Vice President Kashim Shettima says the Tinubu administration’s increased investment in education signals a renewed national commitment to building a competitive, knowledge-driven Nigeria.
He made the remarks on Saturday at the 50th anniversary of the University of Maiduguri, according to a statement issued on November 29 by Stanley Nkwocha, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Communications (Office of the Vice President).
Shettima warned that Nigeria cannot advance globally with underfunded universities, describing education as “the immune system of the nation” and the backbone of economic mobility, social cohesion and national security.
He said the 2025 budget allocates ₦3.5 trillion to education, 7.3% of the national budget, alongside new grants for medical training, support for mechanised farming programmes, and expanded entrepreneurial and digital-skills initiatives.
“We do not come to pay lip service to education,” he said.
“We are preparing our young people not with the tools of yesterday, but with the skills of tomorrow.”
While acknowledging longstanding challenges such as underfunding, brain drain and outdated curricula, Shettima said the government is responding with reforms in digital transformation, curriculum updates, research development and skills-based learning.
Reflecting on insecurity in the Northeast, he recalled that over 500 schools were attacked in Borno between 2009 and 2021.
But he praised the state’s recovery, noting current enrolment of 877,777 learners, ₦69.81 billion committed to education, payment of WAEC fees for over 26,000 students, and a daily school feeding bill of about ₦122 million.
“When terrorists attacked our schools, they were trying to kill the future. But Borno chose hope over fear and education over darkness,” he said.
Governor Babagana Zulum announced scholarships for 200 UNIMAID lecturers, praising the university’s role in shaping the state’s human-capital development.
Adamawa Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri pledged ₦1.8 billion on behalf of North-East states for the university’s endowment fund.
Vice Chancellor Prof. Mohammed Mele described the anniversary as a celebration of resilience in the face of conflict and called for stronger private-sector partnerships to bolster funding.
Dignitaries at the event included former Vice President Babagana Kingibe, Minister of State for Education Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, businessman Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi, philanthropist Sir Emeka Offor, and the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi.
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