Presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has described education as the best investment for politicians.
Kwankwaso made this assertion on Monday while delivering his speech at the 3rd Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso Colloquium organised by the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation to mark his 66th birthday in Abuja.
According to Kwankwaso, the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation believes that the best legacy to be bequeathed is education irrespective of where they come from.
He said more than 3,000 indigent students have benefited from his scholarship programs between 2011 and 2015 when he was the governor of Kano State while so many others are also not left out since 2015.
The former governor of Kano state noted that the strength of Kano, Northern Nigeria and Nigeria as a nation is education.
He said, “The best investment for any politician is education. Our main strength in Kano, Northern Nigeria and Nigeria generally is education.
“Everybody including the Fulanis in this country they want to go to school the only issue is that they are not being given the opportunity.
“We also need to train and retrain our teachers, give them all they required,” he added.
Kwankwaso assured that he will continue to treat every Nigerian equally no matter their religion, tribal or ethnic background as part of his vision for a true Nigeria.
He said he is always keen on mass-oriented programs and projects that will have an impact on the lives of the people, especially in the field of education.
Speaking on the foundation’s education initiatives, Kwankwaso said, “I have always given myself a target on what to do for humanity. The Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation started immediately after the 2019 election. I’m happy to say that in the 2019 election in Kano when we have no governor serving or former in our group, no minister serving or former not even ambassadors or any positions but just these young men and women in Kano State, we were able to win our election for governorship and others.
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“And that was why I was encouraged to the extent of creating this scholarship scheme for our young men and women. When we advertised in 2019 believing that there are few people with first class because in our first scholarship we said anybody with first class, we exhausted all in Kano, second class upper we exhausted them, we are on second class lower when I left government in 2015 and that’s why we have over 3,000 of them in 14 countries across the world on scholarship, if add up the numbers with those who were sent to private universities within Nigeria, we have over 7,000 beneficiaries that were sponsored when I was Kano state governor and under the Kwankwasiyya Foundation with my hard earned money”
“Presently, we have sponsored 148 students to Mewar International University in Karu Local Government in Nasarawa State. We chose four students (2 boys and 2 girls) in each of the 36 states and Abuja and gave them scholarships to the university.
“Our scholarship cut across it is not for indigenes but for residents because we understand that everywhere is home to all Nigerians. We also have them enrolled in different schools. We have more than 300 at Igbinedion University, more than 200 at Crescent University and more than 300 at Bells University. The Foundation has been sponsoring students from within and outside Kano.
“We will continue to do whatever we can as individuals and as groups, as Kwankwasiyya and as members of the NNPP and other well-wishers for the good of this country,” he said.
Guest lecturer of the colloquium and Head of Department, Department of Political Science, University of Abuja, Associate Professor Sherif Ghali, who delivered the paper titled “Leadership and Good Governance in Nigeria: The Legacy of Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso,” said Nigeria needs a president like Kwankwaso in 2023 that can change the status quo and put Nigeria on the path of recovery.
Ghali said Kwankwaso possesses the requisite qualities to restore Nigeria’s past glory, recover the economy and will give every Nigerian what he deserves.
“Senator Kwankwaso understands that you can govern the people regardless of their religion and you will be just to them. He believes in the absence of manipulation of religion in governance.
This is one of the views of Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. And that is why he even rejected the Muslim-Muslim ticket by accepting the Muslim-Christian ticket. Because he knows that in Nigeria, we have Muslims, we have Christians, we have traditionalists so therefore he knows that every part of Nigeria must be represented.”
“He believes Nigeria is not a one-faith country, it is a secular country. And that if Nigeria is a secular state, then every Nigerian must be represented. And that is why he has developed and accepted that particular spirit as a Nigerian and for the Nigerian people,” he added.
