One public institution that has been silently taking giant strides in the
past one year is the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and it is
more than mere coincidence that the spike in the positive impacts of the
fund came with the tenure of its incumbent Executive Secretary, the Prof.
Suleiman Saidu Bogoro
Like its precursor, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) as ably led by the
President Muhammadu Buhari in those days, which made tremendous
contributions to education, TETFUND under Professor Bogoro has
demonstrated what is possible given the right political will. The past one
year has seen the
fund made progress that an organisation can only make under a leadership that
is amenable to change. The high point here is that the Professor had already
whipped up a micro version of the larger change that is today sweeping across
the country with the installation of a new government.
In a not too distant past, the various special funds for education – or
for other sectors, were at best dismal in the perception Nigerians have of
them. A lot of these funds operate the most opaque regimes for bodies that
were specifically set up to addressed identified shortcomings in the
education sector. There were some that were so twisted that even the
National Assembly invoking its investigative powers was never able to
unravel the complex and knotty corruption that have taken roots in such
places.
This has, fortunately, not been the case with re—born TETFUND, which has
given hope to Nigerians that great things happen when the right leadership
is in place.
This apparently explains why several groups have hailed the leadership of
Professor Bogoro as well as testifying to the impact of TETFUND under his
watch. Anecdotic testimonials by such groups indicate that there have been
visible improvements in Nigeria’s tertiary schools as evident in the
renovation, upgrade and construction of critical infrastructure. Others
have identified overall improvement of the environment in which students
study. Interestingly, several media reports have validated the assessments
made by these organisations and given that media organizations are
thorough in arriving at their reports then one can safely accept that
great things have really happened at the fund.
The growth and improvement in infrastructure is only rivalled by the
capacity building for staff of tertiary institutions in the country. The
implication of this is that those entrusted with educating our youths are
themselves now being empowered. This move is one in the right direction
because it would have been pointless building, renovating and furnishing
structures while those who churn out the products remain mentally stuck in
the 90s. It is thus remarkable that this aspect was not overlooked by
TETFund.
Within the fund, a Research and Development Centre has been established
within the short time that Bogoro has been in charge. This speaks volume
of a man who is committed and dedicated to excellence. It is a
re-assertion of the primacy of research in the contemporary world.
Such attention to details extends even to other decisions that Professor
Bogoro has taken as the helmsman of the fund. He seamlessly keyed into the
change agenda of the incumbent government and the fund is kind of already
moving in the direction that is desirable to Nigerians and in tune with
the policy drive of government. The kind of changes taking place at
Nigerians tertiary schools courtesy of TETFund is the kind that will once
again make our institutions attractive to prospective students who will
likely no longer have to spend billions of naira paid as school fees that
in turn power the economies of other countries to the detriment of
Nigeria.
Whatever Professor Bogoro did to turn TETFund around should be studied and
properly articulated with a view to making related agencies and
organisations see what they can adapt for implementation in their own
sphere.
The Professor must however realise that the kind of ovations following his
achievements will only lead the people to demand more action. He must thus
continually dip into his bag of ideas to come up with further innovations
that can make Nigeria into an education destination, not just for the
African continent but for the whole world.
He must also watch out for those who could attempt to drag him into
needless confrontations aimed at distracting the change taking place at
TETFund. This has happened to trailblazers in the past and it is something
the country cannot afford to happen at this critical juncture when the
preponderance of desire is to see the key institutions of the land reboot
into functional modes for development.
So, like Oliver Twist, one must ask for more. Professor Bogoro must
sustain the tempo he has started with at TETFund, but this is a given. The
actual demand one must make of this erudite scholar is that he must take
TETFund to places. He should demonstrate to Nigerians that institutions
can excel. And for this we will be grateful to him.
Agbese is an anti corruption crusader and Public affairs commentator
based in Abuja.