The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has called for the restructuring of the country and the decentralisation of the economy for states to develop at their own pace.
Governor Makinde spoke on Thursday while receiving the University of Lagos Faculty of Engineering Alumni Association at the state secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
He said, “At the end of every month, we are all going to Abuja cap in hand and that has stuncted our growth, even the insecurity we are faced with and economic challenges. Yes, a restructured and decentralised country will not be fix-all solution but it will, at least, put us on that trajectory where we can start dealing with other issues at the local level.
“This is indeed a challenging period for us as a country across various sectors, education inclusive, and tertiary education cannot be left to the government alone. And it is also tied to our request for a restructured country. I remember in the late 70s, my eldest brother was leaving secondary school and going to the University.
“1977/78, you apply to various universities, you do their exams and then if you are qualified they put you in. Then we have JAMB for the entire country and then we started having grammar like ‘educationally disadvantaged’ and quota system’, ‘catchment area’ and all sorts of things, and what did that do for us? Basically, it arrested growth in that sector.”
According to him, with the NUC and TETFUND, everything had become centralised adding that that is why many are asking for a decentralised structure for the country, “so that certain people can develop at their own pace without all of us having to go to Abuja, even in terms of the FAAC.”
Earlier in his address, the National President of the Faculty of Engineering Alumni Association, Dideolu Falobi, lauded the governor for his developmental programmes.
