By Adamu Muhd Usman
Time, history, events, circumstances and human nature are very important attributes that no serious person should joke with.
I was glad to learn that the Jigawa state governor, Alhaji Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar was in the state varsity (Sule Lamido University, Kafin-Hausa) on Tuesday, August 10, 2021 at the opening ceremony of the first National Conference ‘Covid-19 Pandemic, Educational attainment and Labour Productivity’ organized by School of Preliminary Studies, Sule Lamido University Kafin Hausa. While delivering his address, His Excellency said it is expedient to tie Education to the needs of the society”
The governor promised to build more hostels in the state university and provide timely and adequate scholarships to our students among others “
To be candid, I appreciate Jigawa governor, Alhaji Abubakar Badaru’s plan to sponsor and educate the children of the poor especially in respect Jigawa indigenes sent to Studying medicine abroad
It takes a prudent leader, courageous mind, ideological thinking, passionate soul, noble step and a visionary person to make this kind of move. But on His Excellency’s plan of sending 160 Jigawa state indigenes recently to study medicine in another country not Nigeria not to talk of in the north or Jigawa, I made bold to register my reservations no matter the level of affront, intimidation, humiliation, and deprivation etc from any quarter.
I am of the view that studying at home would be much and much better because of :
- Saving cost
- Sustainability
- Safety
- Improving the state varsity
- Fear of obstruction like the covid-19 experience like the way everyone was restricted from making even a local movement for a long time.
- Culture clash
- Failure of licence exam that is the ‘Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria examination for Foreign trained Doctors. Which any Nigeria who studied Medicine abroad must pass through this exam and if s/he fails to pass it, will never be qualified to be a Doctor in Nigeria. Even the countries they studied there, they don’t allow any Nigerian to be a practicing doctor there. I know of somebody who knows two persons (doctors) who studied in Ukraine and Sudan but failed to make it after sitting for over five years.
- Change of government etc
The money that was used in sponsoring 60 students to study abroad (China)/in the first batch about three years or thereabout not to talk of the present plan of sending another set of 160 students, It will be reasonable to build faculty of medicine or medicine department, hostel and other things in the state varsity.
My findings have indicated that the average tuition for a medical degree in Sudan is ten thousand dollars (which is 5 million naira) per annum. The total for 160 students without living expenses, study materials and accommodation is 800 Million for a single year. This amount for a minimum of five years will cost the Jigawa tax payers a staggering 4 billion naira. Sule Lamido University Kafin-Hausa can start a medical faculty with as little as 500million naira. This I find unacceptable for a regime that flaunts a calculator and claims financial prudence!
I extol Sule Lamido for establishing Jigawa State University in order to afford state indigenes more access to higher education opportunities.
Before the establishment of the state University, many eligible candidates of Jigawa origin who seek admission into higher institutions in other universities failed to get it due to lack of opportunities, hence the warm welcome with which Jigawa citizens received the establishment of the state university, which was named after him. “Sule Lamido University Kafin-Hausa”
I appeal to governor Badaru to rather move to establish a college of medicine in SLU with a fraction of the money he intended to put into the Sudanese economy. Even students from other states can benefit from it most especially because of the safety of the state, good conducive environment and the facilities there in etc. This will create and improve the revenue (income) of the state and even the economical activities (business) will increase (expand) in the town and the state as a whole.
Our fear of sending Jigawa students abroad is sustainability, The episode that happened in our neighbouring state must be a home call. Also issue of morality is another area one should be careful and conscious. Also parents can be able to afford the excesses and continue if the government abscond
One important thing to note here is, there are still medical graduates who are not fully employed but rather collecting or paid allowances not full salary. How will Jigawa state government address or reconcile that issue? Please don’t argue, make some findings.
One thing again, one of the disabled, physically challenged persons or Special needs people alleged or complained that, they were neglected or deprived from benefitting this package despite wider publicity of carrying everyone along in the processes of selecting the beneficiaries. Incredible! What a vigilant, prudent, shrewd and magnanimous government!
Please governor Badaru do something urgent to prove/proof the assertion or allegation leveled against you that, you don’t have the interest of the varsity at heart that was why for the past six years you didn’t create another or any course/s and do something tangible in the school beside completion of few projects (to me that one is good and worth eulogizing) and they continued to alleged that all the major works going on at the moment are all TETFUND work.
We appeal to Jigawa governor to look into this issue with sincerity of purpose and focus. We want the varsity to improve, we want Jigawa to move to a greater height and we want people to be carried along, have sense of belonging and have sustainable development. Please build faculty of medicine or college of medicine as any one may choose to call it.
