If Elected President In 2023, #Osinbajo To Reduce Out-Of-School Children By 5.25 Million—-According to The Whistler, Four days after Vice President Yemi Osinbajo officially declared his intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, there are indications that he would implement policies that will reduce the number of out-of-school children by half in his first four years on office.
This is based on a document titled “The Plan” which highlighted some of the policies and programmes that Osinbajo would implement if he eventually emerge as Nigeria’s President in 2023.
The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) had said that 10.5 million children are out-of-school in Nigeria, which is the highest rate in the world.
If the projection contained in the document is anything to go by, then it means that the VP may be pulling about 5.25 million children back to the classrooms.
The document which was seen by THE WHISTLER, Monitored by The Genius Media, showed that as President, Osinbajo intends to reduce the number of out-of-school children in four years through existing programmes.
This is expected to be achieved through investments in the development of practical, creative and innovative skills for young Nigerians.
It is being projected that this would be the catalyst for Nigeria’s emerging knowledge economy.
The document stated that Osinbajo would also review and implement policies that will provide a strong foundation for young Nigerians in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics and other related skills.
This would help in positioning them for digital and economic realities currently and in the future.
The document further added that if elected President in 2023, Osinbajo will expand and accelerate teacher training, improve school infrastructure and expand the number of classrooms across the country.
In the area of Skills and Human Capital Development, the document explained that Osinbajo will increase opportunities for young people to acquire work experience to increase their chances of finding long term work.
“He will expand the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme to ensure that at least 40,000 graduates can acquire one year’s paid work experience in the private and public sector.
“He will provide sustainable financing options to digital and creative sector skills and talent providers across the country,establish one Digital and Creativity Sector Skills Centre of Excellence per State.
“Each centre of excellence will be a collaboration between private sector implementation experts and an institution of higher learning, with a capacity to train a minimum of 25,000 individuals in intermediate level digital and creative sector skills annually,” the document added.
It also stated that Osinbajo will work with the private sector in the development of capacity for skills development in blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, data science, animation, script writing, cinematography in higher institutions across the country and via the centre
To strengthen resilience against unforeseen events like global pandemics, it added that as Nigeria’s President, Osinbajo will expand Universal Health Insurance to meet the needs of the poorest citizens.
He would also hasten the implementation of the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund to achieve at least a 65 per cent increase in the share of the population covered by primary healthcare.
In the area of the judiciary, the document explained that Osinbajo will expand the pool of available judges by appointing more judges to clear backlog cases, and boosting the remuneration and benefits of judicial officers and staff.
His administration will also work with State Governments to ensure that small claims are addressed expeditiously across all the States of the Federation.
According to the document, Osinbajo will also work with the judiciary to accelerate the adoption of digital technology in the courts for easier and quicker resolution of commercial disputes;
“Osinbajo will consolidate upon the progress and expand Nigeria’s infrastructure to support, strengthen both hard and virtual connectivity,” it added.
On infrastructure, as President, he will expand upon the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge and the Abuja-Kaduna rail line by actualizing a strategic rail development that connects all major economic centres across Nigeria.
Key priority areas will be completion of the Lagos- Kano and Lagos- Calabar rail projects,
He would also continue to utilise innovative mechanisms like the Sukuk Bonds to expand our roads and bridges network
“We will improve the maintenance of and boost the operational efficiency of our four major international airports through the swift concessioning of – Abuja, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano airports in the next four years,
“Osinbajo will improve our energy efficiency by optimising our current installed capacity; harness natural gas reserves as a transitional energy source as both feedstock and energy source for industry; diversify our energy mix and expand energy access by including greater use of solar energy through the implementation of the Solar Naija,” it added.
He will also solve the persistent issue of National Grid collapse by expanding the use of interconnected mini-grids;
In order to attract the best talent from across the world, he will, if elected President establish a start-up visa category that seeks to invest in Nigeria’s technology and creativity sector.
The visa will be valid for initial period of five years with the possibility for a further five-year extension based on the performance of the investments.
There will also be policy support for ecosystem investment in the technology sector with specific focus on the advantages of new technologies including cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning, drone manufacturing and operations.
When THE WHISTLER contacted the spokesperson of the VP, Mr Laolu Akande to verify the authenticity of the document, he requested to see a copy, which was sent to him.
He, however, has not responded as of 11:32pm despite a reminder that was sent to him
ENDS
