Why I initiated foreign scholarship scheme for northern youth – Deputy Senate President

The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, has said he initiated a foreign scholarship programme to address the backwardness of north-west Nigeria in education.

Mr Jibrin stated this while sending off 70 students, and his foundation is sponsoring them to study artificial intelligence (AI) and forensic and robotics science.

Addressing the beneficiaries at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, he said the initiative aims to address the gaps in the fields and fast-track the region’s and the country’s development.

“One of the areas that we have a problem in educating our youth is the northwestern part of this country. We have a youth population, which is an asset to us, but our problem is that they are not well-educated. And I feel that our number one solution to our problems is educating our youth.

“And we understand the importance of human capital. It’s key to the development of every nation. It’s in this regard that I feel that the best thing to do is to begin to educate, help, or complement what the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is doing in terms of giving access to indigent students, our youth who do not have the wherewithal, whose parents do not have the wherewithal to train them educationally.

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“For now, we are taking out about 70. But because of flight issues, this batch is going now. Then we are also going to increase. It’s going to be a yearly kind of arrangement,” Mr Jibrin stated.

He said plans are in place to help the students to become self-reliant and start their businesses after their studies.

Mr Jibrin also donated 200 dollars to each beneficiary – 65 males and five females.

Some persons in Jigawa posted photos of relatives in the programme while commending the lawmaker’s gesture.