It has been reported that the former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has stated that his father was jailed for failing to send him to school.
Atiku, reportedly disclosed this while delivering a speech at the Baze University Graduation ceremony in Abuja on Friday.
According to him, “I was a schoolboy and a herds-boy, and I fed my family.”
Atiku made it known that, “When I was 11 years old, my father drowned and died while crossing a river in the neighbourhood. He was not up to 40 years. Being an only child, I was raised by my maternal grandparents. I remember, sometimes we could barely afford one meal a day.”
He added that, “Despite my difficult background, I went to school for free, in fact, I was paid to go to school. Initially, my father did not buy the idea of me going to school, for which he had to go to jail. I furthered my education to other tertiary institutions. I was the Students Union President at the School of Hygiene, Kano.”
He made it known that, “My journey to education is different from yours. Your parents may have paid tuition fees for your education, but you did not have to rear cattle for food. However, both you and I got educated eventually. The paths may be different; nonetheless the destination remains the same. Let us help others to reach their destination too.”
Atiku affirmed that, “Societies are transformed when girls and women are educated. We see this all over the world. When women are educated, families are smaller and healthier. When women are educated, more children go to school.”
He added that, “Let me repeat that very important fact. More children go to school when women are educated, infant and child mortality is reduced and national economic growth increases.”
He also disclosed that, “All of these challenges are doubling every 21 years. What do I mean by that? Nigeria has one of the fastest growing populations in the world. Our total population is doubling every 21 years. In just 21 years there will be twice as many Nigerians as there are today.”
Add Comment