New Education Minister Should Strike Balance, Not Neglect Any Area Of Education Sector- Expert

On Wednesday, 16th August, President Bola Tinubu announced his ministerial list, assigning heads to the various ministries in the country.

For the Ministry of Education, he appointed Prof Tahir Mamman, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who currently serves as the Vice Chancellor of Baze University Abuja.

Tahir has had a long career in the education sector, having served as the Dean for the Faculty of Law at the University of Maiduguri, Deputy Director of the Nigerian Law School, Kano campus, and the Director of the Nigerian Law School, Abuja campus.

Mamman now heads one of the strongest and most important ministries in the country, which comes with a lot of ups and downs.

THE WHISTLER spoke to Prof Abiodun Adeniyi, the HOD of the Department of Mass Communication regarding the appointment of the new minister and he stated that he believes Maman should not neglect any area of the education sector, but rather find a way to strike a balance in catering to them all.

“It is difficult to say he should prioritise any specific sector because we have seen in the past how nations have tried to prioritize science and technology but eventually came back to give attention to arts and humanities.

“You can hardly function without any of these areas because science and technology are about mechanics and unsentimental processes and procedures but of course, we live in a social environment where you have to be humane and understand human beings.

“You have to be concerned about emotional intelligence, and about qualities of leadership, the ability to think critically, and although these things might not necessarily be mechanical or scientific, they are important as well, so this is why we need social sciences and humanities.

“I would just advise that it would be good if he can strike a balance, without necessarily undermining any sector,” he said.

As someone who has worked with Mamman at Baze University, Adeniyi described him as one of the most seasoned administrators in the Nigerian education space, especially given his many years of experience therein.

“All through the years of my experience with him, he has been very exceptional in terms of decision-making, policy formulation, and of course ensuring the implementation of policies. He is always very fair but firm, very meticulous, and essentially productive.

“Coming into the education sector, that’s a very heavy responsibility, it’s a big ministry no doubt, and there is almost always some form of controversy in the sector. However, I have no doubt that Prof Tahir Mamman will bring his natural ability to work under pressure to the sector toward achieving success there.

“He has a very good understanding of the crisis in Nigeria’s education sector and the need for us to have improvements in terms of funding, the provision of infrastructure, and the provision of opportunities. He realises that those are all necessary conditions for a good academic sector, that we can compare with our peers in other parts of the world and that will be compliant with international best practices,” he explained.

Speaking on the new minister’s plan to tackle the recurrent crisis between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adeniyi said even though Mamman would not be able to operate outside the budget of the federal government, he had a good understanding of the issues involved in the crisis and as such he would apply negotiation tactics to resolve them as much as possible.

“He probably didn’t know he was going to be education minister until about 48 hours ago, so the question of a plan to handle the ASUU crisis is something that he should be thinking about now, however, I’m very confident that someone who is inbuilt with a lot of wisdom, as a senior lawyer, he understands the nuances of negotiation, the dynamics of dispute and the importance of crisis resolution.

“I know that he has a very good understanding of these issues and he should be able to bring it to the job to solve the knotty issues of recurring tension between ASUU and the federal government. And what exactly is ASUU even asking for? Simply better working conditions for staff, better funding for the universities, etc. it’s all in the public knowledge.

“Yes, Prof Tahir will not be able to operate outside the available resources of the federal government, but we are hopeful that the President, who is his primary employer will be able to prioritise education such that the governor will be empowered to meet the aspirations of ASUU. That will show that we are moving towards peace and resolving the crisis of confidence between the two bodies,” he said.