Date: 2018-03-13

The Vice-Chancellor of the Kwara State University, Malete, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na'Allah, has said that the institution is concerned about the growing insecurity in some parts of the country.

Speaking during the unveiling of the university's recently established Institute of Advanced Military Studies, the vice-chancellor said that KWASU had established the institute to contribute its quota to the ongoing search for a solution to insecurity in the country.

Na'Allah said the IAMS would provide the needed platform for intellectual discourse and analysis of the various security challenges in Nigeria and Africa.

He stated that the institute would be headed by a retired diplomat, who is also a former Chief of Office for the Consolidation of Democratic Governance of the United Nations Mission in Liberia, Dr. Ademola Araoye.

Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor of Alhikmah University, Ilorin, Prof. Taofeek Ibrahim and the Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State have said that functional, effective and efficient tertiary education is pivotal to addressing Nigeria's contemporary developmental challenges.

Ibrahim and El-Rufai spoke during the first public lecture of Al-Hikmah University in Ilorin, capital of Kwara State.

The lecture was themed, 'Governing justly: Perspectives from near and far with lessons for Nigeria.'

Both men agreed that good education would accelerate Nigeria's development.

Explaining why Nigeria was lagging behind other countries in the world in the Human Development Index, El-Rufai said, "Nigeria has consistently been ranked in the 122nd position out of about 189 countries in the Human Development Index since 2013. It has been behind other smaller African countries. The giant of Africa is Africa's 20th in human development ranking even in Africa, we occupy the 20th position and in the world, we are 152. Countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Botswana, and Tunisia, all of them are much smaller than Nigeria but consistently attain better ranking.

"Our poor ranking is not surprising. Our country is confronted with a legacy of high poverty, high illiteracy and a low standard of living, all stemming from bad governance over the decades."

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State, represented by the Secretary to the state government, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, spoke on the importance of education and knowledge sharing to enhance even development.