Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo State, has disclosed intentions by Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) nominee for president of Nigeria in 2023, if he wins the election.
In an interview for Roadmap 2023, a pre-recorded program on Channels Television that covers preparations for Nigeria’s general elections next year, Oshiomhole, the Deputy Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, made this statement.
The former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole argued in the interview that Nigeria’s security system is being challenged by citizens whose welfare had been disregarded by previous administrations. These individuals are being referred to as bandits today.
If elected as President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor on February 25, Oshiomhole said the APC candidate will make education and skills acquisition compulsory for this class of citizens.
“Those we refer to as bandits are people in my view whom the country has dehumanised as young children, denied them access to education, spend all their lives begging, living from hand to mouth under the weather (and) nobody cares,” he said.
“The public can’t locate their parents and now they are in their late twenties, not educated and they must survive. Even if they must survive on begging, those who can give alms are getting fewer and now they decide to resort to what we now call banditry
“The long-term solution, Asiwaju spoke to it. We must recognise that the 21 st century is not good to have amajiri as a given. Every Nigerian must be entitled to, beyond formal legality, is to have universal basic, compulsory education
“The logic of that is that if you must have a child, you have a legal duty to ensure that child goes to school, at least up to primary school level.”
The former Edo governor added that the Almajiri system of growth and development cannot continue.
