The immediate past president of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan who addressed an audience in Malaysia on Friday, revealed how he build over a hundred model schools in the North despite getting least vote from there.
Goodluck Jonathan
Speaking while delivering the
keynote address at a peace summit organised by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) in Malaysia on Friday, former President Goodluck Jonathan, said that though the northern part of the country gave him the least vote, his administration built 165 Almajiri integrated model schools there.
Jonathan said he was inspired to construct the model schools to tackle the high rate of illiteracy in the north.
He said; “In Nigeria, there were 10.5 million (about 15% of the population) out of school children who were of school age, going by UNICEF figures, as at the time I became president.
“Over 80% of these children for which majority are known as Almajiri came from the northern part of Nigeria, where I recorded the least votes in the elections I contested.
“Knowing the value of education, I could see that the ugly situation was limiting the opportunities of these children and negatively affecting the development of my country. That was why my administration decided to build 165 Almajiri Integrated Model Schools which combined both western and Islamic education in its curricula.”
Jonathan added that his conscience guided him all through the period he held public office, adding that it was the major reason he decided to concede the election to President Muhammadu Buhari after losing in 2015.