By Monday Eze
The legislature as an arm of government is globally described as a talk shop. In the scriptures, words constituted the chief raw material for creation. Every act of creation was preceded by a motion and concluded with an oversight function. These point to the supernatural relevance of the legislature.
In the modern society, the legislature remains a critical arm of government because it is through the instrumentality of a credible legislature that nations are created and constantly re-created to keep pace with the socio-economic and other dynamics of the human society. In Nigeria, the federal legislature, also known as the National Assembly, is bicameral, comprising the Senate (upper arm) and the House of Representatives (lower arm).
Senator Kenneth Chukwuemeka Eze who represents Ebonyi Central in the 10th Nigerian Senate has continued to prove to be one of the stars with vision and burden for a new and prosperous Nigeria. A ‘soundproof’ legislator whose achievements for both the people he represents and the Nigerian nation have continued to announce, Eze’s current Bill (SB 134) to establish the Federal Polytechnic, Onueke, Ebonyi State, is the rave of the moment in the Nigerian Senate. The extra-ordinary significance of this bill as a potential catalyst for a new and prosperous Nigeria came to the fore in the debate for the bill’s second reading during which both the leadership and members of the 10th Nigerian Senate eulogized the unassuming Ebonyi senator for the vision, competence and patriotism he demonstrated in crafting the bill for the proposed Federal Polytechnic Onueke. The therapeutic potentials of the said bill for Nigeria compelled a unanimous demand for another bill to establish its prototypes in the rest of the 108 senatorial districts in Nigeria as a panacea for poverty, unemployment, youth restiveness, underdevelopment, criminality etc.
Given that there are about 54 federal polytechnics in Nigeria, it is necessary to ask: “What is special or unique about the bill for the establishment of Federal Polytechnic, Onueke, for which it is commanding such effusive but considered support within and outside the chambers of the Nigerian Senate? Like Senator Eze said in his lead argument, “Education is the cornerstone of any progressive and prosperous society. It empowers individuals, nurtures talents, and provides a solid foundation for economic development. As a reliable instrument for the economic re-engineering of nations, polytechnics are renowned for providing practical and skill-based education, specializing in technical disciplines, ICT and applied sciences which basically admits nations into the global community driven by skills and technology.
“The secret to the economic success and prosperity of nations such as China, India, Korea, Singapore and Brazil could be traced to huge investments in technological skills development. The tremendous shift of employment to China and India is as a result of preponderance of cheap but highly skilled and technically competent work forces. The Republic of Korea is another shining example of how technical and vocational education training can ignite stellar economic growth.
“Establishing a Federal Polytechnic in Ebonyi Central Senatorial District will ensure that the youth of this region have access to quality technical education that will enable them to acquire the skills needed for technical competence and self-employment in an increasingly competitive labour market.”
The strict dedication of the proposed polytechnic to the teaching and learning of courses in information and communication technology (ICT), applied sciences and vocational skills which constitute the secrets of national prosperity is the greatest attraction of the proposed polytechnic. It is designed to drive Nigeria’s migration from poverty through the super highway of Technology, and Vocational Educational Training (T-VET) to the committee of prosperous nations in the manner of the Asian Tigers. This is what stands the bill and the polytechnic it proposes out from existing federal and other polytechnics which have been watered down by the fact that they have allegedly deviated from their core mandates to offer courses in banking, business education, languages and, some times, even law! It is therefore safe to say that the Federal Polytechnic, Onueke, as conceived by Senator Ken Eze is a bundle of feasible and unlimited enthralling national prosperity. That was what the members of the Nigerian Senate saw during the second reading debate. Hence, the call for the escalation of that model polytechnic in all senatorial districts in Nigeria.
As Nigerians continue to thank Senator Ken Eze for the pace-setting and vision-filled bill for a new and prosperous Nigeria via functional hi-tech education, it is necessary to suggest that after passing Senate Bill 134, the 10th Nigerian Senate should actualize the suggestion of Senator Jimoh Ibrahim to have Senator Ken Eze’s model of dedicated hi-tech polytechnics in every senatorial district by amending the respective Acts establishing the existing federal polytechnics to convert them to the Senator Ken Eze’s model before going further to make bills for the establishment of new hi-tech dedicated federal polytechnics in senatorial districts where none exists. This will be cost-effective as the funds that would have been wasted in unnecessary proliferation of federal polytechnics will be fruitfully invested in the new and moribund federal polytechnics to equip and make them functional.
The Tinubu presidency is hereby charged to take full advantage of Senator Ken Eze’s reawakening and visionary wake-up call as expressed through the bill for the establishment of Federal Polytechnic Onueke (SB 134). This, President Tinubu should do by weaving the establishment of dedicated hi-tech polytechnics into the national development plan; and by taking immediate intentional actions to make them functional because T-VET, far more than crude oil, holds the key to economic prosperity, functional security system and all-round development.