Children Of The Poor Will Chase Us Out If We Don’t Send Them To School — Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has warned against neglecting the education of poor children.

He stated that this could lead to social upheaval that would consume the rich.

Tinubu stated this at a roundtable on northern Nigerian youth development in Abuja on Tuesday.

“We can afford to send our wards to private schools, but the children of the poor that we leave behind will certainly chase us out of this land,” he said.

Tinubu, represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, urged Northern leaders to address the region’s educational challenges with urgency.

The event was organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation with the theme ‘Empowering the Next Generation: Strategies for Sustainable Youth Development in Northern Nigeria’.

“Whatever disrupts the growth of one region sets back the entire nation.

“Unless we as leaders wear our thinking caps and come up with robust solutions to Northern Nigeria’s problems, it is not beyond us. It is not rocket science; we can do it.

“This is why we prioritise initiatives such as the Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Commission, which collaborates with all levels of government to ensure that every child has access to quality education.

“For the dividends of democracy to reach every corner of our nation, we must empower local governments to serve as pipelines of governance.

“This is why we have prioritised Local Government Autonomy, enabling them to receive their full entitlements and improve primary education funding.

“But governance is a shared responsibility, and citizens must hold their leaders accountable to ensure that every child is given a fighting chance,” Tinubu said.

He urged Northerners, especially the youth, to imbibe the spirit of tolerance, work, and worship as embraced by the late Sardauna of Sokoto.

He said that the energy, creativity, and ingenuity of Nigerian youth offer the chance to not only transform Nigeria but also to lead Africa into a new era of growth and innovation.