Aminu Abdullahi: Education is Powering New Sokoto

Sokoto State has centralised education using priority budgeting, sweeping infrastructure revamp and unrelenting visioning by the Governor Ahmed Aliyu administration to fast-track human capital transformation. Hon. Aminu Abdullahi, Commissioner of Higher Education, shares related insights with Louis Achi

You are heading the Higher Education Ministry out of three related education ministries. Could you please clarify this

It’s important I make the point that His Excellency, Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, is well guided in his decision to create the three ministries. It’s backed by the decision of the National Council of Education which is the highest policy making body on education in Nigeria on the separation of the ministries for effective supervision. It is a national policy

Aligning himself with this policy shows the importance the governor attaches to the educational sector. The first reason for the creation of the three separate ministries is because the governor wants an effective supervision of the educational sector which by the way is huge.

So, in Sokoto State like some other states we have three ministries – basic and secondary, science and technology and higher education. Though we are three ministries but we collaborate because we are dealing with essentially the same raw materials or if you like, we are in a sense like the three arms of government – the executive, the legislature and the judiciary – though distinct, we must work harmoniously to deliver development to the people. 

So, the Ministry of Higher Education is solely concerned with tertiary education – the institutions of higher learning that offer different courses to students after their secondary level of education. We have Diploma, Certificate and Degree Awarding Institutions under the ministry numbering about ten.

Our mandate and responsibilities include policy formulation for higher education and recommending same to the governor who in the case of the university is the Visitor, carrying out needs assessment to determine the state’s needs in higher education in both public and private institutions. We also advice the government on the appointment of heads of the various institutions working in collaboration with their governing bodies.

The other critical responsibility is in assisting the various tertiary institutions with accreditation from the relevant bodies. We also have the mandate to establish linkage programmes with other institutions of higher learning.

But at the recent State Executive Council meeting the Council in its wisdom took the decision to return the School of Nursing to the Ministry of Health and the School of Legal Studies to the Ministry of Justice, for more effective supervision.

The fact is that these five tertiary institutions were transferred to their mother ministries in line with the laws establishing them. Only God knows why the previous administration decided to put them under ministry of higher education. We equally have 20 privately owned tertiary institutions in Sokoto State that are also under our supervision only because the government doesn’t fund them like it funds its own schools.

Like every other sector, when this administration assumed office, things were at different levels of decay and the educational sector wasn’t spared which is most unfortunate. The handover note that officials of the ministry put together for me was depressing because the situation in all our institutions was alarming. The morale of the workers was expectedly low because their course was not accredited and they were not paid their teaching incentives.

For instance, the state university was without power for more than three years. Most of the lecture theatres were in a state of dilapidation. On assumption of office Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto instantly instructed the Kaduna Power Company to restore power immediately to the university and the other institutions after reaching an agreement with them on payment of the backlog.

That singular act elicited wild jubilation and confirmed that a Daniel has indeed come to judgement. I am ashamed talking about what Sokoto State suffered in the hands of Aminu Tambuwal, a man who at one time was the Number Four citizen and who could have been president in line with the constitutional succession process and who on his own had attempted being the president of our dear country twice.

Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto has shown by words and actions that his commitment to the development of education is not political, that he in fact means his campaign promise to revamp the educational sector. He has paid all outstanding salaries, including the teaching allowances and rehabilitated dilapidated infrastructures in our higher institutions.

If you visit them, you will find an environment that is conducive for learning. We can’t be blaming the students for poor performance when we haven’t provided them with the necessary tools and environment to study. The situation we met was terrible. We have equally gotten most courses being run by institutions accredited under one year.

How on earth can any institution worth its salt run unaccredited courses? It certainly amounted to a sheer waste of everybody’s time, especially that of the students. Thankfully the examination bodies have shown an understanding which has gone a long way in resolving the issues. The governor has approved the payment of accreditation fees to the various bodies like the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto in all sincerity has restored the hope of these students that was dashed by the past administration. As a mark of his commitment there is no memo from this ministry seeking his intervention on any urgent matter that hasn’t received his prompt response. He understands the importance of education and is determined to change the narrative. 

Is there a synergy between the higher and basic education ministries. In Northern Nigeria there is a large number of out-of-school children. What is Sokoto State doing? 

There is a close collaboration between the three ministries. About out-of- school children – it’s a challenge – but I can assure you that we are addressing it on all fronts. To some extent the Nigerian culture of marrying many wives and having many children is partly responsible for the problem. But things are beginning to change.

I’m glad because in the past only the few of us went to school, but now there is no household that you will not find with students in higher institutions. Education would help people understand the importance of producing children they can cater for. …meanwhile we would continue to deploy policies that would help address the problem. 

Considering the premium placed on education by the governor, how well has he funded education. Does his budgeting allocation to education meet the UNESCO standard of 25%? 

I want to recall that in November 2023, several countries under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adopted the Recommendation on education for peace and human rights, international understanding, cooperation, fundamental freedoms, global citizenship and sustainable development.

Today, UNESCO remains the only global standard-setting instrument that lays out how education can and should be used to bring about lasting peace and sustainable development and in positioning education as a key driver of peace and international understanding. Education in the 2024 budget was allocated the highest percentage and in 2025 it has equally maintained its number one position in terms of budgetary allocation.

Sokoto State in the last two years has in fact surpassed the UNESCO budget recommendation. And what does this say about Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto’s unwavering commitment to education? It no doubt clears whatever doubt about his desire to rewrite the ugly story of education in the state.

As a professional accountant I prefer to talk more in terms of releases because you can be allocated a fantastic budget without it being cash backed. So, we say thank you to the governor for not only allocating funds to education, but for his express approvals and for cash-backing them. Our modest achievements are due to his leadership and support. 

Given the economic situation, many states have been forced to increase fees in their institutions. Should your students expect increase in fees and wouldn’t it affect enrollment? 

You know the story of Sokoto State. We remain eternally grateful to our father who by the way was my teacher and leader, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko, for laying a solid foundation for our educational system using his experience as an educationist. As governor of Sokoto State, he put in a place several fundamental policies; free and compulsory education.

He encouraged girl child education and so many other policies. We certainly won’t be increasing fees rather we would continue to encourage our students with incentives like scholarships to pursue their education to the highest level. The robust policies of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto has continued to attract more students to enroll into schools in the state and abroad.

In fact, enrollment has increased and very interestingly is the fact that students have stopped skipping school. We have achieved all these due to the policy of Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto who understands the importance of education and is walking the talk. The previous government had for inexplicable reasons stopped the stipends and other privileges of the students which Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto immediately restored. 

It’s important I make this additional point. In Sokoto State non-indigenes are treated as indigenes. They don’t pay school fees and the government doesn’t exclude them when it is paying examination fees. Once you are resident in Sokoto State, you are automatically an indigene of the state, you pay the fees that the indigenes are paying.

Are they specific interventions for girl-child education?

Yes. But that is in Basic and Secondary Education. It would be great if you equally interview the commissioner in charge of the ministry. 

To what extent has your state varsities benefited from The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) interventions?

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in its farsighted wisdom in 2011 to disburse, manage, and monitor education tax to government-owned tertiary institutions. You know that before the establishment of the agency in 2011, government-owned tertiary institutions were poorly funded so the scheme was designed to improve the crisis in the sector through its interventions especially in the area of facilities where the decay was monumental.

In fact, facilities in most schools had almost collapsed, teachers and lecturers’ morale were at their lowest. The enabling environment for conducive teaching and learning was absent. So, the government took this step to arrest the rot. This background is important so we can appreciate the seriousness of the situation and why the agency was set up.

TETFund’s interventions is only for the universities. Primary schools have the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) that is saddled with the responsibility of providing greater access to, and ensuring quality of basic education throughout the country. 

Each year TETFund intervenes based on specific requests of the concerned institution. They don’t decide for you, because you know what you need most. For example, if we need a laboratory, we will spell out our specific needs to TETFund and they would react appropriately. So, they can’t come and build hostels for us when what we need is a lecture hall or ICT facilities.

Our schools have well equipped hostels, we have beds so we don’t need them, so we can’t ask them to buy beds that we have. So, the answer is a big yes. The state university has tremendously benefited from the intervention of the Fund in various areas. 

Exactly what does the governor want to achieve with his investment in education? 

Governor Ahmad Aliyu Sokoto is absolutely clear about what he wants to achieve in education, which is development of human capital that’s important to the development of the state. The governor is driving the economic development of the state, so it’s important that we have indigenes that are skilled to work in the industries he is attracting.

We recently graduated eighty medical doctors and being our citizens, they can operate better in our environment because they understand the language and culture of the people. He sees education as both a social and economic investment. An educated person would easily understand the need to pay his/her tax and to be law abiding.

Are your institutions of higher learning running entrepreneurship courses or are their curriculum still geared towards the continued production of public servants? 

The National Policy on Education introduced entrepreneurship into the curriculum of higher institutions. In the year 2000 the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) partnered to incorporate Entrepreneurship Education (EEd) into Technical and Vocational Education (TVE) curricula.

The main goals of entrepreneurship education in Nigeria include, preparing the students to be self-reliant and self-employed, creating employment opportunities, helping students to transition from a traditional economy to a modern industrial economy, training students to be creative and innovative in identifying business opportunities and to establish careers in small and medium-sized businesses.

In Sokoto State our tertiary institutions have embraced the entrepreneurial message. I understand that even at the Secondary School Level the students are being thought Entrepreneurship. This is the way to go because government has a limited capacity to create jobs. 

In terms of personnel, do you have the adequate manpower in your schools? 

On the whole yes, but I know we have some departments that are over staffed while others are lacking personnel. That’s being addressed.

ENDS