VP Shettima Seeks Private Sector Push As Dangote Launches ₦100bn Scholarship Fund

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has flagged off the Aliko Dangote Foundation Education Scholarship Initiative, calling for stakeholders to recommit to building a future where every Nigerian child can become the best version of themselves.

This is in line with the unveiling of a ₦100 billion annual education support programme by the President of the Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s educational sector and expanding access to quality learning for young people nationwide.

The programme, projected to cost ₦1 trillion over the next ten years, will support students across multiple levels through a range of targeted schemes.

Speaking on Thursday in Lagos during the launch of the education scholarship scheme, the Vice President, in a statement by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, extolled Dangote’s philanthropic efforts, saying education is a burden carried by those who understand its power to transform.

“Now is the time to recommit to building a future in which every Nigerian child has a fair shot at becoming the best version of themselves. Let us live our lives so that posterity will remember us not for the offices we held or the titles we bore. Posterity must remember us for the doors we opened and the lives we transformed,” he stated.

Shettima implored the private sector and corporate entities to invest in education, insisting that they must consider themselves as stakeholders in the survival of Nigeria’s education system.

Noting that there was no better time than now to confront the “consequences of demographic acceleration,” VP Shettima said, “A youthful population is a global asset only when it is educated. Without education, it becomes a threat to itself and to the nation that houses it.

“We come from a difficult history. Formal education was once treated as an intrusion. It was seen as an affliction. It was seen as a scheme to estrange children from their heritage. The residue of that suspicion, the gap that misunderstanding created, still weighs heavily upon our national progress.”

The VP pointed out that, rather than expecting a miracle or mere rhetoric to close and erase the gap created by such misunderstanding, deliberate effort must be made “to end a needless cycle of failure that has persisted for far too long.”

This, he said, inspired President Bola Tinubu to roll out bold and far-reaching reforms, including the introduction of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, to create equitable access to education for all under his watch.

The Vice President decried what he described as the “reality of West Africa as the region that now carries the burden of having the lowest Human Capital Index in the world,” stating that Nigeria must invest in education to reverse the trend.

“We must treat education as a survival strategy. This is why our administration treats the National Human Capital Development Programme as a national emergency. We are bringing states, development partners, the private sector and civil society together to reclaim our destiny,” he said

Applauding the 100 billion annual education support scheme, he said Dangote’s philanthropy is not episodic. “His philanthropy is structural. His philanthropy is generational. His philanthropy is visionary. He is not only the largest private employer of labour in Nigeria. He has also become the most consequential private investor in the rescue of our most critical sector, education,” he said.

Earlier, Alhaji Dangote said the Foundation’s ₦100 billion annual education support programme will strengthen Nigeria’s educational sector and expand access to quality learning for young people nationwide, assuring that all beneficiaries will be selected through a transparent, merit-based process.

He further announced partnerships with NELFUND, NECO, WAEC, and other government agencies to ensure accountability and fairness in programme delivery, revealing that he has dedicated 25 per cent of his personal wealth to the foundation, a commitment that will extend beyond his lifetime.

Also, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as one of the most comprehensive human capital development programmes in Nigeria’s history, which aligns with the Federal Government’s education reform agenda.

Dr Alausa also noted that 25 per cent of the scholarship slots will be reserved for persons living with disabilities, calling the gesture a “humane and inclusive approach.”

In her goodwill message, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said the expanded scholarship opportunities—particularly in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)—would create new pathways for Nigerian children.

She described investment in girls’ education as one of the most potent tools for societal progress.

Speaking on behalf of state governors, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu acknowledged that the Dangote Foundation has redefined philanthropy in Nigeria, just as he said state governments will work to ensure the success of the initiative, beginning with Lagos State, which has allocated 10 per cent of its annual budget to education.

For his part, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, commended Dangote for the initiative, while encouraging him to continue championing efforts that improve the lives of Nigerians.

The Emir of Lafia and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd), pledged the committee’s dedication to ensuring the initiative’s success.