Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has said a big budget is not the solution to the Boko Haram menace in the country.
Atiku also said having a huge budget for education was not going to solve the education problems in Nigeria.
He said this while delivering the 2012 Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Memorial Lecture at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja on Saturday.
He said there must be concerted efforts to make things work in the country.
Atiku said, “Big spending or budget will not solve the Boko Haram problem just like a huge budget will not be the solution to the problems we are having ineducation.
“The International Labour Organisation estimates that we have 75 million unemployed people this year.
“Ironically we also have thousands of jobs available in certain sectors such as information and communication technology, which cannot be filled because of the scarcity of requisite skills in the available graduates.
“Enrolment and admissions have not kept up with our population growth. Our degrees are increasingly worthless.”
He proposed the institution of free and compulsory primary and secondary education across the country, with the Federal Government providing support for states that agree to abide by the policy and meet set standards.
He also suggested decentralisation that will concede education as a responsibilityof state/regional and local governments with the Federal Government, at best, setting standards and providing financial support.
Atiku advocated the enactment of a law that mandates anyone under the age of 18 to be in school and to hold parents accountable for non-compliance.
He noted that such a revolutionary law would ensure that most of the citizens complete secondary school education.
He said, “But it should not be implemented the way we typically go about these things. A target date shouldbe set to allow for data collection and proper planning.
“We need to know the impact that such a policy will have for enrolment, school space and other resources, number of teachers, their availability and training, the impact on the demand for tertiary education and the cost of all of these.
“We should then have a system in place that provides adult education for those who missed the boat in the past but would like to get an education.
“This is what serious countries do in order to lift up most of their citizens and provide the needed human resources for their economic, social and political development.
“We should then allow fees to rise slowlyin the tertiary institutions to help pay for the badly needed improvements in infrastructure and quality.”

That's a good idea sha but why didn't you and your boss OBJ implement it?...This is what you politician talk when seeking for seat but do the opposite when you get there.

BOKO HARAM CEO has said it all

True talk, only you and your brother buari can stop it

If budget. Won't solve the problem, maybe allowing him to become president would.

Well said.
If you know all these before now, then you disappointed us when you were the VP.