StatiSense ® - Wale Micaiah ©

The

Longest

Serving

Minister of

Education (Between 1999 & 2013)

Education, remain the life-blood driving the

development of People, Nation and the World.

This is why we find a perfect correlation

between the level of development of the

aforementioned with the level of Education.

Because of its importance, it can therefore not be

taken for granted. Countries who understood

this have invested massively in ensuring their

Citizens have the opportunity to be educated.

They have institutionalised Education and taken

it to another level such that it has become a

critical element of Governance.

Similarly, governments with great foresight appoint

Educated (not necessarily schooled) individuals

who have demonstrated a level of personal and

private commitment to Education to lead the

Portfolio in their Cabinet.

Given all the necessary support, the Education

Ministry is responsibile for the recruitment and

production of great minds for the development of

the Nation. If a nation is Under-developed, check

how stable the Education system of that Nation is.

This presentation is about the Ministry/Minister of

Education between 1999 and 2013, their tenure in

office, the governing President, ASUU Strike, etc.

1999

2013

14 Years

3 Presidents

9 Ministers 10 Minister of State

The Presidents

Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 – 2007)

5 Ministers

Umaru Yar'adua (2007 – 2010)

2 Ministers

Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (2010 – till date)

1 Minister*

The Ministers Prof. Tunde Adeniran

Born in Ekiti State, Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 1945. A Political

Scientist and a product of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and

Columbia University in the city of New York, U.S.A. He was a staff

of the United Nations Organization in the mid-seventies and

taught in some American Universities before he took up

appointment at the University of Ibadan where he worked for

twenty years before he retired to go into Politics in 1998. June 1999 - Jan 2001

Made success of the Universal Basic Education scheme

Got Prof. Pai Obanya appointed the first Coordinator of the scheme

Came out with a policy banning satellite campuses

Abolished the discretional list in the admission pattern of universities

Laid the foundation for the establishment of the NOUN

Sought out and appointed Prof. Michael Omolewa as Ambassador of the

Delegation of Nigeria to UNESCO

1

The Ministers Prof. Babalola Borishade

Earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics from the University of Ife

in Nigeria, and attended Victoria University of Manchester, England,

and Texas A&M University in the United States. He also attended the

Training Centre for the International Atomic Energy Agency in

Vienna, Austria. Borishade is a member of the Institution of Electrical

Engineers of the United Kingdom and the American Nuclear Society.

He was an elected member of the Nigerian Constituent Assembly. Feb 2001- June 2003

Continued with most of Prof. Adeniran’s policies, strengthened the UBE.

Replaced Prof. Obanya with Prof Gidado Tahir

Enforced the ban on satellite campuses and promoted the interest of the

NOUN

Faced strike actions with ASUU provoked by the crisis at the University of

Ilorin in 2001 among others.

2

The Ministers Prof. Fabian Osuji

He has B.Sc. Zoology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1967); Ph.D,

University of Ibadan (1973) and Post Doctoral research at Imperial

College of Science & Technology, London; with over 35 publications.

Prior to his appointment as HME, Professor Osuji served as Imo State

Commissioner for information & Social Development (1994-1996),

Professor of Applied Biology, St. John’s University, New York (CUNY)

USA (1997-1999) and Pro- Chancellor, UNN (2000-2003). July 2003 - Mar2005

He was dismissed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in March 2005 followed

his indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for

allegedly offering N50 million ($400,000) in bribes to the National Assembly

to pass an inflated budget. Obasanjo announced the dismissal in a national

radio broadcast that implied his guilt.

After extended legal battles, on 1 June 2010 an Appeal Court sitting in

Abuja quashed all charges against Prof. Osuji.

3

The Ministers

Senator Liyel Imoke and Mrs. Halima Alao

both spent short periods, before Mrs.

Chinwe Obaji was appointed in June 2005

4

Liyel Imoke March 2005 to June 2005

The Ministers Dr. Chinwe Obaji

Chinwe Obaji is a higher education lecturer, teacher and

education administrator. From 1980 she was a lecturer and

administrator at Michael Okpara College of Agriculture,

Umuagwo, Imo State in Nigeria. After about 25 years of

service as a lecturer, Chinwe Obaji, was appointed the first

Nigerian female Education Minister June 2005 - June2006

Tried to resuscitate the Inspectorate Division of the Federal Ministry of Education

Started the one-meal-a-day project in some pilot primary schools across the country

She directed that Universities should administer the Post-UME to candidate students in an effort by

bypass the inefficiency of JAMB

In a meeting with NUC, JAMB pegged the Post-UME test fee at N1,000

In April 2006, detailed reforms to the design of the basic education system to ensure that every

Nigerian child at least has access to basic education

Set up a system of reprimanding parents who do not register their children for school, and started to

recruit 40,000 teachers for rural communities

She was probed by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over alleged corruption

She was appointed Professor of International Education at the Voorhees College in the USA starting in

2007

5

The Ministers Obiageli Ezekwesili

Obiageli Ezekwesili is a Nigerian chartered accountant. She

was a co-founder of Transparency International, serving as

one of the pioneer Directors of the global anti-corruption

body based in Berlin, Germany. Ezekwesili holds a Masters

in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of

Lagos, as well as a Masters of Public Administration from

the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University She

trained with the firm of Deloitte and Touche and qualified

as a Chartered Accountant.

June 2006 – Apr 2007

Changed how business was done at the Ministry

Passionately confronted corruption at the Federal Ministry of Education

She put an agenda together for all the levels, defined the problems, goals,

and the approach

raised a storm of her own with her proposal to privatize the Unity Schools

6

The Ministers Dr. Igwe Nwachukwu

Igwe Aja-Nwachuku (born March 31, 1952), graduated

from the university of Ibadan with a B.Sc. in Statistics, holds

an MBA Finance, an M.Sc. Statistics and a Ph.D. in

Economics. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in

Computer Science and Engineering.

June 2007 - Dec 2008

Believed to have lacked proper understanding of the dynamics of the

Ministry

Misled by the smart civil servants who wanted to achieve their selfish

aims.

7

The Ministers Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu

Sam Ominyi Egwu (born 20 June 1954), graduated with a

degree in Agriculture. Masters of Science and Ph. D. in

Agronomy. He was the former governor of Ebonyi State

between May 1999 and May 2007.

Dec 2008 – Mar 2010

His stay as education minister was characterized by ASUU (Academic Staff

Union of Universities) and other university union strikes. This led to people

demanding for his sack.*

Revived some old progressive policies and came up with a Roadmap for

Education

8

The Ministers Prof. Ruqqayat Rufai

Professor Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i (born c. 1958), She

obtained a B.Ed in History at the Bayero University, Kano in

1981, an MA in History from the same university in 1987

and PhD in Education from the West Virginia University,

USA in 1991. She was Commissioner for Health under the

military regime of General Sani Abacha between 1993 and

1996. She was promoted professor in 2003, and served as

Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in

Jigawa State.

Apr 2010 – Sept 2013

She said she was always ashamed when faced with the challenge of low

enrollment of the girl-child in Jigawa State, and found it difficult to explain

why the state could not enroll more girls in the schools.[2] She banned the use

of mobile phones in secondary schools due to their distracting influence

9

Education Ministers & Tenure Minister Tenure Start End

Ruqqayat Rufai 3yrs 5mth Apr 2010 Sept 2013

Sam Egwu 1yr 3mth Dec 2008 Mar 2010

Igwe Aja Nwachukwu 1yr 6mth June 2007 Dec 2008

Oby Ezekwesili 10mth June 2006 Apr 2007

Chinwe Obaji 1yr June 2005 June 2006

Liyel Imoke 3mth Mar 2005 June 2005

F. N. C. Osuji 1yr 8mth July 2003 Mar2005

Babalola Borishade 2yrs 4mth Feb 2001 June 2003

Tunde Adeniran 1yr 7mth June 1999 Jan 2001

Only Professor Borishade and Ruqqayat

spent over 2years as Minsters

ASUU Strike, Minister & President Year months Minister -in-Charge President

1999 3 Adeniran Obasanjo

2001 6 Borishade Obasanjo

2003 6 Borishade Obasanjo

2007 4 Ezekwesili Obasanjo

2008 0.5 Nwachukwu Yar’adua

2009 5 Egwu Yar’adua

2011 1 Ruqqayat Jonathan

2013 3+ Ruqqayat Jonathan

Professor Babalola Borishade as

Minister experienced a total of

12months of ASUU Strike

ASUU Strike, Minister & President

Obasanjo Yar’adua Jonathan

Adeniran

Borishade

Borishade

Ezekwesili

Nwachukwu

Egwu Ruqqayat

ASUU Strike: 1Year 10

Months

ASUU Strike: 5 Months

2 Weeks

ASUU Strike: 4 Months +

5 Ministers

in 8 Years

2 Ministers

in 2 Years

1 Ministers

in 3 Years +

In order to truly experience real change and an

end-to-end implementation of educational policies

and roadmaps, there is need for educational

governance and stable administrative continuity in

leadership at the ministry of education.

Ministers and their Minister of States need time to

conceive, sift and properly implement Policies that

would help drive the education sector. Ministerial

role should therefore go beyond political

appointment. Beside the passion to make

measurable, quantifiable and appreciable progress,

Government must also commit to establishing a

culture of continuity in leadership.

StatiSense ® - Wale Micaiah ©

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Data source:

Analysis by: Wale Micaiah

w. www.statisense.info

e: walegate@yahoo.com

b: walemicaiah.blog.com

m: 08078001800

Wikipedia.com

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