Sun. Feb 16th, 2025

New executives has emerged to pilot the affairs of the Civil Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA) for the next two years says Mallam Kabiru Aliyu,the outgoing National Moderator of the organisation.

Aliyu , who was speaking at the Annual General Forum (AGF) of the organisation in Abuja on Thursday, called for increase in education budget to improve on the country’s human capital development.

The forum has the theme “Strengthening Civil Society Engagement and Coalition Building’’.

Seven members emerged as new leaders to steer the ship of the organisation .

They are Mr Babatunde Omole, National Moderator, Mr Salihu Abba, Mr Duke Ogbureke, Mrs Eunice Egbuna, Mr Abdullahi Sale, and Mr Adamu Babale as board members.

While charging the new executives to build on the legacy of the organisation, Aliyu Icalled on them to sustain the objectives and vision on the organization in ensuring quality education for all.

“ We can beat our chest and say we have done a lot. From what you have seen, it is not business as usual. We have moved from Nigeria to West Africa and to the entire Africa continent to hold strategic positions.

“We were able to penetrate states to make sure we are part of education stakeholders and our voices were heard, so that is an achievement.

“ My advice for new executives is to take it from where we left it and to do more than what we have done and we are ready to support them.’’

On the recent abduction of school children from Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Aliyu explained that education for all was a collective responsibility that must be addressed.

“ People see education as the responsibility of government. We are the government, we have been advocating that children should go back to school and they are going back.

“So let us start telling ourselves the truth, let’s start providing security information to the security apparatus and let the security apparatus energise and provide the security that is needed.

“If this is not done, it will further increase the number of out of school children. But if you have education right and put in place the right apparatus like education budget, security will be right,’’ he said.

Similarly, Dr Chukwudi Ihenacho, Executive Director, Educational Co-operation Society, called on the new executives to begin to push for the goal of education that would enable ever Nigerian child get not just quality but free education.

Ihenacho explained that for education to get its root, there was need to dissociate politics from education.

“ The new executives must derive their strength from the strength of the coalition. They must pool along the same line especially in markets of policy and advocacy and these are the areas that will help education.

“ We have basically achieved some of the goals which have now been transferred to MDGs and now SDGs to get Nigeria to increase their annual budget for education.

“ We have also pushed for states to reevaluate their budget performance to make the nation to be able to pay attention to the voiceless children who are not able to get education.’’

Also, Mr Nathaniel Adamu, Acting Policy Advisor of the organization charged the executives to focus more on the overall objectives and mission of CSACEFA through quality and compulsory education.

Adamu said that this could only be achieved through collaborations with other stakeholders to strengthen advocacy for transformational development.

CSACEFA is the National Education Coalition (NEC) in Nigeria, established in 2000 to coordinate the activities of other education stateholders with members in the 36 states including the FCT.

It started with 40 members in 2000 and by 2020, has 737 members skilled in policy issies, project management and community mobilisation.

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