52ND CONVOCATION LECTURE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS, AKOKA DELIVERED BY THE SPEAKER OF NIGERIA’S HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA ON MONDAY 17TH JANUARY 2021.

“BUILDING BACK BETTER: CREATING A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR TERTIARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY.”

PROTOCOLS

1. I am honoured to join you here today on the 52nd convocation of the University of Lagos. This is a homecoming for me, as it was here in this institution that I obtained my law degree thirty-nine years ago, in 1983. When all those years ago, I walked out of this campus with my degree certificate and my ambitions, I did not know that I would one day be invited to deliver the convocation address to an audience as distinguished as this one. My presence on this podium today is evidence of the abiding possibilities of life.
2. Coming back here today after so many years, I am reminded of the debt of gratitude I owe to the visionaries who first conceived of the idea of this institution and worked to make it real. I salute them. I am grateful to the Pro-Chancellor, Senator (Dr) Lanre Tejuosho, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe and all those who have made this day possible. I also salute all the men and women who laboured through the years to sustain the institution in a tradition of excellence. Your hard work and resilience are why the University of Lagos remains the university of first choice and the nation’s pride.
3. I have been asked today to speak on the subject – Building Back Better: Creating A New Framework For Tertiary Education In Nigeria In The 21st Century. The way I see it, I should first assess the conditions of tertiary education in Nigeria. And following that, I will try to articulate the specific actions necessary to bridge the gap so our tertiary institutions can compete favourably in the 21st century.
4. But first, let me begin by asking, what is the purpose of education? In his classic poem, the Georgics, Virgil, the ancient Roman poet, wrote, “Fortunate who was able to know the causes of things .” This simple poetic turn of phrase is a powerful call to engage in the constant inquiry to understand the foundational truths that underpin our understanding of the world, motivate our practices, and inspire our actions. Evidently, one purpose of education is to empower the individual to embark on a voyage of discovery that leads to clarity. But is that the sole purpose?
5. Professor Nike Ijaiya of the University of Ilorin posits that the intention of education is to “equip the child, as early as possible with the knowledge, values and skills he needs to navigate this complex world for the sake of his comfort and that of society. ” Professor Ijaiya’s formulation aligns with that of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He wrote in 1947 that “education has a two-fold function to perform in the life of man and in society: the one is utility, and the other is culture. Education must enable a man to become more efficient, to achieve with increasing facility the legitimate goals of his life. Education must also train one for quick, resolute and effective thinking. ”
6. Central to all these formulations is the idea that the primary purpose of education is to improve the individual in mind and empower them to be beneficial to themselves and society. A good education should produce an individual, confident of his or her own abilities, capable of logical thought, aware of his own shortcomings but not constrained by them, and cognisant of his rights and responsibilities within the community.
7. To these, I will add that a good education produces citizens invested in the progress and wellbeing of their society and who have the wherewithal to take positive action to make those societies better. The well-educated citizen in this paradigm understands his society, thinks logically about its problems without being overwhelmed by half-truths, prejudices, and propaganda. And is, therefore, able to make informed and valid contributions to the administration and progress of that society.
8. When we think about education policy, when we consider laws and implement directives relating to education in our country, particularly tertiary education, our highest objective must be to deliver an education system capable of producing this archetype of an individual. When we consider the problems of education infrastructure, access to educational opportunities, quality of instruction, the welfare of teachers, lecturers and professors, we will do well to remember that all of these factors matter only to the extent that they are necessary to build institutions that produce citizens who can advance the cause of Nigeria.
9. Our world has changed. The old certainties from which we derived assurance and built our expectations no longer exist. The value of the extractive industries that have powered our economy has deteriorated. It continues to do so rapidly, as technological advances lead us toward a future where coal, crude and gas are replaced by renewable alternatives of solar, wind and water. For Nigerian citizens to thrive in this new world, participate fully and productively in the new global economy and benefit from rather than be consumed by the technological advancements that are changing our world, tertiary education in Nigeria must be prepared to embrace reinvention and adapt to disruption.
10. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the fundamental right to dignity of the human person . In a digital age, where socioeconomic participation is based on intellectual ability and access to information, a purposeful and well-rounded education is a fundamental human right because the individual’s ability to participate fully in society depends almost entirely on the quality of education available to them. Unfortunately, it is still the case that the foundations of our educational system are rooted in a different age and designed to meet the social, economic and labour demands of a different societal and economic model. As the world has changed, we have not done enough in government, academia, and society to adjust our education and skills acquisition system to meet these new realities.
11. How do we move on from our present circumstances? What does this moment require of us? It requires first that we be honest about the scale of the challenges we face. Honesty about the scale of the challenges we face and the realities of our present circumstances free us to engage in the sort of radical thinking and innovation that would have been considered taboo just a few years ago. Most national policy discussions of higher education focus on structure and financing, understandably so. However, there are essential issues of curriculum, teaching methods, assessment and fairness that should engage our minds too and be part of any reform propositions.
12. Wholesale reviews of our curricula and teaching methods to situate our practices in the context of global labour needs is the bare minimum. This does not take away from the need to institute a programme of aggressive and sustained investment in the physical infrastructure of classrooms and lecture halls and technology hardware and software to facilitate information exchange and innovation.
13. Recently, the world has had to cope with the unforeseen effects of the COVID 19 pandemic, and our educational system has not been spared. A natural alteration of the 2020 academic calendar became imminent. I have been made to understand that the University of Lagos, under the leadership of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Toyin Ogundipe was the first public tertiary institution to adopt virtual learning in quick response to the disruption occasioned by the COVID 19 lockdown. This great institution conducted lectures, examinations and even the post-UTME virtually. Free data was also made available to students. Hence ICT rescued the academic calendar of our institution. This is the radical thinking and innovation needed in our citadels of learning.
14. Tertiary institutions in Nigeria need to develop a new understanding of the changing nature of work and the future of employment and allow this new understanding to inform the nature of instruction and the substance of the education they provide. Collaboration between our higher institutions and the organised private sector is vital in this regard so that we can jointly rise to the demands of the moment. Wealth creation and value addition in the 21st-century flow from enterprises that take advantage of emerging opportunities to expand the frontiers of innovation. In this new system, a qualitative tertiary education should empower young people to be entrepreneurial in their thinking and in how they navigate their chosen careers. Therefore, tertiary education in Nigeria must include entrepreneurship training and promote vocational skills as a feature of all courses and programmes.
15. Across the world, a symbiotic twinning of academia with the private sector has allowed for the creation of knowledge hubs that drive innovation and economic advancement. California’s Stanford University has become both the training ground for Silicon Valley’s elite and the beneficiary of enormous contributions in manpower, financial resources, and networking opportunities that have turned the institution into a powerhouse for the ages.
16. I have often wondered why similar arrangements have not been recreated in our environment. We can all easily agree that many universities in the country, private and public, would benefit significantly from such close contact with private sector energy, practice, and resources. What then mitigates against this level of close collaboration? Is it the existing laws? Is it reluctance on the universities’ part or the organised private sector itself? These are some of the questions we must ask and answer as we seek to reposition tertiary education in Nigeria to meet the demands of a changing world
17. One area where we already have the basic framework for collaboration is the Industrial Attachment programmes. What we now need to do is to identify ways to improve on this. Tertiary institutions of learning should identify and partner with private sector organisations to provide practical experiences for students as part of their academic training throughout their course. This would significantly improve the current practice of requiring students to undergo this portion of their training in organisations that do not allow them to get the full benefit of the experience.
18. Advancing our tertiary institutions into the 21st century demands that we do whatever is required in terms of changes to legislation, regulation, and/or policy to achieve this sort of closer synergy between the private sector and our educational and training institutions. For the sake of our nation’s future, we cannot leave the ideals of “Building Back Better” for the government alone to pursue.
19. Even as we look outward, we must consider the possibilities for extensive and multi-dimensional collaboration within academia. Keeping in mind that the objective is to improve productivity, tertiary institutions need to engage with the possibility of integrating university courses across departments and disciplines, merging law with economics and technology, medicine with engineering and accounting, media with governance and administration and other such partnerships.
20. We must also consider statutory and operational reforms to encourage closer collaboration between tertiary institutions, both public and private. Today, our tertiary institutions exist and operate primarily in independent silos. Alternative to this is an approach wherein tertiary institutions work as part of an interdependent network to establish a collaborative research and development ecosystem, training, and resource sharing. Multi-dimensional collaborations will increasingly be the key to building modern tertiary institutions in Nigeria, capable of holding their own in the modern education system.
21. And then, there is the issue of how we finance tertiary education in Nigeria. This is an area of much controversy. However, two things remain true. The first is that building the kind of institutions we need and desire will require significant investments. Secondly, the current approach is neither adequate nor sustainable as it heavily depends on subventions from the federal and state governments. Therefore, we must agree to use the instruments of policy and legislation to advance a new framework for funding tertiary education in our country. Ideally, this new system should provide funding for all students who qualify so that the burden of school fees and living expenses can be deferred and paid over a period. It must also ensure that the institutions get paid for their services so that resources are available to operate effectively.
22. As a politician, one of the most frequent requests I receive is for funding to meet the needs of students who are unable to fund their tertiary education. This is an ongoing problem that puts us at risk of losing some of the brightest young minds in our country. A well-structured student loan system is one way to do this. This already exists in many parts of the world, and we can borrow from best practices to deliver a system that meets our unique needs. In the National Assembly, we are working on the STUDENTS LOAN (ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION) BILL, which I sponsored. This Bill will establish the framework for providing interest-free loans to students with repayment of these loans beginning two years after completing the National Youth Service and spread over time. We will continue that effort until we successfully design a system that addresses our concerns and meets our needs.
23. However, we must all understand that public support for any such system will depend significantly on the tertiary institutions themselves. As I said before, tertiary education costs money all over the world. The reason why people nonetheless persist in paying these huge sums is that the value proposition is evident. Tertiary institutions in Nigeria must also be prepared to make the value of their services clear to students and parents alike. In a world where an undergraduate with technical computing skills can provide services to the global market from their bedroom and earn significant sums in exchange, a degree certificate by itself doesn’t hold the same value it once did. We must recognise this reality and act with that in mind.
24. The 9th House of Representatives has education as one of its key areas of focus in its legislative agenda, which we term “Our contract with Nigerians.” We have, for instance, taken active steps to upgrade many of our public institutions, elevating some colleges of education to universities of education, amongst others. This has increased the employability and viability of research work in the country. Recently, the House intervened in the faceoff between the Federal Government and the academic staff Union of universities to avert strike action. The intervention also led to the recent approval of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for the payment of lecturers in Nigerian universities.
25. I have always been passionate about education. Education is the silver bullet that cuts through most of our national challenges. No child should be left behind or denied the opportunity to receive the freedom that a good education provides. As a legislator, I have put considerable emphasis on policies and interventions to improve education access and quality. As part of that effort, I have provided educational grants for selected students from my Surulere 1 federal constituency studying in public tertiary institutions, including the University of Lagos. I have worked to attract infrastructure development projects to tertiary institutions in Lagos state, including free Wi-Fi facilities in six public tertiary institutions in Lagos State, a dedicated International students hostel here in the University of Lagos, amongst others.
26. As we depart this hall, I will proceed to the College of Medicine of this same institution for the foundation laying of a new medical outpatient centre for the benefit of LUTH, Idi-Araba and members of the public. Teachers and students are the greatest beneficiaries of our educational intervention projects in my constituency. We have provided modern ICT centres in 12 schools, and we are still constructing more. Just as we are renovating many school buildings at primary and secondary levels, providing instructional materials for ease of learning and e-learning tablets and laptops for teachers and students in the constituency. And we will continue to do more in revamping our educational system.
27. Sustainable reform cannot be imposed from the outside. For reform to be effective and long-lasting, it must come from within the institutions. More than financing and curriculum, technology, and teaching methods, there is a fundamental question of fairness that our higher institutions continue to contend with and must address before we can hope to have them participate fully and profitably in the global community of education and innovation.
28. We have a problem with harassment and victimisation in our higher institutions. This is not a problem of a few bad apples spoiling the whole bunch. It is the consequence of weak institutional mechanisms, susceptible to egregious abuse by those for whom power is not a call to service but an opportunity to take more than they are entitled to and sacrifice the future of others on the altar of their own desires. We cannot aspire to build 21st-century institutions capable of competing effectively in the global space when this issue remains a reoccurring cause for concern. And we will not solve this problem through occasional purges brought on by external denunciations in the press or on social media, but by reconsidering how our tertiary institutions operate as a matter of course.
29. I propose that we adopt across the board a system of zero tolerance for individuals, students or staff who are credibly accused of harassment, intimidation, and any infringements of individual autonomy. Let it be the role of independent panels, made up of persons of integrity and unquestionable authority, to evaluate the credibility of complaints, taking only relevant variables into consideration and, after that proposing a course of action to which the university must be bound. Our universities must be places of learning and innovation where people feel safe and where injustice in all its forms has no place. The summary of it all is simple; where we are is not where we ought to be. Moving from here requires a concerted and collaborative effort between government, our tertiary institutions, and stakeholders from the worlds of business and philanthropy to pursue new approaches.
30. The country is faced with yet another election in 2023. Before the 2019 General Elections, we amended the constitution of our republic to reduce age restrictions for elective office so that more eligible young people can participate in the politics and governance of our country. Last year, I hoped that as part of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, we could effect the Direct Primary method as the procedure for nominating candidates by political parties. Direct primary elections give every registered member of a political party the right to choose the candidates to represent the party in elections. Over time, this method has proved to be the most effective way of expanding citizen participation in the party nomination and leadership recruitment process. We are now in the process of sampling the diverse views on how to move forward with the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, and I expect that these and other issues will be resolved soon.
31. I also believe that the time has come for us to agree to review section 131 (d) of the 1999 constitution to increase the minimum educational qualification for persons aspiring to political office in Nigeria. The constitution requires a secondary school certificate or equivalent as the minimum academic qualification for high political office. This is the requirement for qualification to contest election for Governor, the national assembly, and president. Ladies and gentlemen, this provision is the product of a different time and reflects the reality of that time. It is time to take another look at that position as part of the ongoing effort to reform our electoral system and establish a fully participatory democracy providing the capable leadership our country needs.
32. Let us lift our gaze from considerations of small things to focus on the pursuit and achievement of grand ambitions that lift us all and save the future. Through our joint efforts, let us raise a generation in whose hearts the light of understanding is lit and cannot be put out, who possess both the zeal and the passion for defeating the tyranny of low expectations and making good the life of man here on earth.
33. This convocation, first and foremost, honours the dedication and diligence of the graduands who have completed their course of study and will today be sent forth to go and make their way in this brave new world. I congratulate you all most heartily on your achievement. You have the good fortune to be graduating at a time of great uncertainty in the world. This is a historical moment fraught with opportunity and peril brought on by advancements in technology, accelerated globalisation, and the reformation of the global economic and political order. And you are fortunate because, throughout recorded history, it is in times such as this that men and women of talent and ability make their name and build their fortunes. As you enter the world, allow me to share a few lessons I have learned on my own journey over the nearly four decades since I sat where you now sit. I hope that these lessons will guide you to achieve your highest potential.
34. First, to thine own self be true. You will be called on to take tough decisions and make hard choices in your life’s journey. What you do in those circumstances has to be based on an absolute conviction in your spirit. It is that conviction that will give you the courage to stand by the principles you hold dear, even when no one else does. To quote the late great Steve Jobs, ‘’don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice”.
35. Following that, you must, as in the words of John Wesley, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” All the achievements of your life, however grand they may be, will amount to nought if, in the full accounting, you haven’t done enough to make this world even just a little bit better for others. Let empathy and the kindness that flow from it be your legacy in this world.
36. Education is the key to freedom. Yet, it is the hallmark of the educated mind to recognise that your education is not enough. And from that recognition, devote yourself to lifelong learning. Do not close your mind to the possibilities that exist. All things are to be examined and called into question. If you do this, you will light a candle of understanding in your heart which shall not be put out.
37. Having toiled night and day for many years, you have earned the tools you need to participate in the world. Now, you must go out there and carve your place at the table and eventually at the head of the table. Do not allow yourself to fall into the trap of thinking that having earned your degree, the world now owes you something. It doesn’t. Nothing will be handed to you. Everything must be achieved with the same hard work and dedication that has carried you to this moment. The world is your oyster; go out and eat it.
38. I congratulate you once more, graduands. And I salute, too, all the friends and family, guardians and supporters who have contributed in one form or the other to the success we have gathered to celebrate today. Go forth and succeed.
39. Thank you for listening. God bless you all, and God bless our Federal Republic of Nigeria.