President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday charged youths to seek education, not for government jobs which are unavailable but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and meet the needs of the 21st century.
President Buhari also said he has told his immediate family, particularly his children, that he is not leaving anything for them to inherit.
Buhari, who is expected to bow out of office as president in May 2023, insisted that the only legacy he hopes to bequeath to them is proper education.
The president, who was speaking on the importance of effective education, implored parents to inculcate right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities and living a purposeful life through continuous education.
His comment comes amidst the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other sister unions.
While the president recently told ASUU that enough was enough regarding their prolonged strike, the leadership of the union replied him, “describing the charge from the presidency as mere ranting without understanding the grasp of the issues that necessitated the strike”.
The unions have locked on with government for over five months over agreements associated with a unified payment platform and other sundry issues on emoluments.
But Buhari in his admonition, charged the youths to seek education, not for government jobs which are unavailable but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and to meet the needs of the 21st century.
He said these on Wednesday, at the Emir of Daura’s palace where he went to pay Sallah homage.
According to him, more time should be given to the coaching of the future leaders, with basic knowledge of moral values, as the fast changing world, driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding. “I was locked up for more than three years, after leading the country.
At that point, I realised and I told my children that your net worth is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life.
“My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting a first degree.
“They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated,” he said.
The president noted that the younger children should be guided and taught history, as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful, without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds.
“Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes. “We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs.
We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming smaller, nimble and efficient.
“Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology.
During the COVID-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively,” the president noted.
