By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta
The Senator representing Ogun Central Senatorial District, Shuaibu Afolabi Salisu, has reaffirmed his commitment to education, describing it as the most enduring form of empowerment and a foundation for individual and societal development.
Salisu spoke in Abeokuta, Ogun State, during the distribution of educational materials to senior secondary school students and beneficiaries of the SAS Scholarship Scheme in Ogun Central Senatorial District.
The event was held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta.
The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, said his passion for education was shaped by his personal experience and the opportunities it had afforded him throughout his life.
Recalling an experience in 1980, when the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, Abeokuta, had recently commenced operations, Salisu said he represented his school, Oke Ona High School, through its Literary Society, on a programme aired by the station.
According to him, the experience prompted his parents to encourage him to take his education more seriously.
“My dad said to me, ‘Young man, you are doing fine. You must do better than me in life. Education has taken you to NTA, a place where I do not hope to be at any time. You must focus on your education.’
“My mum said, ‘I’m so proud of you. Whatever you are sure you are doing right, don’t be afraid to be different.’”
Salisu said the advice from his parents reinforced his belief that education was the surest route to personal advancement and meaningful participation in society.
“And I knew that the only passport to development, the only passport to being part of society, is through education,” he said.
Reflecting on his career, which has spanned the banking and multinational sectors as well as public service, the senator said his experiences had further strengthened his conviction about the transformative power of education.
“Today, I have had the opportunity to work in the private sector. I worked in four banks, leading technology and operations. I worked in multinationals. I worked in this state as Chief of Staff. I am now a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“So, I sometimes wonder: where would I have been? What could have been my fate without education?”
The lawmaker said he would continue to invest in education even when the impact might not translate into immediate political recognition.
“For those who are still asking why the obsession with education, know that the obsession with education is because, when every other thing that is ephemeral has disappeared, when the applause has died down, education remains,” he said.
He expressed the hope that beneficiaries of his education initiatives would eventually become leaders and sources of empowerment in their families and communities.
“These are the true forms of empowerment, and I’m going to continue doing this even if it doesn’t appear to be popular in the short run.”
Salisu said the long-term impact of the programme remained more important to him than the immediate number of beneficiaries.
“My hope and prayer is that, in the four years of my first tenure, if only 50 per cent of those 4,000 beneficiaries cross over, that will be 2,000 people. Even if only 20 per cent cross over, that will be 800.
“If I produce 800 graduates from different families, they become key sources of empowerment in their various communities and in society. They will become embodiments of all we represent in Ogun Central.”
He acknowledged that other forms of empowerment could cost less but said his personal conviction was that education offered more lasting benefits.
“I am not unaware that I could have bought something else with this money and presented it as a form of empowerment. I know that would even be cheaper for me to do than this.
“But my late mum told me again, ‘Once you are convinced you are doing the right thing, just keep at it.’
“I believe this is the right thing, and I’ll keep at it.”
The senator also linked his interventions in information and communication technology to his broader education agenda, saying ICT skills had become essential in the modern economy.
“So, for my people in Ogun Central Senatorial District, I will continue to prioritise education. I will continue to prioritise ICT skills. I will continue to prioritise youth development,” he said.
“By the grace of God, when I come back, you haven’t seen anything yet. I would have become a ranking senator, and I would become even more committed to education,” he said.
Describing himself as the son of a transporter and a petty trader, the senator urged students from modest backgrounds not to allow their present circumstances to limit their ambitions.
“I am a proud product of a transporter father and a petty-trader mother,” he said, urging the beneficiaries to remain focused on their education and believe in their potential.
Speaking at the event, Ogun State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Abayomi Arigbabu, reaffirmed the commitment of the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration to improving the quality of education in the state.
Arigbabu urged the senator to sustain his support for learners, stressing that education remained one of the most valuable forms of empowerment.
Also speaking, the Speaker of the Ogun State House of Assembly, Oludaisi Elemide, likened the initiative to planting a seed whose value would become evident when the beneficiaries grew into successful adults.
Elemide said educational empowerment could provide people with a substantial foundation for success, urging the students to make judicious use of the opportunity and give back to society when they became successful.
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