Potiskum, over a century stood as a beacon of Islamic and Western Education – Dr Bedu

Potiskum, over a century stood as a beacon of Islamic and Western Education – Dr Bedu

By: Yahaya Wakili, Damaturu

Potiskum as a community has for over a century stood as a beacon of both Islamic learning and western education. For many decades Potiskum has been known as an important centre of commerce and education in Northern Nigeria and beyond.

Dr Ahmed Muhammed Bedu disclosed this while delivering his introduction speech at the launching of the #100 million for the State Education Recovery Appeal Fund in Potiskum.

“Your coming here is an indication of the value we attach in not only creating opportunities but providing access to quality education for our people and generations yet unborn.”

This is what we see as collective responsibilities of our community and we must do all that it takes to realize our objectives as one community and I thank you all for honoring the invitation with determination to make this epoch – making the event a huge success.

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He said, in February 1928 the lieutenant Governor of the Northern provinces conveyed an approval for the establishment of first public school to cater for the education needs for the Potiskum people and its environs in memo No 6394/2, adding that the first public school which was named as Potiskum Elementary school commenced its academic on 13th April, 1929.

“The establishment of the Potiskum elementary school made our historic town a prime spot that is producing prominent, reputable and Internationally recognized scholars, bureaucrats and technocrats who greatly contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and manpower development in Nigeria and beyond.” Dr Bedu said.

He said education is everybody’s business to the people of Potiskum. Potiskum people have in 1970 through communal efforts built a community secondary school that was Fika Community Secondary School that was taken over in 1973 by then the North Eastern State government and renamed the school as Fika Government School Potiskum.

“This indicates how worthy sacrifice to education will do for the people as your investment to education will not only make us to have a sense of ownership and belonging to education system but it will justify that we have a stake in the advancement of our education system.” Dr Bedu said.

According to him, endowment funding to education is providing valuable support for education systems around the world, even in developed countries in Europe and the United States of America the endowment culture to education development is well established.

“It is against this background that our donation will equally in the long run assist the government to deliver on its education agenda that provokes the state governor to declare the state of emergency on education and our donations will equally go a long way in providing better facilities for teaching and learning in our schools.

Potiskum, over a century stood as a beacon of Islamic and Western Education – Dr Bedu