There is urgent need for proper financing of a new education system in Nigeria – Adesina

The President of the African Development Bank, AfDB, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has called for a massive rebirth of financing education in Nigeria, as well as full transparency of governance system for a new Nigeria.

Adesina disclosed this at the 2020 Prize Presentation Ceremony and Graduation of 53 Leadership Ambassadors organized by the Nigerian Prize for Leadership (NPL) in Abuja on Saturday, with the theme: “Leadership Excellence and the Secret of Weaving Diversity into National Cohesion.”

Adesina stated that holding leaders accountable for the roles they play in national development is a means of creating a culture of effective leadership.

He called for full transparency in governance and urged for a rebirth of proper financing for a new education system in Nigeria.

What the AfDB President is saying

• “Leaders are change agents for good governance. For the Nigeria we hope for, we must prepare and build a leadership pipeline that will translate to effective management of human capital. It is important for leaders to listen to public opinions. Those who give up easily in the face of criticism are not leaders. Leaders always have clear visions and keep visions simple.
• “Effective leaders must learn to appreciate diversity and desire development. The culture of rigorous learning enables strong academic and mental growth and exposes global interactions and it fosters excellence. There is therefore urgent need for a massive rebirth and proper financing of a new education system for a new Nigeria, as well as full transparency of governance systems.”

What you should know 

• Nairametrics reported in October that a total sum of N1.76 trillion has been allocated to the Health and Educational sectors in the 2021 budget, indicating a 56.3% increase from the N1.13 trillion allocated in the 2020 budget.
• The breakdown of the allocation in the 2021 budget includes the total sums of N1.13 trillion allocated to the Education sector and N632.7 billion allocated to the Health sector.
• The Universal Basic Education Commission was allocated the budget size of  N70.05 billion for 2021.
• Dr. Adesina also disclosed last week that an annual estimate of between $64 and $108bn is required to finance the infrastructural gap in Africa.