2011: Jonathan Charges Youths On Peace

As the forthcoming 2011 general elections in Nigeria draws nearer, the President , Dr. Goodluck Jonathan , has reminded the youth of this country as stakeholders in the contest of their responsibility to ensure that the will of the people prevail by ensuring the availability of a peaceful atmosphere for them to cast their votes without any form of hindrance.

The president who made this known Saturday in his address on the occasion of the 39th Convocation ceremony of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), also advised the youth not to allow themselves to be deceived and used by politicians to cause violence in the nation’s polity.

According to him, “On the part of this administration , no stone will be left unturned in the effort to ensure a free and fair election in 2011 and beyond. I call on the youth of this country, and especially today’s graduates, to be determined to lift this country to greater heights in order to justify the dream of the founding fathers of this great institution”.

Dr. Jonathan continued

“As for our young graduates, I charge you to go out there and join the great march to renew our country. We live in challenging times in which we strive to revamp our economy and create the environment conducive to the rapid development of our country.

“You would be required to make your own contributions . After all, in spite of the critique of our educational system, our nation has contributed in no small measure to your lofty attainments today”, he reasoned.

The president also stated that every nation is a product of what its people want it to be, adding that its greatness or otherwise would depend on the collective aspiration of its people.

“If the aspiration is that it becomes a great nation , every one would have to play their part. This entails making great sacrifices at all times”, he said.

 President Jonathan,who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of Education, professor  Ruqayyatu A, Rufai, further urged the youth as emerging leaders to be part of the building project, pointing out that all should rise to the occasion in the quest for Nigeria to attain its full potentials as a great nation.

Dr Jonathan noted  that his administration understands the significant role of tertiary institutions in the achievement of the global agenda for all, noting that without quality tertiary education, the nation’s quest for qualitative human capital development, “which is essential for the achievement of the nation’s vision 20:20:20, would be a mirage.”

In spite of the high cost of tertiary education, his government, he assured, remains committed to the funding of that tier of the education sub-sector within the limit of competitive demands for the available funds allocated to the sector.

His administration, he went on, has demonstrated its commitment by injecting 150 million US Dollars and taking an International Development Association (IDA) Credit from the World Bank to carry out the Science and Technology Post-Basic (Step – B) Project.

In the same vein, the president stated that the Federal Government had reinvigorated the funding of tertiary education with the injection of N33 billion through the Education Trust Fund (ETF) Special Intervention Fund into 13 tertiary institutions, comprising six universities, three polytechnics, three colleges of education and the Nigerian Defence Academy in the last two years

“The training of academic staff at post –graduate levels which  began in 2008, has continued. About 2,068 lecturers across the universities, polytechnics and colleges of education have benefited , with about 270 of them studying overseas.”

Degrees and various certificates were awarded to over 6,000 graduands on the occasion, while the governors of Gombe and Akwa Ibom states were also conferred with the degree of Doctor of Public Administration (DPA) and degree of Doctor of Law (LLB) Honoris Causa , respectively.