The Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin has offered overseas scholarship to 70 indigent students in Kano State.
The students comprising 65 males and five females would pursue postgraduate programmes in Artificial Intelligence; Forensic, Robotics Sciences and Cyber Security in the United States, Europe, Canada and India.
Barau (APC – Kano North), stated this during the presentation of Letters of Admission to the beneficiaries in Kano on Monday.
He said the scholarship programme is being run under the Barau Jibrin Foundation (BIJF), to empower the youths, to enable them to secure their future and contribute to the development of the society.
“It is imperative to note that this programme is designed to showcase our unwavering commitment to the educational development of our youth, who we consider as the pillars of societal development.
“At the BIJF; we give pride of place to the overall development of the youth, who are responsible for reshaping and energising our society.
“What we are doing is a demonstration of the hallmark of our political ideology aimed at building and empowering the youths to secure our future and society.
“That is why we identified talented youths with first class and second class upper undergraduate degrees, who were selected based on qualification to sponsor them to study in those fields,” he said.
According to him, the foundation is empowering the youths to meet the current global challenges, and to make life better for them.
Barau also urged Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu, to resolve the current challenges in the country, adding that, “there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“It is the practice across the world that, wherever there is a general challenge in a country people come together to contribute towards resolving it irrespective of their individual inclinations and differences.
“The president loves us, he loves our region and is doing his best to ensure there is development here. We should support him to ensure we get the best we deserve”.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman lauded the gesture and urged the beneficiaries to dedicate themselves to studies.
Represented by Yusuf Sunumu, Minister of State Education, Mamman enjoined political leaders to emulate the gesture.
According to Mamman, the initiative will build critical thinking and equip the beneficiaries with the skills to become active players in the emerging world order.
He said that Nigerians should act collectively to address gaps in education to augment government’s investment in the sector, to get it on the right pedestal to drive the socio-economic development of the country.
The minister described as “imperative” partnership of stakeholders at different levels of education, especially with the fast changing global realities and economic crunch in the country. (NAN)