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A frontline lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Hon( Prof) Paul Sunday Nnamchi has identified the provision of affordable education as a priority focus of his legislative agenda while calling for urgent steps to be taken to alleviate the plight of ASUU lecturers whose eight months salary were withheld since 2022 for taking part in the association’s strike action .
According to Hon Paul Nnamchi who represents Enugu East/ Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency of Enugu State: “l was Head of the Department of Bio-Medical Engineering in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, my background is in the educational sector. So the provision of affordable education is a key plank of my legislative agenda and in this regard l have provided scholarships to over 250 students in my federal constituency.
” Coming from that background l have to go the whole hog to ensure that the educational sector is accessible to my people as much as possible. Education is also one of my cardinal points and l feel it will benefit anyone no matter your vocation or occupation. If you are a businessman you cannot do without a good education and whether you are rich or poor, education is also very important. You must have that basic education because if you are a masters or PhD holder, the first thing people want to know is what you studied not, where or when it was obtained.
“So educational empowerment is crucial especially in uplifting the downtrodden and bringing them at par with others that are socially or financially more advantaged. Indeed my passion for education goes beyond my educational background as my father died when l was in JSS1, so furthering my education was not an easy ride. When my mother finished training me in secondary school, l trained myself in university and it was not an easy undertaking. My masters and Ph.D were done in the Netherlands and Britain, respectively. I came back during the Obasanjo regime because the President encouraged some of us working abroad to come back, some came back only to run back overseas because they were frustrated by their colleagues who felt they came back to take over their jobs. I came back to Nigeria because there is no place like home and no matter how comfortable you are abroad, there is something missing when you are not in your own country.”
A compassionate Hon Paul Nnamchi also called for ASUU members plight to be addressed as many of them are contributing their quota to the development of the nation: “l have decided to come back to Nigeria to contribute my own quota to see that Nigeria is transformed to the El-Dorado of our dreams. No matter how small your contribution, it is still significant and will go a long way to develop the nation even though you may not realize that now.
“For instance, Anthony Enahoro on the day he moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence was not sure that it will see the light of day but eventually it came to pass and became the tiny drops of water that maketh an ocean. So we must contribute our own quota to national development no matter how small it may be.
“Take for instance, ASUU members whose eight months salary were been held due to no work no pay rule and nobody is concerned about it. We must realise that nobody will teach well when he or she is hungry as nobody can offer his best when he is not happy or is disgruntled. Honestly we cannot afford to sweep the lecturers’ plight under the carpet, because our children or the students will be the one to suffer it at the end. If the lecturers are hungry they will not go out of their way to help as they should. “
Hon Paul Nnamchi further called for a re-orientation in national policy framework where we can see fundamental human rights as a right not a privilege and not a right. Basic Education is a fundamental human right of our people and should not be seen as a privilege because it is not .
“At the moment we still see it as a privilege and once you see something as a privilege, you automatically feel you are offering the people what they do not deserve. Thank God the present administration is thinking in that direction. “
Hon. Nnamchi also pointed out that Provision of infrastructure in his area is another priority area of his legislative agenda. And so will do his best to ensure infrastructural development, the siting of key projects and the rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure in his constituency.
