The Etsu Nupe and the chairman of the Niger State Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has called on government at all levels to give priority to commercial education, where different skills will be taught, to de-emphasise the search for white-collar jobs after graduation.
The Etsu Nupe made the call at the official commissioning of a four-classroom block, offices, and modern toilets built by Sunti Sugar Company at the cost of N27 million and donated to Saint Mathias Anglican School in Kusogi community in Mokwa local government area of Niger state.
The traditional ruler who spoke through the Ndacheko Nupe, Alhaji Baiwa Mohammed, explained that after being exposed to commercial education right from the kindergarten level, graduates would be employers of labour rather than searching for white-collar jobs.
According to him: “I am also calling on all tiers of government, parents, and corporate organisations in the country to give priority to education as the surest and quickest way towards attaining rapid development of the nation.”
He also called on parents in the Kusogi Community to enrol their wards in the school to acquire Western education, while encouraging them to give priority to girl child education in order not to relegate them to the background in society.
He then commended the management of Sunti Sugar for its kind gesture to the community.
The general manager of Sunti Sugar Company, Anlo Du Pisani, explained in his remarks that the project was part of the corporate social responsibilities of the company towards developing its immediate constituency to ensure peaceful co-existence between the company and the community.
The chairman of Mokwa LGA, Alhaji Jibrin Abdullahi Muregi, after commissioning the project, directed the council’s Education Secretary to provide 50 chairs and tables to the school as well as approve the immediate deployment of teachers to the school to complement the efforts of the sugar company.