Osinbajo emphasizes need for girl- child education

The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday, in Lagos, expressed the need for Nigeria to place more premium on quality education and girl-child education in particular, saying education is the most powerful force to tackle abject poverty and grow the economy and polity.

He said this while delivering the 23rd  convocation lecture of the Lagos State University(LASU), Ojo, where more than 54 postgraduate students of the university were conferred with higher degrees in various fields.

The Governor of Lagos State and visitor to the university, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode; the former President of Ghana, Mr John Mahama; Vice-chancellor of LASU, Prof Olanrewaju Fagbohun, and many notable others, were at the event with Mahama as the chairman. The new university’s senate building was inaugurated earlier.

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Speaking on “Africa Centres of Excellence in African Universities: A Veritable Catalyst for Nation Building and Development,” Osinbajo said, on the average, girls are smarter than boys and that any country that does not educate girls is indirectly locking itself up.

He restated that government is committed to removing out-of-school children from the streets across the country and that through improvement in learning and quality education, Nigerians could be lifted from abject poverty.

While emphasizing that all hands must be on deck to achieve this desiration and also to engage in collaborative activities on issues of public importance, he said redesigning Nigerian education curriculum is necessary.

He, however, said centers of excellence must be an apex of the educational system and also build research collaboration to find the solution not only to Nigeria and regional challenges.

In his own remarks, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, said the state government was very committed to move the education sector across tiers forward significantly.

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He said the government investment in LASU is really yielding positive results and promised to do more.

While congratulating all the graduands for their successful completion of their courses, he urged them to go to the world to become agents of positive change for the development of the country.

Earlier in his remark, former Ghanian President and chairman on the occasion,  John Mahama, urged African universities to move away from the colonial system of education and focus on science and technology.

He stated that universities must provide visionary leadership, collaborate with themselves and that political institutions must avoid interference with the running of academic institutions.

Mahama said African universities could help bridge the gap created in African countries by focusing on science, technology, and innovations which could be the catalysts for the development of Africa.