By Obike Ukoh
There appear to be no end to the penchant by politicians to send their children abroad for academic studies.
Ordinarily, it is not a crime for one to send the child or ward abroad for academic studies.
But it is reprehensible, unfair and unpatriotic, for a Governor to establish a University, deliberately underfund it, and turn round to send his children or wards abroad, instead of the University he built.
It is indeed disdain for national institution.
It could be likened to one building a house, he or she has no intention of living in , or selling a product you hate.
In 2016, when Aljazeera’s Dennis Martine asked Buhari why his children were schooling in foreign lands and not in Nigerian universities, his response was: “Because I can afford it.”
At that time, then Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, among many past Nigerian top office holders responsible for running the Country, had their children in foreign universities, and in some cases, Primary and Secondary schools.
From public records, late President Buhari has eight children, five of them schooled in the United Kingdom.
They attended prestigious Universities: Buckingham University, University of Plymouth, University of Leicester and University of Surrey.
While he was in office, Osinbajo celebrated his son, Fiyinfunoluwa graduation from Warwick University on social media.
The trend is continuing. Recently, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike travelled to the United Kingdom with members of his family and political associates to attend his son’s graduation at King’s College, London.
His travel outside the country coincided with the strike of workers of the FCT, protesting over poor working conditions.
Wike announced the “feat’’ achieved by his son on his facebook page. He wrote: “ Grateful to God for giving me, my wife and children the opportunity to be available to share with my son, Joaquin, his moment of joy as he earned M.Sc degree in Management and Technology Change at King’s College, London.
“I thank my friends, Governor of Adamawa Umaru Fintiri, Mao Ohuabunwa,’’ among others for the presence at the occasion.
Even before the celebration of Joaquin’s graduation, Wike earlier did that for Jordan, who bagged a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from Queen Mary University, London.
At that time, Wike was criticized for sending his son abroad to study law, and was reminded about his opinion on sending Nigerians abroad to study certain Courses.
Wike said inter alia in a video:“Some of these courses you don’t need to send Nigerians abroad, why do you send someone who wants to study English overseas? Why do you send someone who wants to study economics overseas.
“Why do you want to send someone who wants to study law overseas? When you know we have very good faculties in these areas in Nigeria Universities.
“If we desire to send people overseas, it must be in very peculiar areas, like engineering, agriculture, medicine and ICT.”
The event was attended by Jordan’s family, as well as other Nigerians such as Okezie Ikpeazu, former governor of Abia State, and Philip Aduda, a former Senator.
Nigerians slammed Wike for his hypocrisy, and decried lack of faith by political leaders, in the country’s education system; the same system they were elected to improve.
They pointed out that the troubling hypocrisy is not only disappointing, but also undermines the credibility of Nigerian Universities.
“If our leaders and their families cannot patronise Nigerian institutions, what message does that send to the outside world,’’ they queried.
“I’m not surprised with the video; they preach what they don’t do”, Hameed Muritala, a development consultant noted.
“One can only hope that incidents like Wike’s own will inspire a renewed commitment among our leaders to transform the nation’s educational institutions and restore trust in the system”.
Many Nigerians, who reacted to the video on social media, said it is a display of lack of sincerity on what governance is about by political leaders in the country, because many of them preach what they don’t do.
Similarly, other Nigerians said it is not a surprise to see the FCT Minister talking with two mouths, noting that is one of the characteristics of an average Nigerian political elite.
“Is it not only Wike?, nearly all of them have their children schooling abroad, that’s one of the characteristics of an average Nigerian political elite. It is sad really, that is why they are not funding education here”, Tope Olusegun said on Twitter, formerly X.
Also reacting to Jordan Wike’s foreign education, human rights activist and convener of the #RevolutionNow movement, Omoyele Sowore, lambasted Wike for celebrating his son’s graduation in the UK.
Sowore, a former presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC), knocked the Minister for serving as education minister in Nigeria for four years and failing to build a school good enough for his children to study.
He said it was a “shame” that Wike failed to leave a legacy behind in the education sector despite serving as Rivers State governor for eight years, local government chairman for two terms and currently as the FCT Minister.
According to Sowore, “You were governor for eight years in Rivers State, one of Nigeria’s wealthiest state.
“You couldn’t build a single school where your children could earn a Master’s in Law. What a Crying Shame!
“Nyesom Wike was ex-local government chairman (two terms), ex-Minister of Education (4 years), ex-Governor of Rivers State (two terms-8 years), and current FCT Minister yet Wike could not build a school good enough to send his children to study, he needs to send them to UK schools.”
Like Wike, Nigeria’s Minister of Works, David Umahi, celebrated his daughter’s graduation with First Class honours from a university in the United Kingdom.
The news circulated on social media, drawing mixed reactions from Nigerians, many of whom took the moment to reflect on the contradictions of Nigeria’s political elite.
The announcement, was overshadowed by a flood of online criticisms. Nigerians, especially those familiar with Umahi’s tenure as governor of Ebonyi State, questioned the morality and sincerity behind the celebration of private academic success abroad, while public education systems at home remain underfunded and neglected.
“This is the same man that slashed teachers’ salaries in Ebonyi State,” one user wrote in reaction to the news.
“The same man that refused to invest in public education,” another comment added. These sentiments reflect a growing sense of betrayal among the populace, particularly educators and students who struggle daily in dilapidated classrooms without access to modern learning tools or well-trained teachers.
The commentators noted that during Umahi’s administration in Ebonyi, several policy decisions, including the controversial reduction in teachers’ wages and the alleged increase in fees at the state-owned Ebonyi State University (EBSU), were met with protests from students and civil society groups.
Many now see his daughter’s academic achievement abroad as a stark representation of systemic failure and misplaced priorities.
One user wrote: “Every day we watch politicians’ children getting the best quality of life at the expense of our deteriorating quality of life. I hope they do better.”
Others were quick to point out the recurring pattern among Nigerian politicians who routinely send their children abroad for schooling, even as they fail to improve the country’s public education sector.
“They never take their people seriously,” said another comment. “They only see them as means to make fraudulent money to train their wards outside the Country.”
This trend, according to analysts, is not merely an act of privilege but a deliberate evasion of responsibility. When political leaders avoid the same public systems they manage, be it education or healthcare, it becomes impossible to expect sincere investment or reform.
Another user described the development as callous: “He starved public education at home, but ensured quality abroad for his own. When leaders fail the system and escape it, the poor are left to suffer. It’s not just painful, it’s wicked.”
Former Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof Peter Okebukola, maintained that half of the problems bedeviling Nigeria’s educational system would be solved if the Country engages quality teachers, provide good welfare scheme for them and stop treating them like “Libya slaves’’.
He lamented that the nation’s education system will continue to grope in the dark and national development will fall deep into an abysmal pit until the right things are done to elevate the sector.
“Over the last eight years, studies have shown conclusively that the master key, which opens the intricate door to quality education is the teacher; the success story is the quality training and welfare of teachers.
Osita Ogbu, a Professor of Economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said the problem with Nigeria is that we have constructed a deep-rooted rentier political economy, exploited by a rentier political class and a rentier entrepreneurial” class.
Fueled by oil money, without national ethos and any pretense of accountability, underpinned by a warped sense of patriotism, and the absence of leaders willing and capable to make the necessary sacrifices to moderate the exploitative class, the nation falls deeper and deeper into crisis.
“In a rentier economy, the mutuality and unanimity upon which citizenship is built are eroded as our ethnic identity takes preeminence over our national identity.
“Access thumps merit and unproductive activities, including thuggery and rascality, are shamelessly rewarded.
“In a rentier economy, honesty is not the best policy; ability, treacherously, becomes a disability; whom you know is more important than what you know as productivity is not the acceptable measure of performance.
“In a rentier economy, democracy is undermined because elections, especially intra-party elections, are not just treated as transactions, but as auctions to be delivered by the “godfathers” to the highest bidder or one whose antecedents suggests that citizens welfare and rights would be subverted in order to service the chieftains.
“In a rentier economy, you witness the sheer dishonesty, deceit, indecency, corruption, selfishness, short-sightedness, elite-jealousy and the absence of accountability that characterize the political and the leadership recruitment process; and the loss of values and the sham our democracy has become.
“And many see it as a game, played without rules, without order, and without consequences. Where brawn wins over brain”. This is a time when all the indices of development for Nigeria, education inclusive, are all heading south-ward, with Nigeria characterized as one of the worst places to be born presents us an opportunity for soul-searching and deep reflections.
But where are the citizens to engage in these arduous tasks, when those expected to do the repairs are already soaked in the trend of sending their children and wards abroad, the queried and lamented.
The Nigeria’s situation is pathetic.
Umahi, who glorifies his children graduating from foreign University, studied Civil engineering at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, a state-owned University.
Also, Wike whose two sons are now graduates of two United Kingdom universities, read law at the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, also state-owned.
What actually went wrong with Nigerian universities, that they are no longer befitting to our present political gladiators? Why the disdain?
They know the answer, and very regrettable that Nigeria has large army of transactional politicians, who see public office not as platform for service, but as vehicle for personal ennoblement.
