Gov Bello’s Legacies in the Education Sector of Kogi
By Olugbemi Femi – Lokoja
Kogi State was created on the 27th of August, 1991 through a decree promulgated by the then Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.
The State consists of three major tribes of Ebira, Igala and Okun, the Yoruba speaking people with other minority tribes and it was carved out of the old Kwara and Benue states in North Central Nigeria.
In 1991, the state could only boast of primary and secondary schools with few preliminary study centers without any major tertiary institution and even there was no legal framework to propel the all important sector for the overall development of the state.
Before then, students from the state only depended on higher institutions from other states to access tertiary education, traveling hundreds of miles away from their communities before they could secure admission into higher institutions to obtain degrees, HNDs, Diplomas and other professional certificates.
Institutions like the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ilorin, University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University Ife, Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, Kaduna Polytechnic, Auchi Polytechnic, Federal Polytechnic, Bida in Niger State etc were the saving grace then before the Kogi State Polytechnic was established by Prince Abubakar Audu in 1992 and he subsequently established the Kogi State University, Ayingba in 2001, when he was reelected in 1999 as the Executive Governor of the State.
Before the commencement of the new direction administration on the 27th January, 2016; 25 years after the creation of the state, the state could not boast of any standard higher institution that could compete favorably with other institutions across the country as the Polytechnic and University established in 1992 and 2001 respectively were mere glorified secondary schools, while the secondary schools and primary sectors lacked adequate infrastructures to provide conducive atmosphere for learning for the students at different levels.
In fact, it is on record that there was a School of Medicine which could not commence properly because there was no functional Teaching Hospital, where medical students could learn the practical aspects of the course. A course that should ordinarily take 6 to 7 years for some of the students, took them more than ten years without graduation until GYB granted some brilliant ones among the students scholarship and relocated them to other schools within and outside Nigeria before they could graduate to qualify for practice.
Today, the Prince Abubakar Audu University, Ayingba can boast of a world class Teaching Hospital where the medical students can carry out their needed practicals as part of the requirements for them to acquire their certificates in Medicine aside other gigantic structures put in place that make the institution more attractive to all students across the globe.
Again, lack of industrial harmony became prevalent; strikes became the order of the day by the Academic Staff Union of the University, hence preventing the students from graduating as at when due making the students of the institution to lag behind and subsequently prolonged their academic calendar that shouldn’t be more than four years.
Being an education friendly Governor who placed education as one of the thematic areas of the new direction administration, he stepped into the issue and removed the cog in the wheel of progress of the institution by revoking all union activities in the school and today Kogi State institutions are free from any form of industrial strike actions.
While the administration was handling that, it did not lose sight of the dilapidated structures in the primary and secondary schools across the state, as funds were released for the rehabilitation of existing structures while new blocks of classrooms were also constructed across the 21 local government areas of the state, providing conducive environment of learning for the primary and post primary pupils and students to learn, hence repositioning the sub sector for optimal performance.
Governor Yahaya Bello in his determination to make a difference and also to rewrite the ugly story in the education sector, after over twenty years of creation, commenced the process of correcting a lot of anomalies in the education system. The state as at that time had no law on education, I mean no legal framework to regulate the sector especially for the new schools coming on board in the state. It took the Governor’s political will to get the 7th Assembly of the Kogi State House of Assembly to pass the Kogi State Education Law which he assented to, making the state to be among the few states in Northern Nigeria that have passed the law. And today the State has a legal framework that regulates the sector for optimal output.
With Kogi State being home to many natural minerals resources such as iron ore, gold, crude oil, limestone etc, the administration in a concerted effort to promote the study of science and technology in the state (since the world is fast moving towards technological advancement and artificial intelligence), the state government under Governor Yahaya Bello decided to establish the second State owned University cited in Osara, Central Senatorial District to train and retrain students in science and technology related courses that will be of advantage to the state in the nearest future especially in the area of exploration of this natural deposits, hence tapping into potential of the state. In just three years, the new institution has gotten over thirty courses accredited by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC), a feat that is rare which would have been difficult without the determination of the Chief Executive Officer of the State.
As parts of the effort of the administration for the youths in the state to take advantage of the admission quota in the university, the Model Science Secondary Schools were established in the three senatorial districts to prepare students from post primary school level to advance their academic career up to degree level and above through the Confluence University of Science and Technology in Osara.
There is no gainsaying that the institution was established to train and retrain students in science and technology related fields that will compete favorably with their counterparts across the globe, hence making the state to produce future scientists and technological experts.
Again, being a youthful governor, youth empowerment is another area of focus. Therefore, using education sector as basis and also to reposition the sector with qualified manpower, the administration embarked on recruiting thousands of teaching and none teaching staff into both the higher institutions and secondary schools across the 21 local government areas, hence lifting thousand of the youths out of poverty as they are gainfully employed today by the state government.
Today majority of the higher institutions in the state are making exploits as the administration gave them free hands to operate hence promoting transparency, accountability and efficiency within the system.
Not comfortable with the way things stand and being an administration that advocates fairness, equity and justice in the distribution of the resources of the state especially in the area of access to higher education, the administration decided to establish the third state owned University; Kogi State University in Kabba, headquarters of the Kogi West Senatorial District and Okun nation, hence fulfilling the long aged desires of the people of Okunland to have a University on their soil, making it the second University to be established by the administration within a space of three years; Kogi State is now among the few states to embark on such a laudable initiatives in the country.
As part of the achievements of the administration, many Kogi State students who participated in competitions at different levels have won laurels and today many of them are on scholarships in different universities at home and abroad. The most recent is
Miss Oluwabukolami Adeyemi, the recipient of the British Council Outstanding Cambridge Learner’s Award.
It is also noteworthy that the administration has declared free education at the primary and secondary school levels from the next academic year.
This singular action has been applauded by various stakeholders in the state, describing the policy as a welcome development that will further enhance the enrollment rate into public schools in the State.
Some of the political analysts said the announcement of the state government to henceforth pay BECE, Junior, Senior WAEC, NECO, JAMB fees for students and also declaration of free education in public schools is a concerted efforts of the New Direction administration led by Governor Yahaya Bello to provide opportunity for all children of school age to have access to primary and secondary education at no cost in the state.
It is worthy to note that many of the policies and programs of the governor are centred on human capital development, hence Kogites are expected to continue to embrace the APC led administration in the state as November 11 will afford them the opportunity to re- enforce continuous rule of the party that possesses the platform for the betterment of the country.
The landmark achievements recorded in the sector have attracted different organizations both home and abroad, as the state has been recognized with different awards of honor and the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon Wemi Jones recently was adjudged to be the Best Performing Honourable Commissioner for Education in North Central, Nigeria.
All these cannot be achieved without the concerted effort and political will of Governor Yahaya Bello to write his name in gold in the education sector of the state.
