Education

How A Classmate’s Question At Harvard Forced Me To Dump Banking For Politics – Abia Governor, Alex Otti

Published

10 months ago

December 7, 2025

He stated that this question, which Raina asked him at Harvard Business School in 2009, redirected his life from banking to politics.

Alex Otti, the Governor of Abia State, has recounted a story about a question a Harvard classmate asked him that ended up haunting him for a long time.

The governor stated that his classmate, Samvit Raina, an American of Indian descent, had asked him why many Nigerians he had met were successful, brilliant, and hardworking, yet the country from which they came was economically and development-wise backwards.

He stated that this question, which Raina asked him at Harvard Business School in 2009, redirected his life from banking to politics.

Speaking at the 2025 dinner and award presentation ceremony of the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria in Onikan, Lagos, on Saturday, he said that his classmate’s question led him to abandon a lucrative banking career to pursue public service.

Otti, at the time, was participating in the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard.

He said, “I did not respond promptly in order not to be seen as endorsing an uncomplimentary remark against my country by a foreigner, but within me, I knew that he may not be the only one asking the question.”

The question, Otti explained, prompted him to engage in deep reflection during his time in Boston, where the school is situated.

“I spent the rest of my time at Boston reflecting on the poser raised by my course mate: how do you explain the paradox of very successful people operating from a country that is everything but successful?” he said.

The introspection, Otti said, led him to confront uncomfortable truths about Nigeria’s development challenges.

Otti said he thought about his home state of Abia and its development challenges at the time.

“The more deeply I thought, the more worried I became. Nigeria is a nation of multiple constituencies and wherever you go, there are no shortage of intelligent, hardworking and passionate individuals. The question then is: why are we failing at even the most basic matters of civilisation? Why are elementary concerns like waste disposal, access to potable water, electricity, roads, primary healthcare and basic education still a challenge here?” he asked.

After examining the foundational structures that propelled other nations to greatness, Otti said he arrived at a disturbing conclusion.

“I realised that our problem was never about the size of the treasury box nor the appetite for progress but in the fact that those who ought to have taken the lead were often absent in the decision-making room. Like myself, they were busy chasing after career success, looking to hit the next million dollar or to publish their paper in a reputable journal. To these incredibly-smart people, government is treated as a minor irritation.

“Ultimately, while we were at Harvard, Cambridge, MIT, Oxford and in other elite universities topping the result charts and winning all the laurels, barely-educated individuals were taking decisions that influence how the world sees Nigeria in our various local government headquarters, state capitals and in Abuja,” he noted.

Otti challenged the gathering to find out where the majority of result-driven leaders are most likely to be found to understand where the country’s challenges were coming from.

“Where are you most likely to find a superior number of ethical and result-driven leaders: at the board meeting of an NSE-listed company or at a gathering of political stakeholders in our states? You can probe further to ask: where would a First-Class graduate from an elite university be keener to start his professional life: at a regular government agency in Umuahia or in a blue-chip company?” he asked.

According to the governor, the disinterest in public affairs by the country’s best minds has had negative consequences on its economy and development.

“The summary of it is that our disinterest in public affairs offered an extended invitation to persons of questionable development orientation to step in and produce outcomes that are generally unsatisfactory,” he said.

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Education

How Nigerians can apply for 2027/2028 UK commonwealth scholarship – FG

Published

4 days ago

September 15, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Federal Ministry of Education has invited qualified Nigerian university graduates to apply for the 2027/2028 Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowship Plan, with applications closing on October 20, 2026.

The scholarship notice was shared by the Lagos State Scholarship Board.

The scholarships, which are tenable in the United Kingdom, are available for a one-year taught Master’s programme or doctoral studies of up to three years.

The notice was issued by the ministry’s Department of Scholarship Awards, formerly known as the Federal Scholarship Board, and signed by the Director Overseeing the Office of PSE, Dr Folake Olatunji-David, for the Minister of Education.

According to the notice, applicants for the Master’s category must have a first degree with at least a Second Class Upper Division.

For doctoral studies, applicants are required to possess a relevant Master’s degree in addition to at least a Second Class Lower Division in their first degree.

Applicants for both categories must have secured admission into at least two UK institutions.

Doctoral applicants are also required to provide a supporting statement from a prospective supervisor at their chosen UK institution.

The ministry further listed evidence of participation in the National Youth Service Corps among the eligibility requirements.

The notice stated that the selection process would focus on three key areas.

“Applications will be assessed on Academic merit, Development impact on completion and Quality of Study plan,” it said.

How to apply

The notice said all applications must be submitted through the Electronic Application System.

Applicants are required to register on the EAS portal and complete the application form online.

They must also upload scanned copies of their passport photographs, university academic transcripts, birth certificates and admission letters received from a UK institution listed in the application form.

Completed applications must be submitted online on or before October 20, 2026.

After submitting the application, candidates are required to create a PDF version of the completed form, download and print one hard copy for submission at the interview venue.

The notice said foreign certificates must be accompanied by official translation and evaluation.

It also advised applicants to consider Nigeria’s developmental priority areas relevant to their fields of specialisation when preparing their study proposals.

The priority areas include education; health; economic growth and the private sector; governance and conflict; climate and environment; water and sanitation; engineering; science and technology; food and nutrition; and humanitarian disasters and emergencies.

The ministry also advised prospective applicants to ensure that their proposed studies align with Nigeria’s development needs.

Prospective applicants were advised to consult the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission website for further information on the scholarship and selection criteria.

Further enquiries may be directed to the Director, Department of Scholarship Awards, through fsb@education.gov.ng, 09124516750 or 09082454557.

Application portal: https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships-results/?wpv_view_count=13930&wpv-cscukscholarshipcountry=nigeria&wpv_filter_submit=search

Source: punchng.com

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Education

NELFUND: ‘A Child Should Be Able To Graduate Without Being Buried In Debt’ – Atiku Fires Tinubu’s Aide

Published

6 days ago

September 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has slammed the Special Assistant on Social Media to President Bola Tinubu, Olusegun Dada, over a remark that he hates NELFUND and wants it cancelled.

It was reports that Dada, in a post via 𝕏, said Atiku does not believe that the child of a nobody should have access to education.

He wrote: “Mr @atiku hates NELFUND and wants to cancel it because he does not believe the children of the poor should have access to education.”

Responding to Dada, Atiku, in a statement through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, via 𝕏 assured that he is not opposed to the education of poor children.

Atiku said he only opposes turning education into a debt trap after the government first allowed fees to skyrocket.

The former Vice President said he wants poor children to graduate without being buried in debt.

The post read, “@DOlusegun, this is simply dishonest. Atiku does not oppose education for poor children. He opposes turning education into a debt trap after the government first allowed fees to skyrocket.

“Imagine a widow selling food by the roadside to send her daughter to university. The government raises the fees beyond what she can afford, then tells the daughter to borrow the money and begin adult life in debt.

“That is not compassion. Atiku’s position is clear: make education affordable again, restore scholarships and grants, and ensure that a child’s future does not begin with a loan burden.

“The child of nobody should not only enter school, that child should be able to graduate without being buried in debt.”

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Education

ASUU threatens nationwide strike over unpaid salaries, agreement

Published

1 week ago

September 11, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has threatened to resume its suspended nationwide strike if the federal government and state governments fail to urgently address outstanding issues affecting university lecturers.

ASUU said it could reactivate the strike “without any further notice” over the incomplete implementation of the December 2025 agreement, payment of the remaining 3.5 months of withheld salaries and non-remittance of billions of naira deducted from lecturers’ salaries.

The union’s position was contained in a statement sent to our correspondent in the early hours of Friday by its President, Christopher Piwuna, after an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council held at the University of Abuja.

ASUU said the December 2025 agreement followed more than eight years of negotiations and struggles but had not been fully implemented by the Federal Government and several state governments.

“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to FULLY and COMPREHENSIVELY address issues bordering the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” the union warned.

It commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, and the governments of Bauchi, Ekiti, Ogun, Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Kebbi, Katsina and Borno for commencing implementation of the agreement.

The union said Kano, Edo, Plateau, Taraba, Gombe and Bayelsa had also pledged to commence implementation in September or October, while warning other states to act before their universities were plunged into an “industrial crisis of monumental proportions.”

On withheld salaries, ASUU acknowledged that the Tinubu administration had paid four of the 7.5 months withheld during the Buhari administration but demanded the immediate release of the outstanding 3.5 months.

“We have consistently acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for paying four (4) out of the withheld salaries. However, leaving out the unpaid balance does not give his government the full credit of a labour-friendly administration,” it said.

ASUU also alleged that pension contributions, cooperative deductions and union check-off dues running into billions of naira had remained unremitted for several months.

The union warned that the combination of unpaid salaries, unremitted deductions and poor implementation of the agreement was threatening industrial peace in the universities.

“In no mistaken terms, ASUU posits that the non- or haphazard implementation of the 2025 FGN-ASUU Agreement by federal and state governments is a recipe for industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities,” it stated.

It urged the Federal Government and state governments to act quickly, insisting that it would not accept responsibility if the suspended strike was reactivated.

“ASUU-NEC resolved to notify all concerned that the Union may activate its suspended strike action without any further notice if the critical issues raised in this release are not speedily addressed,” the union said.

Source: punchng.com

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