From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, on Friday said if the country will get out of the present insecurity threatening the corporate existence of the nation, such as banditry, Boko Haram, kidnaping, and other criminalities, Nigeria need to go through a very long gestation period of training and educating all Nigerian children.
Speaking at the commissioning of Prof. Abayomi Oluwatosin Jiboku Building, Lariken International College, Ologuneru, Ibadan, Oyo state capital, on Friday, he advised government at all levels to invest hugely in Western education to tackle insecurity.
Obasanjo stated that Nigerians should reawaken their conscience and they should not be falling cheaply for pecuniary gains, which, according to him, has been fueling corruption and insecurity besetting the nation. He added: “The erroneous belief that money can buy anything does not apply to me. If you have money, you cannot buy my conscience.
“If we are to get out of this insecurity, banditry, Boko Haram, kidnapping, and other criminalities, we will need to go through a very long gestation period of training, educating all Nigerian children. I mean all Nigerian children because there is emphasis on the all children.
“Education is the beginning of a life well lived. God has given all and each one of us innate ability and it is only when you develop the innate ability that you can be useful for your family, nuclear family, community and nation at large.
“There is no substitute for education. If you don’t give it to those you could have given, you won’t get the best out of them, hence you will have yourself to blame for it. The second thing I want to talk about is culture. I define culture as a way of living of a group of people.”
Earlier, the Director of the Lariken International College, Engr. Idowu Jiboku who said he ventured into education business because of his interest in building his immidiate Community, urged Nigerian youths to create Nigeria they desire.
Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, Abass Adigun, representing Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East Federal Constituency in Oyo State, has said seven of the 12 units of A-29 Super Tucano combat aircraft ordered by the Federal Government from to crush insurgents in the troubled parts of the country are ready for delivery.
He made the disclosure in an interview with journalists at the N90million empowerment programme he organised for over 1,000 people of the constituency that comprised market traders through cash and items such as motorcycles, generators, grinding machines hairdryers and others.
Adigun, who retired from the United States Navy and joined politics in Oyo State in 2011, stated that the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall Isiaka Amao, would lead a delegation to the United States on Monday to inspect the seven aircraft ahead of their delivery in July.
Saturday Sun gathered that the United States Government, after receiving payment from Nigeria, had, in 2018, awarded the contract for the aircraft to an American firm, Sierra Nevada Corporation, on behalf of Nigeria Air Force, for an initial sum of $329 million.