Achieving a $1tn economy is a tall order. Still, it is achievable with deep commitment, transparency, accountability, and, most importantly, economic planning that takes cognisance of the contributions of and from all sectors of an economy. A $1tn economy should be driven not by money or rent-seeking activities but by scientific and technological advancements, which only sound education can produce. The report from the 151st meeting of the National Economic Council on Thursday, August 28, 2025, explained that there existed a Renewed Hope Development Plan 2026-2030. The plan looks like a party plan or the President’s plan.
Somewhere in the report, we learnt from the senior special assistant to the President on media and communications (Office of the Vice-President) that the said five-year national development plan (2026-2030) would build on the “existing policies, deepen continuity, and align Nigeria’s growth trajectory with the long-term goal of Agenda 2050”. What is more interesting is the fact that the vice-president and chairman of the National Economic Council explained that the plan (renewed?) will be “participatory, rather than top-down, engaging multiple tiers of government, civil society, and the private sector”.
How will people who were not involved in the formulation of the plan be effective in its implementation? When was the plan developed and by whom? Was there any discussion by the stakeholders mentioned now? How much do they know about its content? Was the content discussed in and approved by the National Assembly to make it a national aspiration document that will be implemented by any political party that rules Nigeria? These deserve answers.
Well, the plan can still be subjected to discussion nationally before we go too far and instead of piecemeal discussion. If it is the plan President Buhari launched in the twilight of his tenure, it can still be made available publicly for public discussion by various stakeholders, repackaged and sent to the National Assembly for further discussion, processing and authorisation as a national document. Maybe my concern here, the education sector, has been taken care of in the document, but recent events concerning the education sector call for an appraisal of the sector. Generally, the well-being of human beings should be at the centre of concern of a government and education is one of them.
Meeting the basic needs of most of the citizens, such as shelter, feeding, education and health, should be of concern to the government. That has always been the cornerstone of socialist and welfarist governments all over the world. Capitalism festers on the survival of the fittest without placing everyone on the same level in terms of resource sharing. To find out that some state governments have not implemented the current inadequate minimum wage despite improved revenue from the central government is callous. Such state governments are constructing roads and airports, but their citizens are going hungry and angry at the Federal Government. The labour unions should publish the names of such states and even how many states are paying or not paying the minimum wage and how much they are paying. We can imagine the deceit; after accolades and applause for announcing a higher minimum wage, many state governors failed to fulfil the promises.
Going back to education, there is a need for an overhaul. I do feel ashamed to see some schools on display during election days when schools being used as polling centres are like animal sheds. There must be standards in terms of building and aesthetics. Many of the technical schools still have on display equipment supplied in the 1990s. Secondary schools’ science and computer laboratories are ill-equipped, and theory of practice has become the order of the day.
The other day, when the Minister of Education was placing emphasis on science over other courses for admission in tertiary institutions, I thought rightly that he is not conversant with the state of science subjects in secondary schools and the need for him to take a tour.
When he ‘ordered’ that the school certificate examinations would be conducted with the JAMB format, I knew he cared little about semi-rural and rural students who have never seen a computer in their lives and those who study largely with atupa elepo (kerosene or palm oil lamps)! That is apart from other inadequacies surrounding such policy pronouncements without research backing. Fortunately, WAEC is a regional body, so Nigeria alone cannot control its activities.
The teachers, tutors, or lecturers are the worst hit by the poor remuneration agenda. The government compensates them with some inglorious assignments where stipends are paid for the exercises. The education staff are the ones you find as census ad hoc staff assignments, the election ad hoc staff assignments, and other national assignments where cheap labour is required. Recently, the Tinubu government found that the salaries of university staff are poverty-engendered or related. Instead of introducing appropriate pricing, the government thought that enslavement was the way to go and introduced the staff loan. The staff will not take part of their salaries as loans. The need for an education summit to chart an appropriate education policy is imperative.
In its edition of August 28, 2025, explained that ASUU and the vice-chancellors decried the poor salaries of various categories of academic staff and the implications for the system. The day before, it was reported in The PUNCH that the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, lamented the exit of 239 out of 256 first-class lecturers from the university over poor remuneration. That situation represented what has been happening in other universities across the country. Universities are where you go for the best scholars to train the younger generations. Gone were the days when we had lecturers from across the globe. Some of us were taught by foreigners, either on sabbatical or full-time, because the salaries were comparable and the learning environment met global standards. Yet, presently, we have a shortage of academic staff in many disciplines, but we cannot employ foreigners, even if they apply.
Unfortunately, the Gen Z generation knows what is best for them. Nigerian youths do not fall in love blindly. Love to them, even in marriage, is transactional. “I love academics”, and “I cannot do another job” are not in their dictionary. Many of the youths with first-class or second-class upper divisions that we find on the ground working in public universities are there because they have opportunities to teach in private universities to earn additional income. That does not help the system because they will hardly have time for rigorous research, which is the backbone of teaching in a university. That is the essence of the slogan “publish or perish” in the university.
Because promotion depends on publications, many academic staff engage in publishing in unrecognised foreign journals and engage in plagiarism. Research has shown that Nigeria is one of the main countries with a high level of plagiarism and publication in predatory journals. That is the kind of universities we run, and that is where we expect science and technological inventions and research foundations for policy formulation, monitoring, and guidance to guide us! The Federal Government cannot implement a national plan to achieve a $1tn economy without giving priority to sound education. It is time we look at the totality of our education system for world best practices. We cannot continue to pretend that all is well with the remuneration of workers across the board, with the physical structures, the equipment, the learning environment generally and the enabling policy. Only a multilateral or stratified education summit will guide us through and help education to assist us in the quest to achieve a $1tn economy.
Credit:Punch