To all intents and purposes, pronouncements and actions of the Sultan of Sokoto and the President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, His Eminence Alhaji Mohammed Sa’ad Abubakar III give him away as a statesman,

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patriot and peace- loving national leader who is interested in the unity, development and peaceful coexistence of Nigerians.

In the wake of the incessant senseless attacks on defenceless Nigerians by armed herdsmen, the Sultan it was who said that the arms- bearing herdsmen who take delight in attacking innocent Nigerians in their farms and homes are terrorists and criminals who must be treated as such.

The Federal Government through its security agencies is yet to apprehend the marauders.

We recall that in an outright rejection of the principles espoused by Boko Haram, the Islamist sect whose name literally means “Western education is evil”, the Sultan had reportedly advocated for the enforcement of what he called “Western Education” in the Northern part of the country by the Federal Government.

Speaking at the 13th session of the Emmanuel Onyechere Anyiam-Osigwe Lecture series, the Sultan who was represented by the Emir of Shonga, Dr. Haliru Ndanusa Yahaya, lamented the increasing number of jobless youths who parade the streets in the North without hope for employment as they could not communicate in the English language.

The Sultan is right in every respect except that the enforcement must be carried out by respective state governors in the North as it is done in other parts of the country, rather than being done by the Federal Goverment.

In fact, there is practically no clear distinction between Western education and Arabic education except in the language used. It has become an agreeable truism that education forms the bedrock of the wealth of nations.

This is even more pronounced at the dawn of a momentous century with rapidly changing technologies placing an even greater emphasis on the need for a highly skilled and appropriately educated workforce. Consequently, the age-long proposition of Northern leaders about the need to intensify the perceived redress of the imbalance in educational attainment between the Northern and Southern parts of the country is to be welcome.

This is, however, predicated on the readiness of Northern leaders to drop some antiquated habitual traits like feudalism and other cultural overhangs which serve as barriers in the effort to confront the menace.

That the educational gap between the North and the rest of the country still exists about 107 years after the amalgamation and about 61 years after flag independence is by itself an indictment on the polity in general and Northern leaders in particular who have had the privilege of running the affairs of the country for a greater number of years than leaders from other sections of the country.

It is quite clear that it is in the overall interest of the country for the perceived gap to be bridged; for it has encouraged easy manipulation by politicians and religious bigots for their selfish ends. What then is to be done? Quite clearly, all the efforts have to emanate from the bottom. For a start, there should be free and compulsory education at the primary level as a priority of state governors in the North. This must be backed up by mass public enlightenment campaigns in which the leadership must be involved in mobilizing the people.

The poor state of education in the northern part of the country and its attendant economic crises, have conspired to undermine the peace and stability of the region and the country at large because our leaders have failed to invest in human capital and manpower development. The problem is more of intellectual laziness on the part of northern leaders than lack of opportunity to bridge the yearning gap. Presently, aside from the ongoing revolution in Kaduna and Sokoto states, as far as the education sector is concerned, not enough is being done by northern governors.

Unfortunately, the emphasis is rather on religion and petty politics. But Kaduna is out of the list currently. The feudalist policy of encouraging elitist education should be downplayed in favour of mass education in the North. English language should also be used as the language of instruction in all schools in that part of the country. Also, there should be a re-orientation of cultural values, such as the encouragement of the girl-child education and prevention of child or under aged marriage.

Again, the issue of quota system must be revisited abinitio. As of now, there is a deliberate policy of discouraging teachers from the South from taking up appointments in the North because of the issue of quota system even as the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to withdraw teachers from schools in the North due to incessant kidnapping and killing of students and teachers. This should be reversed. It is hardly an incentive for concentration and morale for a teacher to put in his or her best while on an insecure contract.

Northern governors must reconsider their lamentable budgetary priorities if the situation must change for the better. Encouraging religious disharmony while pushing children of the poor to become Amajiris is not a true Islamic concept.

In Turkey, an Islamic country with well over 97 per cent of its nationals as Muslims, education is free and compulsory up to age 16. English language has come to be accepted as a major medium of communication and instruction in schools, colleges and universities all over the world. Nigeria which was even a British colony cannot afford to be an exception.

Northern governors should not bow to the argument of Boko Haram and bandits by closing all schools in the North. The government must enlist the services of foreign countries to free Nigeria from the activities of bandits who are ravaging the security and peace of the country. Also, blanket amnesty and pampering of the so-called “repentant Boko Haram” must be stopped with immediate effect.

The gap in education between the North and the rest of the country is also self evident that the whole idea of quota system and similar affirmative type actions adopted in the attempt for the North to meet up with the rest of the country have failed.

We therefore need to go back to the drawing board – to muster the political will to adopt a root-and-branch, from-bottom-to-top approach devoid of the frivolity and corruption that marred the nomadic education hypothesis.

The Sultan should therefore be commended for his obviously nationalistic views and actions as he also has a big role to play in all this. It is in the interest of the leadership in the North and Nigeria at large for the poor to be educated. This will indeed guarantee peace and economic growth in the country.