President Muhammadu Buhari has charged the youth to seek education, not for government jobs that are unavailable but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and meet the needs of the 21st Century.
He also implored parents to inculcate right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities, and living a purposeful life through continuous education.
Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s spokesman, in a statement, said the president made the calls at the Emir of Daura’s Palace during Sallah homage, on Wednesday, July 13, in Daura, Katsina State.
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He said more time should be given to the coaching of future leaders, with basic knowledge of moral values, as the fast-changing world, driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding.
I was locked up for more than three years, after leading the country. At that point, I realised and I told my children that your net worth is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life.
My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting the first degree.
They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated.
President Buhari further noted that the younger children should be guided and taught history, as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful, without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds.
Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes.
We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs.
We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming more smaller, nimble and efficient.
Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology.
During the Covid-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively.
President Buhari told the Emir of Daura, Dr Umar Faruk, that he would be more regular in visits, preparatory to the handing over in May 2023, adding that the prolonged absence was due to the demands of his office.
This is the longest I have been away from home. Infact, the Emir took to the court of public opinion at the prayer ground, when he openly told everyone that I had not visited Daura for close to a year.
He said all Nigerians must make sacrifices to move the country forward, especially the public servants, calling for more selflessness and inclusion.
“At the end, it is only God that can reward your efforts, not man,” he said.
In his remarks, Governor Aminu Masari listed the achievements of the president including social security, which was created to cater to the poor, and ensure that they received some money at the end of every month.
“No government in the history of this country has done more to reduce poverty like President Buhari’s administration.
”He asked religious and community leaders to bring enlightenment to bear on successful government programs such as the Social Investment Programme, SIP through which 120,000 poor citizens in 12 Local Government Areas of the state receive a monthly payment of N5,000 and this is happening in all the states.
“Today, we have over 863,000 children in the state being fed under the school feeding programme.
