Longest Serving Minister of Education; Tenure, President and ASUU Strike experienced

1. StatiSense ® - Wale Micaiah ©
The
Longest
Serving
Minister of
Education
(Between 1999 & 2013)

2. Education, remain the life-blood driving the
development of People, Nation and the World.
This is why we find a perfect correlation
between the level of development of the
aforementioned with the level of Education.
Because of its importance, it can therefore not be
taken for granted. Countries who understood
this have invested massively in ensuring their
Citizens have the opportunity to be educated.
They have institutionalised Education and taken
it to another level such that it has become a
critical element of Governance.

3. Similarly, governments with great foresight appoint
Educated (not necessarily schooled) individuals
who have demonstrated a level of personal and
private commitment to Education to lead the
Portfolio in their Cabinet.
Given all the necessary support, the Education
Ministry is responsibile for the recruitment and
production of great minds for the development of
the Nation. If a nation is Under-developed, check
how stable the Education system of that Nation is.
This presentation is about the Ministry/Minister of
Education between 1999 and 2013, their tenure in
office, the governing President, ASUU Strike, etc.

4. 1999
2013
14 Years
3 Presidents
9 Ministers
10 Minister of State

5. The Presidents
Olusegun Obasanjo
(1999 – 2007)
5 Ministers
Umaru Yar'adua
(2007 – 2010)
2 Ministers
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan
(2010 – till date)
1 Minister*

6. The Ministers
Prof. Tunde Adeniran
Born in Ekiti State, Federal Republic of Nigeria, in 1945. A Political
Scientist and a product of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria and
Columbia University in the city of New York, U.S.A. He was a staff
of the United Nations Organization in the mid-seventies and
taught in some American Universities before he took up
appointment at the University of Ibadan where he worked for
twenty years before he retired to go into Politics in 1998.
June 1999 - Jan 2001
 Made success of the Universal Basic Education scheme
 Got Prof. Pai Obanya appointed the first Coordinator of the scheme
 Came out with a policy banning satellite campuses
 Abolished the discretional list in the admission pattern of universities
 Laid the foundation for the establishment of the NOUN
 Sought out and appointed Prof. Michael Omolewa as Ambassador of the
Delegation of Nigeria to UNESCO
1

7. The Ministers
Prof. Babalola Borishade
Earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics from the University of Ife
in Nigeria, and attended Victoria University of Manchester, England,
and Texas A&M University in the United States. He also attended the
Training Centre for the International Atomic Energy Agency in
Vienna, Austria. Borishade is a member of the Institution of Electrical
Engineers of the United Kingdom and the American Nuclear Society.
He was an elected member of the Nigerian Constituent Assembly.
Feb 2001- June 2003
 Continued with most of Prof. Adeniran’s policies, strengthened the UBE.
 Replaced Prof. Obanya with Prof Gidado Tahir
 Enforced the ban on satellite campuses and promoted the interest of the
NOUN
 Faced strike actions with ASUU provoked by the crisis at the University of
Ilorin in 2001 among others.
2

8. The Ministers
Prof. Fabian Osuji
He has B.Sc. Zoology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (1967); Ph.D,
University of Ibadan (1973) and Post Doctoral research at Imperial
College of Science & Technology, London; with over 35 publications.
Prior to his appointment as HME, Professor Osuji served as Imo State
Commissioner for information & Social Development (1994-1996),
Professor of Applied Biology, St. John’s University, New York (CUNY)
USA (1997-1999) and Pro- Chancellor, UNN (2000-2003).
July 2003 - Mar2005
 He was dismissed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in March 2005 followed
his indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for
allegedly offering N50 million ($400,000) in bribes to the National Assembly
to pass an inflated budget. Obasanjo announced the dismissal in a national
radio broadcast that implied his guilt.
 After extended legal battles, on 1 June 2010 an Appeal Court sitting in
Abuja quashed all charges against Prof. Osuji.
3

9. The Ministers
Senator Liyel Imoke and Mrs. Halima Alao
both spent short periods, before Mrs.
Chinwe Obaji was appointed in June 2005
4
Liyel Imoke
March 2005 to June 2005

10. The Ministers
Dr. Chinwe Obaji
Chinwe Obaji is a higher education lecturer, teacher and
education administrator. From 1980 she was a lecturer and
administrator at Michael Okpara College of Agriculture,
Umuagwo, Imo State in Nigeria. After about 25 years of
service as a lecturer, Chinwe Obaji, was appointed the first
Nigerian female Education MinisterJune 2005 - June2006
 Tried to resuscitate the Inspectorate Division of the Federal Ministry of Education
 Started the one-meal-a-day project in some pilot primary schools across the country
 She directed that Universities should administer the Post-UME to candidate students in an effort by
bypass the inefficiency of JAMB
 In a meeting with NUC, JAMB pegged the Post-UME test fee at N1,000
 In April 2006, detailed reforms to the design of the basic education system to ensure that every
Nigerian child at least has access to basic education
 Set up a system of reprimanding parents who do not register their children for school, and started to
recruit 40,000 teachers for rural communities
 She was probed by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over alleged corruption
 She was appointed Professor of International Education at the Voorhees College in the USA starting in
2007
5

11. The Ministers
Obiageli Ezekwesili
Obiageli Ezekwesili is a Nigerian chartered accountant. She
was a co-founder of Transparency International, serving as
one of the pioneer Directors of the global anti-corruption
body based in Berlin, Germany. Ezekwesili holds a Masters
in International Law and Diplomacy from the University of
Lagos, as well as a Masters of Public Administration from
the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University She
trained with the firm of Deloitte and Touche and qualified
as a Chartered Accountant.
June 2006 – Apr 2007
 Changed how business was done at the Ministry
 Passionately confronted corruption at the Federal Ministry of Education
 She put an agenda together for all the levels, defined the problems, goals,
and the approach
 raised a storm of her own with her proposal to privatize the Unity Schools
6

12. The Ministers
Dr. Igwe Nwachukwu
Igwe Aja-Nwachuku (born March 31, 1952), graduated
from the university of Ibadan with a B.Sc. in Statistics, holds
an MBA Finance, an M.Sc. Statistics and a Ph.D. in
Economics. He also has a Postgraduate Diploma in
Computer Science and Engineering.
June 2007 - Dec 2008
 Believed to have lacked proper understanding of the dynamics of the
Ministry
 Misled by the smart civil servants who wanted to achieve their selfish
aims.
7

13. The Ministers
Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu
Sam Ominyi Egwu (born 20 June 1954), graduated with a
degree in Agriculture. Masters of Science and Ph. D. in
Agronomy. He was the former governor of Ebonyi State
between May 1999 and May 2007.
Dec 2008 – Mar 2010
 His stay as education minister was characterized by ASUU (Academic Staff
Union of Universities) and other university union strikes. This led to people
demanding for his sack.*
 Revived some old progressive policies and came up with a Roadmap for
Education
8

14. The Ministers
Prof. Ruqqayat Rufai
Professor Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufa'i (born c. 1958), She
obtained a B.Ed in History at the Bayero University, Kano in
1981, an MA in History from the same university in 1987
and PhD in Education from the West Virginia University,
USA in 1991. She was Commissioner for Health under the
military regime of General Sani Abacha between 1993 and
1996. She was promoted professor in 2003, and served as
Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in
Jigawa State.
Apr 2010 – Sept 2013
She said she was always ashamed when faced with the challenge of low
enrollment of the girl-child in Jigawa State, and found it difficult to explain
why the state could not enroll more girls in the schools.[2] She banned the use
of mobile phones in secondary schools due to their distracting influence
9

15. Education Ministers & Tenure
Minister Tenure Start End
Ruqqayat Rufai 3yrs 5mth Apr 2010 Sept 2013
Sam Egwu 1yr 3mth Dec 2008 Mar 2010
Igwe Aja Nwachukwu 1yr 6mth June 2007 Dec 2008
Oby Ezekwesili 10mth June 2006 Apr 2007
Chinwe Obaji 1yr June 2005 June 2006
Liyel Imoke 3mth Mar 2005 June 2005
F. N. C. Osuji 1yr 8mth July 2003 Mar2005
Babalola Borishade 2yrs 4mth Feb 2001 June 2003
Tunde Adeniran 1yr 7mth June 1999 Jan 2001
Only Professor Borishade and Ruqqayat
spent over 2years as Minsters

16. ASUU Strike, Minister & President
Year months Minister -in-Charge President
1999 3 Adeniran Obasanjo
2001 6 Borishade Obasanjo
2003 6 Borishade Obasanjo
2007 4 Ezekwesili Obasanjo
2008 0.5 Nwachukwu Yar’adua
2009 5 Egwu Yar’adua
2011 1 Ruqqayat Jonathan
2013 3+ Ruqqayat Jonathan
Professor Babalola Borishade as
Minister experienced a total of
12months of ASUU Strike

17. ASUU Strike, Minister & President
Obasanjo Yar’adua Jonathan
Adeniran
Borishade
Borishade
Ezekwesili
Nwachukwu
Egwu
Ruqqayat
ASUU Strike:
1Year 10
Months
ASUU Strike:
5 Months
2 Weeks
ASUU Strike:
4 Months +
5 Ministers
in 8 Years
2 Ministers
in 2 Years
1 Ministers
in 3 Years +

18. In order to truly experience real change and an
end-to-end implementation of educational policies
and roadmaps, there is need for educational
governance and stable administrative continuity in
leadership at the ministry of education.
Ministers and their Minister of States need time to
conceive, sift and properly implement Policies that
would help drive the education sector. Ministerial
role should therefore go beyond political
appointment. Beside the passion to make
measurable, quantifiable and appreciable progress,
Government must also commit to establishing a
culture of continuity in leadership.

19. StatiSense ® - Wale Micaiah ©
Freely share, freely use and freely recognize the source – © Wale Micaiah
Data source:
Analysis by: Wale Micaiah
w. www.statisense.info
e: walegate@yahoo.com
b: walemicaiah.blog.com
m: 08078001800
 Wikipedia.com
 Education: 10 ministers, 10 years of democracy by Rotimi Lawrence
Oyekanmi
 How bad politics killed our education By Pini Jason