made. Knowledge of the world is essential so that you are well aware of what is happening around you and can make a change. Education not only provides us with information but also imparts knowledge.

Education helps in solving problems: Whatever the problem, whether it is societal, economic, political, or medical, learned people always find a way out. In fact, education makes one a better person and helps develop one’s overall personality. It enhances one’s personality and helps one make better rational decisions.
Yobe has had its fair share of the Boko Haram insurgency security challenge in which many lives were lost, others maimed for life, properties worth billions of Naira destroyed, and the lucky survivors lost their means of livelihood. This forced millions out of their ancestral homes to take refuge with relations and in schools that were converted to serve as IDP camps. The displaced persons relied on government and non-governmental organisations for humanitarian assistance, including food, shelter, clothing and other basic needs.

Sadly, many children and youths who were victims of the displacement dropped out of school while the schools in the relatively safer zones became overcrowded and overstretched with the surging number of displaced persons in the communities.
One may need to ask the people, nay the government of Yobe, the cost of massive and adverse illiteracy. The answer would definitely be it was at great cost, no wonder on assumption of office on May 29, 2019, as governor of Yobe, Mai Mala Buni sparred no resources to change the narratives by declaring a state of emergency in basic and secondary education with a clear mandate of rejuvenating the sector to give a sound foundation to education in the state.

Barely one month in office, the Buni administration convened the first-ever education summit in the state. Renowned educationists, versatile education administrators, accomplished academicians, teachers, serving and retired headteachers with unquestionable experience and parents, among others, converged at the summit. After this, a committee was constituted under the leadership of the renowned education administrator and two-time vice-chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, and now the Vice-Chancellor of Yobe State University, Prof Mala Daura.
After visiting schools across the state, the committee released short, medium, and long-term recommendations to revive education in Yobe State.

With a strong political will and commitment, Buni religiously adhered to the recommendations in the face of very scarce resources occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic recession, in addition to the poor revenue base of Yobe. Not to be deterred by these challenges, the Buni administration reconstructed over 250 public schools destroyed by the insurgency and established 15 new Mega and Model schools to provide a conducive atmosphere for learning and teaching. This is backed by the procurement of furniture, books, and laboratory equipment worth billions of Naira distributed to schools across Yobe.

In order to address the dearth of teachers in the schools, over 3,000 qualified teachers were initially recruited, while those on the ground were trained and retrained to ensure that they were all adequately qualified to impart knowledge in the schools. These interventions have remained a work in progress for the administration as it continues to work on the structures, employ more teachers, and supply more instructional materials needed in the schools.

Investments in this sector have increasingly been yielding excellent results. Students’ performance in external examinations like WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB has greatly improved. Today, the students proudly post their results on social media platforms to display their performances.

This is also verified by the growing number of students gaining admission from the state into universities, polytechnics, colleges of education, the college of nursing and midwifery, and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the overseas. The state quota is now fully filled with students from Yobe.

Findings showed that in Yobe State today, parents and guardians are withdrawing their wards from privately owned schools and taking them to public schools, especially the model mega schools established by the government, due to the improvement in the quality of education obtained in the public schools, as shown in their performances in external examinations.

Dr. Abubakar Kagu, the Executive Secretary of the Yobe Scholarship Board, said 38,183 students in 67 tertiary institutions pursuing first, second, and third degrees are on government scholarships. 
Yobe has one of the largest numbers of state-sponsored students in foreign countries. It proudly has 371 across 16 countries, including Egypt, India, the UK, China, Turkey, Malaysia, Russia, and others. The scholarship beneficiaries pursue a wide range of academic disciplines at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
He said, “The Mai Mala Buni administration had in the last four years sponsored over 400 law graduates for their professional course at the Nigeria Law School. This benevolence by the Buni administration is equally extended to graduates of other professional courses like accountancy, Medical sciences, and linguistics, among others.” 

Two hundred and twenty-one law graduates from the state have been admitted into the Nigeria Law School. The Yobe government provided them with a scholarship of N475,000 and a laptop computer each to support them in a seamless study of their professional certificates. Similarly, accountants enjoy government support in acquiring ANAN or ICAN certificates and becoming chartered accountants, just like those in the medical sciences.
The state government is sponsoring 233 students under the Buni Foreign Scholarship Students Programme, focusing on health, agriculture and engineering, nursing, pharmacy, radiology, optometry, petroleum engineering, and information technology in seven universities in India.

There is no gain in saying that after graduation, the beneficiaries would no doubt contribute to the manpower needs of the state to improve a much-needed effective and efficient service delivery to the people of the state.

Another indisputable milestone adopted to boost education in the state is the training and retraining of teachers through the Teacher Training Scheme (TITTS) to address the gap in qualified teaching staff in all government institutions.

Buni has consistently assured that the education sector will remain in a special and strategic position on his administration’s priority list. It is indeed heartwarming that the cumulative result of these investments in the sector is grossly paying with the performances of the students in WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB, among others. The increasing number of students pursuing various degrees, first, second and third, and the production of professionals has no doubt defeated the Boko Haram ideology of stopping people from acquiring Western education. Education in Yobe under the Buni administration is indeed growing and flourishing. In not too distant a period, Yobe may be among the states with the enviable medal of high literacy level and would never have a place for Boko Haram or incubation for any violence ideology.