Ahead of the 70th anniversary of Free Universal Primary Educa­tion slated for October 9, 2025, in Lagos, elder statesman and former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, has urged state governors to work within the constitutional framework of federalism regarding governance, especially educational delivery in their respective states, noting that states are not subordi­nate to the Federal Government.

He said state administrators tend to think that they are subordinate to the Federal Government when it comes to administering their states to deliver services to citizens.

He said if only they could adopt the free Universal Primary Education initiative as cham­pioned by former Premier of Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the coun­try would be the better for it.

Pa Akande described edu­cation as the true liberator of the human mind, stressing that its value goes beyond monetary consideration.

Akande expressed this opin­ion in an exclusive interview with our correspondents as part of activities marking the Platinum Jubilee of Free Uni­versal Primary Education, be­ing organised by the Indepen­dent Newspapers Limited.

The event will be held on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos. It will feature a Public Lecture (6-7pm) and Platinum Awards/Gala Night with red carpet (7pm).

Passing bulk of the blame on previous military adminis­trations, Akande said because the military concentrated pow­er at the centre, most states ab­dicated their responsibilities to the Federal Government.

According to him, many Nigerians think we run a centralised system of govern­ment when in actual sense no component is subordinate to the other.

His words, “Many of the elites in Nigeria are so unedu­cated politically and they think Nigeria is centralised.

“Nigeria was never cen­tralised anytime. Only the military made Nigeria look centralised and may God not let military administration anywhere in the world again because it set Nigeria back­ward by a generation and that is the problem we are wallow­ing in now.

“That is a debate for anoth­er day. But, what I’m saying is that from the beginning, I don’t know what happened before we were born.

“But, from the beginning of native administration, which we did, there were three re­gions.

“From the beginning, when the nationalists started with the governing of this coun­try, it had been three. And throughout the 1950s up to the independence in 1960, the idea was unanimous. Well, at least the consensus.

“I won’t say unanimously. The consensus was that Nige­ria should be a federal system of government. And it has only been federalised as the north, the east, and the west. Up till now, it’s never centralised. And what’s the meaning of federal­ism?

“Federalism means there will be a central government, which we call the Federal Gov­ernment now, and there will be subsidiary governments or subnational governments, which we call states. Okay!

“The state will have its own job. In some countries, the state will have its own jobs spelt out in the constitution, and the rest will be taken over by the federal government.

“There was a state govern­ment. Western Nigerian gov­ernment was not subordinate to the federal government. Western Nigerian government was coordinated with the Fed­eral Government.

“Even today, as it’s written down in the constitution, no state is subordinate to the fed­eral government. All states are coordinated with the Federal Government. But because we have immature politicians ev­erywhere, everybody feels that the federal government is the boss, and they all run to Abuja to see the boss.

“That’s not what the con­stitution says. The president oversees the affairs of the fed­eration over certain subjects, while the states are supposed to oversee the affairs of their own areas over certain subjects.

“But, because most of our leaders nowadays, they don’t even read to know what was expected of them, they just do the way the military handed it over to them, and that’s why when there is no food in the sector, we blame it on the cen­ter. No, no.

“The subnational national had a function. They are the owners of the land. That’s why when you want to take a C of O you go to the state govern­ment. They are the owners of the land where you can plant food. So, they are supposed to be the creator of food, but peo­ple don’t know. They take it the other way around.”

Reacting to investment and commitment to education delivery by the crop of lead­ers being churned out after the post-independence era, Akande said most of the states run inconsistent education pol­icy and term it free universal education.

He said despite the exis­tence of Universal Basic Ed­ucation, parents still end up getting assistance to educate their children and wards.

“Today, the Federal Gov­ernment is heavily assisting the students at the university level by granting them loans. Take a loan, which you will not pay back until you get a job, and you will pay no interest on it to assist the parents. Because par­ents are not the same.

“You won’t say, I don’t go to school because I have no mon­ey. The federal government owns it. So this federal gov­ernment, the one that started two years ago, of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the one doing that.

“It wasn’t there before. And that is why, when some states are making education free, some are not making it free, some may opt for a scholarship. They say, “We don’t make it free, but the talented ones, we will pay for them or we send them to school.” (Sunday Independent)