A South West stalwart of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Olufemi Ajadi, has urged the Federal Government to always accord adequate rewards to achievers in the academic field, just like it does to sports medalists.
Ajadi said the situation where the Federal Government rewards athletes and footballers with huge amounts of money and other incentives while it gives paltry sums to students who excel in academic competition is unacceptable.
It would be recalled that the President recently appreciated members of the country’s female football team, Super Falcons, who won the Women’s African Cup of Nations, with $100,000 each.
The same amount was awarded to each member of the basketball team that won the AfroBasketball competition. In contrast, the Federal Government rewarded Nafisah Abdullahi, winner of the TeenEagle Global Finals competition, with a paltry cash gift of N200,000.
Ajadi, in a statement on Friday, said the Federal Government, through its reward system, is not encouraging education and brilliance by awarding 222ridiculous amounts for such a great feat, while calling on it to always do what is being done to encourage other sectors, like sports.
He said, “I want to call on the Federal Government to encourage educational development, especially among our youths. The recent N200,000 reward to the Global Winner of an English Competition, Nafisah Abdullahi, is demeaning and ridiculous.
“If the Federal Government, through its actions, is discouraging academic brilliance and the development of education, then the future of the youth is in jeopardy.
“A government that rewards footballers and basketballers who win African competitions with millions of dollars cannot justify giving a paltry sum to a World winner in an English Competition.
“I think the government should extend its rewards system to other sectors like Education, so that our youth will aspire for brilliance in education.
“It is discouraging, especially now that some youth are already declaring that ‘education is a scam’, due to the way those who win academic laurels are poorly rewarded.
“Let me remind our government that education is the bedrock of any country’s development, and so all hands must be on deck to encourage educational brilliance with adequate rewards”.
