From Fred Itua, Abuja
President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan said on Monday Nigeria is at crossroads, as the country prepares for the 2023 general elections.
He made the remarks in Abuja at the 2022 Convocation ceremony of the Postgraduate and Higher National Diploma programmes of NILDS. The institute is an affiliate of the University of Benin.
“Once again, our country stands at another critical crossroads as we prepare for the general elections in February 2023. The periods between now and the elections; and between the elections and the handing over in May 2023 are critical,” Lawan said.
He applauded NILDS for delivering on its core mandate in the last six years of its existence.
The Senate President who is also the Chairman, Governing Council of NILDS said “it is remarkable that a relatively young programme such as the NILDS-UNIBEN postgraduate programme has been able to host this event for six consecutive years, a feat that is increasingly becoming difficult for many institutions of related mandates, including older universities, to uphold.
“This is no mean feat by any standard. We must commend the steadfastness of the managers of the system, most especially the management team, for their selfless commitment to the actualisation of the vision and mission of the Institute in all ramifications.
“Today’s convocation is a testament that NILDS is on the right track vis-a-vis its mandate to build and strengthen the capacities of democratic institutions and actors in our country.
“As such, occasions like this call not only for celebration, it also demands a critical analysis of the journey to underscore achievements, opportunities and limitations.
“It is gratifying that the NILDS-UNIBEN programme has been able to deliver on its core mandates in the last six academic sessions. This is exemplified by the number of graduands and their class of degrees across the various academic/professional programmes.
“What is impressive about the programme is that it comprises mainly practitioners in the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive. As such, the various programmes can achieve what is missing in most academic institutions: a handshake between praxis and practice.
“The success of the Institute and the efficient manner in which the postgraduate programmes are operated challenge us to reflect on some of the intractable challenges that our academic institutions face.
“It is also imperative that we reflect on the impact that education can have in uniting Nigerians as one people, even with different tongues and tribes. Higher educational institutions, especially universities, have prominent roles to play in these processes.
“Cognisant of the track record of some of the Institute’s faculty that include some former Principal Officers of the National Assembly across disciplines, I challenge NILDS to continue to take the lead in generating and disseminating evidence-based knowledge that can feed into the policy process at various levels in addressing these challenges.
Director-General of NILDS Prof Abubakar Sulaiman said the 9th National Assembly, has prioritised education and called for continuity.
“The 9th National Assembly has prioritised education at all levels in our legislative agenda. We have worked wholistically to reduce the number and incidence of out-of-school children, improve child health and education and strengthen universal basic education, and tertiary education,” he said.
“Given the importance of education and its potential to diversify Nigeria’s economy, I am particularly saddened by the 8-month strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which was recently suspended as a result of the intervention by the leadership of the House of Representatives.
“I am confident that the federal government will keep to its commitments to ASUU and other unions in the universities,” he stated.