Novel ideas I introduced were abandoned after I left office – Jonathan

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said some of his ideas were jettisoned after his exit from office.

Jonathan, who was President from 2010 to 2015, said this during the Founder’s Day Colloquium to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, on Friday.

The colloquium, with the theme, “Re-Imagining Tertiary Education for Africa’s Present and Future Reality”, was held at the university’s main auditorium.

While recalling that women were admitted into the Nigeria Defence Academy, Jonathan said he faced serious challenges but had his way as the president of the country.

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“I recall the challenges faced by women in the military. But as President, I directed that the Nigeria Defence Academy commence admission of women into the institution.

“However some of the ideas, which could have helped in the technological development of the country were jettisoned,” he said.

The ex-President also called for the recalibration of the nation’s educational system to focus more on technology and innovation.

While describing the focus on acquiring only certificates as damaging to the economy, he stressed that the attitude should be discouraged by emphasizing knowledge and skills acquisition to produce graduates that would pilot the economy.

He said: “I want to congratulate the founder of this university and say that because of the success of the university, successive governments gave licences to other private universities to operate.

“There is always resistance when one starts something new, but with your commitment and dedication, your efforts in the last 25 years are commendable.

“All founders of private universities in Nigeria need to celebrate you for opening the door for them.”

He thanked God for using the former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsami Abubakar, to bring democracy to the country.

Also speaking, Abubakar, who was instrumental in the establishment of the university, said Igbinedion University had immensely contributed to the growth and development of Nigeria in almost every sector.

He congratulated the Chancellor and Founder of the university, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, for the foresight to pursue a private university license 25 years ago.

Deputy Pro-Chancellor of the university, Lucky Igbinedion, who spoke on behalf of the Pro-Chancellor, and Founder of the university said 25 years after, the effort of establishing the institution had paid off with the springing up of more private universities in the country.

The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the university, Prof. Lawrence Ezemonye, disclosed that students of the institution were exposed to entrepreneurial and skills acquisition modules.

“At 25, it is significant to note that the brilliant exploits of our Blue-sky graduates in their various fields of endeavour across the globe evidenced the quality of our products,” he added.