The Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, and different outstanding alumni of Nigeria’s Unity Schools have challenged members of the Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA) to take the lead in rescuing the nation’s schooling sector and restoring the declining requirements of Federal Government Colleges.
They made the decision on the fiftieth Anniversary Plenary and Annual General Meeting of USOSA, held in Abuja on Saturday with the theme, “Over 60 Years of Unity Schools: Preserving National Unity and Reimagining Education for Nigeria’s Future.”
Represented by Major General Garba Abdullahi, the minister urged the alumni affiliation to deploy its affect, expertise and sources in direction of strengthening nationwide unity, bettering academic requirements and getting ready younger Nigerians for rising safety and technological challenges.
Musa stated USOSA was a strategic nationwide asset whose members may contribute considerably to Nigeria’s peace, stability and improvement, noting that the Unity Schools had, for greater than six a long time, introduced collectively younger Nigerians from completely different ethnic, spiritual and geographical backgrounds.
“From a defence and security perspective, the bond you share is the ultimate shield against divisiveness. You are living proof that our diversity is not a point of vulnerability but our greatest collective strength,” he stated.
The minister, nonetheless, cautioned that the nation couldn’t rely solely on the achievements of earlier generations, stressing that nationwide safety was carefully linked to human capital improvement and the standard of schooling accessible to younger individuals.
He challenged USOSA to champion nationwide cohesion, drive institutional and safety innovation, and set up strategic endowment funds to assist the sustainable improvement of Unity Schools.
Musa additionally urged the affiliation to determine structured endowment funds to finance and keep laboratories, libraries, hostels and different important amenities, thereby decreasing the faculties’ dependence on strained authorities budgets.
“You occupy critical positions in the public service, the military, corporate governance and the international community. You are proof that a united, prosperous and secure Nigeria is achievable,” he stated.
In his remarks, the President-General of USOSA, Michael Magaji, stated the affiliation’s fiftieth anniversary was a chance to replicate on its journey, have fun its achievements and strengthen its contribution to Nigeria’s schooling sector.
Magaji, who was getting ready handy over management, expressed gratitude to members, previous leaders, volunteers and companions who had contributed to the affiliation’s development, describing his tenure as a name to service quite than a chance to occupy an workplace.
He recalled that USOSA had grown from modest beginnings right into a nationwide community connecting alumni of Federal Unity Colleges, with an increasing presence throughout Nigerian cities and an more and more lively diaspora neighborhood.
“What you see today in USOSA is the result of a long, tortuous, painful, rigorous journey, but it is about our country. It is not about Mike Magaji, or any individual. It is about our country and the future of our country,” he stated.
Magaji burdened that the standard of schooling remained a defining issue within the improvement of any nation, arguing that the expertise gained in Unity Schools had geared up their alumni with the values and management abilities wanted to contribute to nationwide improvement.
He referred to as on members to turn out to be extra actively concerned within the governance of schooling and the nation, including that the affiliation’s achievements ought to encourage a stronger dedication to public service.
“Show me your education and I will tell you the kind of country you have. All of us have been privileged to come from this very rich background that has produced great alumni. It is time for us to consolidate this position and become more actively involved in the governance of education and of this country,” he stated.
He added that USOSA had intentionally strengthened engagement with alumni within the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, recognising the worth of their worldwide experiences, skilled networks and sources to Nigeria’s schooling system.
As a part of these efforts, he disclosed that USOSA had partnered with BudgIT, a civic organisation targeted on public finance and finances transparency, to assist monitor expenditure and promote accountability in Federal Unity Colleges.
“We imagine that the relevance of USOSA should finally be measured by the distinction we make within the lives of our members and in our faculties.
“Our country needs citizens who understand that our diversity does not have to divide us. It needs people who have played together, learnt together, competed together and formed lifelong friendships across ethnic, religious and geographical boundaries,” he stated.
The keynote speaker and Managing Director of Ibom Air, George Uriesi, referred to as on USOSA to take duty for restoring the educational requirements and boarding-school expertise that when distinguished Federal Unity Colleges.
Uriesi recalled that the Unity Schools have been established to carry collectively younger Nigerians from completely different elements of the nation, enabling them to study each other and develop lasting friendships throughout ethnic, spiritual and regional boundaries.
According to him, the coverage offered college students with a chance to expertise Nigeria’s range first-hand at a formative stage of their lives, serving to to construct the inspiration for nationwide integration.
“The standard of education we received, fellow Unisens, was, to say the least, world-class. But what was very important to me was the exposure I got to the different people of Nigeria at the age of 11, for the first time away from the direct supervision of my parents,” he stated.
The airline government, nonetheless, expressed concern that the requirements of the Unity Schools had declined over time, citing overcrowding, adjustments in scholar populations and the weakening of the tutorial atmosphere that when distinguished the establishments.
He stated the deterioration had reached some extent the place some alumni who had hoped to ship their youngsters to their former faculties have been now not assured that the establishments may present the identical high quality of schooling they’d loved.
Uriesi argued that the problem prolonged past particular person faculties, reflecting broader issues inside Nigeria’s schooling system and society.
“USOSA has to take the lead. Don’t focus on fixing FGC Warri or FGC Sokoto alone. Let’s fix the Unity Schools. Let’s return them to the standards they were known for when this initiative began,” he stated.
Uriesi additionally referred to as for a long-term technique that will allow alumni to measure their affect over the subsequent 20 years, with the objective of guaranteeing that future college students loved the identical high quality of schooling and nationwide publicity that formed earlier generations.
“Our children deserve the same solid educational experience we enjoyed: growing up as teenagers, building friendships with people from different parts of the country, and learning to understand and appreciate Nigeria’s diversity,” he stated.
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