The former Governor of Oklahoma of the USA, Brad Henry, once said,” No other investment yields as great a return as the investment in education. An educated workforce is the foundation of every community and the future of every economy”.
However, it is true that tertiary education plays a vital role in producing professional workforce, underpinning a prosperous career and financial security. It is also regarded as an instrument in fostering growth, eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
Fortunately, massive votes cast by the youth and young women of Zaki federal constituency did not go in vain because few months after the INEC in Bauchi state declared Hon. Auwal Jatau the winner of the by-election on January 26, 2020, on the platform of PDP, after suffering a setback in court concerning an allegation of election rigging, scholarships are paid for each student of his constituency studying in various tertiary institutions across the country.
Now the good news coming from Zaki federal constituency is that N20,000 is given to each student studying in different universities while N15,000 is given to each student of colleges, polytechnics and nursing. This patriotic Rep is indeed model worthy of emulation by other members of the House of Representatives.
It gladdens my heart whenever I see many names of young women among the list of the beneficiaries and how special attention is given to them. This special consideration for young women studying in universities and colleges of nursing and midwifery is highly laudable and will indeed play a key role in reducing adult female illiteracy in the constituency that pushes women into extreme poverty in later life. The former Secretary-General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan, once said,” To educate girls is to reduce poverty”. The South African Anglican cleric, theologian and human rights activities, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, also once said,” If we are going to see real development in the world, then our best investment is women”.
This is good news in the era when maternal and infant mortality as well as morbidity in newborns is high especially in rural areas on account of shortages of skilled healthcare personnel. When they graduate, they will definitely play a key role in attending pregnant women and their newborns in hospitals, educating them about significance of adequate breastfeeding for their newborns and embracing childbirth spacing in their communities.
To sum up, tertiary education is a top-flight mobility of progressive change in later life. It provides not only the high-level skills necessary for every labour market but also the training essential for teachers, doctors, nurses, civil servants, midwives, gynecologists, engineers, agriculturists and so on. So, the constituents’ hopes of Zaki federal constituency were not dashed. They are greatly indebted to Hon. Auwal Jatau for displaying this servant-leadership worthy of emulation. Keep it up!!
Mustapha Baba Azare,
Alkali Musa Street, Azare, Bauchi state
08149712150
