Sacked Minister of Education Prof Ruqqayatu Ahmed Rufai has said she will return to her university job.She spoke yesterday while handing over to the Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike.The professor said she would return to the Bayero University, Kano where she was a lecturer before her appointment.
Rufai was a Commissioner of Education in Jigawa State under Governor Sule Lamido for three years before she was appointed Minister of Education by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
The former minister, who expressed gratitude to President Goodluck Jonathan for allowing her to serve in his cabinet, promised to always support the President.
Prof Rufai, who spent three years in office, introduced the Four-Year Strategic Plan for the development of the education sector.
She said: “I want to use this medium to thank Allah for giving me the opportunity to serve in the Federal Ministry of Education for a period of well over three years. Let me also thank Mr. President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who I must say I enjoyed working with. He has listening ears, he loves education and he has been supportive.
“There was no time I can say that I was with the president that I regretted working with him. I will forever pray for him and his family and all the team for the growth and development of this nation. But, most importantly, let me also thank the Minister of State for Education for the time we spent together. It has been in my character to always carry everybody along because I know one day this day is coming and if it doesn’t come, we may die.
“So, we are favoured that we are even seeing today and I have to thank my Honourable Minister for the working relationship these two years that we have been together. Of course, there may be time the pressure of the office may be really much. There are times that we may not be happy with each other but over all we enjoyed working with each other.
“I am going to take over my office in Bayero University, Kano. It is very important for you to know that I have been a commissioner for three years before coming here. I am just on secondment from my university and I have been here through God’s grace and it is my governor, Sule Lamido who nominated me to be here. So, I thank him for that opportunity, but now that I have this scenario, I am going back to report in office as a professor of Curriculum Studies in Bayero University.
“Let me hand over but I know that taking over will make you to do more, here in the ministry. We need to update our data to 2012 or at least 2011. So, this is the process in the ministry. It is a two-year plan. So, this will be your time to continue to do it.
“We are also in the process of finishing the mid-term report for this year in terms of having about three-year mandate. So, by the time that one is done by the end of next year, you can see the end of your plan and this is a very good initiative that we all started together.”
Wike, in an emotion-laden voice, said: “Since I met you, we have been working very closely; when you work with somebody that you are very close to and the person is no longer there, you must feel bad.
“This came to me as a shock; although I knew that we cannot be here forever but I always assumed that one of us will simply go to another ministry but not to end up the way it did but God knows best.”
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