Restructuring Education: Don says Nigeria needs to start again

A legal practitioner, Dr Wale Babalakin, has said that Nigeria needs to start again to restructure the nation’s educational system.

Babalakin said this on Saturday while delivering the 7th Convocation Lecture at the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete.

He said the nation was losing its relevance in the academic world and the situation needed to be urgently addressed.

Babalakin said we started getting it wrong during the oil boom.

”Before now, in the early 70s, the first five Nigerian universities were well rated internationally, but now it is a case of regression.

”The most highly placed Nigerian university now is the 800th in the world.

”It is difficult to believe that in 1974, University College Hospital, Ibadan was the first-rated Commonwealth hospital in the world; but today, UCH can’t be reckoned with in places of Primary Health,” he said.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria said it was unfortunate that big companies in Nigeria were no longer employing Nigerian graduates.

”This is because they have lost confidence in our educational system; they now prefer to engage the services of expatriates,” Babalakin said.

He said Nigeria should devise a creative way to educate its people because according to him, ”the world will not wait for Nigeria.”

Babalakin, however, urged the Kwara State Government to use KWASU as a pilot case for restructuring education in Nigeria.

”I learnt the institution has not received subvention in the past five years, this is unacceptable.

”You cannot give birth to a child and abandon such child before attaining the self-sustenance age.

”They (government officials) should ensure adequate funding because we cannot afford to sacrifice quality for quantity,” Babalakin said.