No. 1 teacher in Nigeria now no. 1 citizen in his state: Meet Gov Idris of Kebbi state
Femi OGUNLANA
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Comrade Dayo Ajala is the representative of the Nigeria Union of Teachers NUT Oyo state branch at the National Executive Committee (NEC) level of the union; he recently returned from a NEC meeting held at the Presidential Banquet Hall, Birnin Kebbi (Kebbi state capital).
Comrade Ajala, who is also the principal of Owode Community Grammar School Ogbomoso, informed ogbomosoinsightonline.com how the governor of Kebbi state Dr Muhammed Nasir Idris, warmly received the NEC members quoting Dr Idris as repeatedly saying, “This is my constituency (teaching), they deserve my attention.”
Ajala indeed stressed the governor insistently requested the NEC meeting be held in his state so he could “still have a chance to see and exchange banters with his old comrades.”
“The governor took great care of us, he mixed freely, allowed protocols to be broken, as he patted colleagues on the back, thrust his hand for handshakes,” Ajala recalled the dinner session with the governor.
Meet Governor Nasir Idris
Comrade Dr Gov Idris
Dr Idris was a former teacher. He dabbled into unionism and emerged first as chairman of the Kebbi state wing of the union and then state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). Destined for greater pedestal he became the national treasurer of NUT, and in 2018, national president of NUT, and national deputy president of NLC. He is such a dedicated and serviceable unionist.
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In May 2022, Mr. Idris emerged as the Kebbi state All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate at the APC governorship primary election. And On 17 April 2023, he was declared the winner of the 2023 Kebbi state gubernatorial election by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He was born on August 6, 1965, in Birnin Kebbi local government area of Kebbi state. He attended The Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi, and Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto (between 2006 and 2009) for his MBA. Idris holds a PhD in Education and has written various academic papers on education.
Revolutionising education sector
Dr Comrade Idris has ensured that his antecedent as a teacher manifests in the running of his state. He is committed to rejuvenating the state’s educational sector.
Only this week he distributed another batch of teaching and learning materials worth N3billion, as well as vehicles and motorcycles for school supervision.
The governor also disclosed, during the flag-off ceremony for the distribution of the materials, that over two million copies of textbooks worth N3 billion would be distributed to over 600 primary schools.
Additionally, four permanent members of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the secretary would each receive a vehicle, while school inspectors would be provided with motorcycles for effective supervision.
The governor similarly announced plans to digitalise primary school pupils’ registers and provide internet facilities for documentation.
To address operational challenges in schools, an improvement grant of N200,000 would be given to School Management Committees.
Governor Idris explained that these initiatives are part of his administration’s policy to gradually improve educational standards.
Some other achievements highlighted by the governor included the renovation of over 2,000 dilapidated schools, construction of over 3,000 new ones, employment of 2,000 teachers, and payment of backlog debts, including foreign scholarships.
The governor also inaugurated 21 chairmen of Local Government Education Authority management committees, all professors from Kebbi state, and appealed to them to demonstrate commitment to the state’s educational development.
The chairman of SUBEB, Professor Suleiman Khalid, has consequently praised the governor’s commitment to transforming the state’s educational sector.
Furthermore, shortly after taking office, he approved the extension of retirement years for primary and secondary school teachers from 35 to 40 years of service and from 60 to 65 years of age.
Also while receiving a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Bola Tinubu, Chief Sunday Dare, earlier this week, the unionist governor thumped his chest that only Kebbi offers 100% free education nationwide.
He said students of his state, studying within and outside the country, enjoy free education and scholarships.
The governor informed he had paid approximately N2.7 billion to settle the tuition fees of both students studying within Nigeria and those studying abroad.
He said, “It might interest you to note that it is only Kebbi that offers total free education in Nigeria.
“We pay tuition fees for all our students up to secondary and tertiary institutions.
“Recently, I paid N2.7 billion tuition fees for both students studying across tertiary institutions within and outside Nigeria.”
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According to Idris, his administration offers total scholarships to the students, adding, “We are doing this to remove the stress and burden from the parents.
“Some parents may have more than three children in tertiary institutions.
”If the money is too much, some parents might not be able to shoulder the school fees especially in this period where many tertiary institutions have increased their tuition fees.
“That is why we deem it fit to shoulder the responsibility of free education, scholarships to all our students.”
Idris added that the funding for feeding students across boarding schools in the state had been increased from N150 million to N300 million monthly.
In line with his administration’s efforts to raise the standard of teaching and learning, the governor said the embargo on employment had been lifted, allowing about 5,000 qualified teachers to be gainfully employed.
“To enhance the learning environment, my administration has rehabilitated 2,004 primary and secondary schools, while over 340 new ones were constructed,” he revealed.
Ogbomoso Insight also learnt Idris constructed four mega schools, which spread across the four Emirates of the state.
The Comrade Governor is such a delight.
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