By Toby Prince
In the very words of Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
This same view was echoed by Malcolm X, who asserted that “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
While these quotes capture the essence of education as a tool for personal growth, societal change, and empowerment, they perhaps informed Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila's drive towards leveraging legislative representation as a viable tool for societal reconfiguration and educational reformation.
Today, the facts, as they say, speak for themselves.
Indeed, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila is no stranger to lawmaking. He has been making positive impact and driving national development for several years through effective legislation.
Fundamentally, Chief Femi has been instrumental in the sponsorship of numerous and wide-ranging Bills, with many already passed into law. During the 9th Assembly, as an astute and patriotic legislator, he sponsored a number of people-oriented Bills within his first year.
Notable among those Bills were the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act (Amendment) Bill 2019, the Emergency Economic Stimulus Bill 2020 (Quarantine Act (Repeal and Re-enactment) Bill 2020), and the Nigeria Local Content Development and Enforcement Bill, 2020.
Instrumentally, he also sponsored a number of Constitution alteration Bills, such as the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill 2019, the Physically-Challenged (Empowerment) Bill 2019, and the Presidential (Transition) Bill 2019.
Others include the Labour Act (Amendment) Bill 2019, the Employees (Unpaid Wages Prohibition) Bill 2019, and the Federal Highways Act (Amendment) Bill 2019.
Although it did not see the light of day at the time, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila in 2016 first introduced what is known as the Students Loans (Access to Higher Education) Bill, later adding security-focused legislation such as the Armed Forces Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 and the Police Act (Amendment) Bill 2021.
Very few Nigerians, especially those outside certain circles, are aware that Rt. Hon. Femi was instrumental in the establishment of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps through his sponsorship of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps Act (Amendment) Bills 2021.
An ardent anti-corruption fighter, he introduced the EFCC Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, the ICPC Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, along with the Customs and Excise Management Act (Amendment) Bill 2021, the ECOWAS Small Arms Convention (Ratification and Enforcement) Bill 2021, and the National Security Agencies Act (Amendment) Bill 2021.
A committed social justice and security advocate, he pushed for the empowerment and reinvigoration of the Armed Forces through the Armed Forces of Nigeria Trust Fund Bill 2021.
Irked by the funding deficit in the agricultural value chain, Rt. Hon. Femi sponsored the National Agricultural Development Fund Bill 2021.
An objective patriot, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila sponsored the South West, North Central, North West, and South East Development Commission Bills 2021. He was also the first to design a technologically driven archive and study centre for the National Assembly, through the establishment of a National Assembly Library by sponsoring the National Assembly Library Trust Fund Bill 2021.
Rt. Hon. Femi's diverse legislative inputs, with solid impacts, also include contributions to the reformation of the health sector, sponsoring legislations such as the National Electronic Health Record System Bill, and strong advocacy for the amendment of the NAFDAC Act to include provisions for a Nigeria Food Safety and Hygiene Surveillance Corps, as well as an amendment to the National Health Act of 2014—laws he believed were obsolete.
Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila's legislative impact is made even more profound by his flagship sponsorship of the Student Loan Scheme.
The bill, first introduced in 2016 and signed into law in June 2023, created the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, offering interest-free loans to indigent students in public tertiary institutions.
It covers tuition, textbooks, and other essential fees, with repayment starting two years after employment, thereby easing the financial burden on families across the country. It has greatly mitigated the difficulties faced by both students and parents in the pursuit of higher education in the country.
Through the introduction of the Student Loan Fund, the pursuit of education has become accessible and inclusive for all citizens, without discrimination of any kind and the elimination of socioeconomic barriers.
Weaving an intricate tapestry of national governance and influencing rapid catalytic social change, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila, through a confluence of insightful and visionary leadership, has, by his initiative and resilience, eliminated the harsh financial conditions that precariously remained a stumbling block to the pursuit of education by millions of Nigerians.
He has also brought enduring substantial leverage, solace, and a sustainable financial lifeline to millions of families, resonating renewed hope.
His visionary reform initiative through the Students Loan Fund implicates all conversations surrounding the entire educational sector, changing narratives from 'whether' a child should go to school to 'how' the country can consistently fund an all-inclusive higher education, making Rt. Hon.
Femi a beacon and cornerstone of definitive equity, a reason for assured skills for future generations of Nigeria, and a vanguard for predictable development for a prosperous Nigeria.
His paradigm shift in educational funding—where the burden of payment is on the government—underscores the socialist posture of the All Progressives Congress and aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Tinubu administration, as it also makes way for more citizens to pursue higher-quality education, devoid of the constraints of inordinate financial demands, ensuring that education, in the context of the President Tinubu-led government, becomes instead of a privilege a fundamental right accessible to all, thereby emboldening the concept of free higher education.
His dedication and strong commitment resonate with the imperatives of education as a cornerstone of national development, the empowerment of future generations, and a necessary tool for fostering accountability, responsibility, and patriotism, while ensuring the elimination of vices and insecurity.
The involvement of university authorities in the entire process is not just industrious and innovative but reawakens a stronger sense of responsibility, while students become direct stakeholders in the education project, demystifying any hidden agenda in the training of Nigerian children and promoting adaptive synergy.
To mitigate the risk of default in a high-unemployment environment such as ours, the law has introduced inbuilt, workable, time-tested safeguards, recovery mechanisms, and phased repayment schedules, implementable only after the graduand is employed.
Presently, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila has become a defining force in Nigeria's education reform, and his Student Loan Act is the flagship of that legacy.
The impact is not just visible but far-reaching, with the consensus that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) is successful, given the disbursement of over N161 billion to more than 864,000 students, with over 1.3 million applications recorded, showing massive demand and a growing sense of hope for access to higher education.
The 2024 amendment removed the stringent family income cap and guarantor requirements, expanded the scope to include living expenses (upkeep allowances), and introduced loan forgiveness in cases of death or misfortune, making the scheme more inclusive and humane.
Regionally, the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has recorded unbiased impact, with disbursements reaching institutions nationwide.
The North has been among the biggest beneficiaries, while the South East has lagged in some cases due to verification delays in certain institutions. The South West and South South have seen appreciable disbursements, with leading universities recording substantial allocations for thousands of students.
Aside from NELFUND, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila has been a consistent advocate for girl-child education and higher academic standards for public officers. His aim is to eliminate mediocrity from public offices and entrench standardization capable of leading to holistic development.
Consequently, he has promoted the Back to School JumpStart, a digital learning initiative that provides laptops, tablets, and sanitation tools to various schools in Surulere and other zones.
Certainly, Rt. Hon. Gbajabiamila is a beacon of educational renaissance, whose advocacy goes far beyond granting just loans to students but creating a desirable ambience for learning—such as improving educational infrastructure, enhancing teacher training and retraining, and increasing sustained funding for the sector—all leading to a robust and more holistic transformation that aligns with 21st-century global benchmarks.
Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila's leadership inspires confidence that our nation, in all areas of national development, is capable of navigating the complexities of implementing any ambitious program successfully, thereby redefining the future prospects of the country and our perspectives.
*Prince writes from Abuja
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