The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has delivered on almost 100 per cent of the promises he made during the 2023 presidential campaign, saying Nigeria is experiencing tangible changes and is “back, and back in a powerful way.”
Alausa made the declaration at the weekend in Abuja while receiving the outcomes of the 2025 Nigeria 2050: Child Foresight Analysis for Futures Literacy and Intergenerational Equity, a flagship initiative of the Anticipatory Governance and Foresight Capacity Programme of the Office of the Vice President, implemented with technical support from UNICEF.
The Child Foresight team members were led to the education minister’s office by its Director General Chris Ngwodo and Special Assistant on special Duties to the Vice President , Mohammed Ahmed.
The Minister said the findings of the Child Foresight Analysis were particularly significant for Nigeria because of the country’s youthful population, with about 70 per cent of its estimated 220 million people below the age of 30.
He said the size and composition of Nigeria’s population presented both a major opportunity and an urgent responsibility for government, stressing that the country must deliberately convert its youthful population into a demographic dividend through quality education, relevant skills, productive opportunities and long-term planning.
Alausa said the changes being witnessed under President Tinubu were not merely political rhetoric but were reflected in tangible reforms and outcomes across sectors, particularly in education.
“I can assure you of that one fact because today we have a President who is leading the country, managing this country from the front, with the highest level of integrity, commitment, patriotism and determination to change the face of this country,” he said.
“And these are not just rhetorics we are hearing now. These are things we are seeing, with a lot of tangible benefits and tangible change in the country.”
According to the Minister, three years into the Tinubu administration, Nigeria has moved beyond the uncertainty that previously characterised national development, with the government now focused on consolidating gains and addressing the areas where the country still has substantial ground to cover.
“The country is not at a crossroads again. We have a lot of catching up to do,” Alausa said.
He said the President’s commitment to education was particularly evident in the support provided to the Federal Ministry of Education to implement reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that education would remain central to the administration’s ambition of moving Nigeria towards a $1 trillion economy.
Alausa said the Nigerian Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI) was driving reforms across the entire education system, with priority attention to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), STEM education, teacher quality and quality assurance, reducing the number of children out of school, and strengthening education data and digitalisation.
He said the renewed emphasis on TVET was already changing the perception of technical education and creating new pathways for young Nigerians to acquire practical skills, pursue entrepreneurship, enter employment and continue to higher levels of education.
“Skills are the present and the future,” the Minister said, stressing that Nigeria could no longer afford an education system that did not adequately prepare young people for the realities of the modern economy.
He explained that technical education had once been an integral part of Nigeria’s education system, providing pathways for young people to become skilled workers, artisans, entrepreneurs and professionals, but had suffered decades of neglect and declining public confidence.
According to him, the Federal Government is now deliberately restoring technical and vocational education to the centre of the national education system because of its importance to employment, productivity and economic growth.
Alausa also linked the administration’s investment in medical education and professional training to efforts to address the skills shortages that have contributed to the migration pressures commonly referred to as “Japa”.
He recalled that Nigeria faced severe shortages of nurses and other health professionals despite having large numbers of young people seeking opportunities to study in those fields.
He said the government had responded by expanding access to nursing education and increasing training capacity within existing teaching hospitals, federal medical centres and specialist hospitals rather than relying solely on the construction of new institutions.
The Minister said the objective was to give more Nigerians the opportunity to acquire high-quality professional training at home while building a skilled workforce capable of competing internationally.
He said the same principle underpinned the broader education reforms, adding that young Nigerians must have access to the knowledge, skills and opportunities required to build productive lives in Nigeria and contribute to national development.
Alausa also highlighted the administration’s shift towards data-driven education planning, particularly in determining the actual number of out-of-school children in the country.
