By Samuel Adedoyin
Director of Media and Publicity


NANS SOUTH WEST ZONE D FELICITATES WITH NIGERIAN STUDENTS' ON INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' DAY; CALLS FOR PROACTIVE EDUCATIONAL REFORMS TO COMBAT NIGERIA'S SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CHALLENGES

We offer our unreserved solidarity greetings to one and every Nigerian student under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) South West Zone D, as we celebrate this year's edition of INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS' DAY.

NANS ZONE D, an ideological power house- home to over 30 million students across all levels of education has continued to act resolutely as an intermediary between the Federal and State Governments and the entirety of Nigerian students in areas that are of vital importance to the all round development of the Nigerian educational sector.

We commend the firm resolve of all zonal leaders (past and present), joint campus committee chairs across the south west axis, senators of the students' unions all over and other well meaning student leaders, students' movements, civil and legal rights organizations as well as the Department of State Security (DSS) for the pivotal roles they have undertaken towards intervening and standing up for the protection of students' interest ever since a new leadership structure emerged in Zone D

We also extend our due regards to every well meaning individuals across the nation's education public-private partnership platforms for supporting students' activities across board and offering remedial solutions to some of the challenges that education and students are faced with.

This year's edition of the International Students' Day offers an opportunity to continue to sound the alarm and call on government across at levels to make the education a priority sector which would aid the socio-economic and political development of the nation. We maintain that a nation that must develop and progress must adequately provide for and attend to the educational needs of its citizenry.

As a potentially developing country, Nigeria must begin to think through and outrightly implement the 26% UNESCO minimum for budgetary allocation towards education. She must also imbibe in the relevant section of her Constitution that states; "government across all levels shall at when practicable provide free education". With proper funding and adequate subventions- there would be conducive living and learning environments in schools and campuses, industry-based researches would be initiated to drive the value chains in our nation's multifaceted resource-laden enterprises thus creating meaningful employment for graduates and other members of the labour force, skilled and unskilled.

We equally implore the federal government to meet the demands of the ASUU and COEASU striking unions.

We would also use this medium to call for the reinstatement of suspended students' unions across the zone, as we believe that a students' union provide a formidable bedrock to provide the nation with leaders who possess the right kind of leadership experience.

By and large, NANS ZONE D remains committed to the sole responsibility of championing the students' collective interests. We believe that an educated Nigeria would be a pride to the continent and a force to reckon with in the comity of nations.

We wish every Nigerian student a happy International Students' Day

Signed
NANS SOUTHWEST (ZONE D)

Greatest Nigerian students