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Victor-Marie Hugo, a French poet, novelist, and essayist died more than two centuries ago but there still stands some immortal and memorial thoughts he blessed the world with before his demise in 1885 when he once averred: “There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.”
Hugo's thoughts bear striking parallelism to the fecundity of fresh ideas, vision, and drives which Architect Sonny Echono the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education TrustFund (TetFund) has brought to refashion and transform Nigeria’s Tertiary Education Fund. In just one year, by dint of hard work, courage, and clear-minded focus, Echono has brought to the Fund, and indeed, the entire nation what an average leader may not be able to accomplish in 5 years.
Whoever advised President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint Sonny Echono Executive Secretary TETFUND has offered one of the most patriotic and generational services to our nation. In a country where issues are profoundly politicized and achievements of public officers are viewed with distrust and x-rayed for ulterior motives, Echono is an exception. Nigerians from all walks of life, across political divides from different religious leanings and diverse ethnicities are in one accord in their appraisal of Him, his sweeping reforms, leadership and transformation of TetFund: a job well done, so far.
No wonder, in recognition of his contributions and reforms at TetFund in advancing the tertiary education system, President Muhammadu Buhari conferred on Echono the National Honour of Officer of the Order of Niger.
For those who have been following the strides of operational works of the TetFund and the sweeping reforms in the last year, conscious and determined efforts have been going on perhaps more problematic are the procurement and project management reforms introduced to eliminate corruption, reduce delivery time of projects, prevent cost escalation and improve general efficiency in the discharge of the Fund’s mandate.
Under the new dispensation, all projects to be executed by the Fund are to be planned, packaged and selected by the beneficiary institutions for review and concurrence of the Fund. No more TETFund or vendor-promoted projects, as the needs of the institutions shall prevail. The annual disbursement allocations are now made directly to the beneficiary institutions. The Executive Secretary at a public ceremony held at the National Universities Commission (NUC) on 9th May 2022, directed that the Vice-Chancellors, Provosts and Rectors are to advertise and procure their projects through open, competitive bidding to achieve value for money.
In the area of agri-economics, the zeal to bring the needed transformation in the nation’s agricultural sector, TETFund has formed a partnership with the Brazilian government and Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) to achieve the objective. The deal was sealed at the first Agricultural Research and Innovation Fellowship for Africa (ARIFA) Symposium held at the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil, with the theme, ‘Pedagogic Retooling Strategy for Africa’s Agricultural Research and Innovation System: Lessons from Brazil’.
Others are deepening research development and innovation, and provision of funds for capacity building of lecturers to equip them with requisite skills for entrepreneurial and research studies in digital technologies.
The tempo and consistency of Echono’s leadership were further acknowledged by the chairman of the TETFund technical advisory group, Charles Aworh, at the public presentation of 10 TETFund-sponsored textbooks in Abuja last year where he commended the Fund for this laudable feat, stating that the transformation brought on board by the current leadership is result-oriented and will advance the educational curriculum. Praising the chief executive for the milestones achieved within just a few months in office, the Minister of Education Goodluck Nana, in his remarks at the ceremony, highlighted that the scarcity of tertiary textbooks in Nigeria is alarming and the proportion is evident not only in the quality of books but also in the number of books produced locally. He, therefore, commended TETFund for the establishment of the TETFund higher education book development project.
With this, it is evident that Echono’s leadership is strategic, focused and productive for every stakeholder in the Nigerian project. We have an overseer of an educational agency who is always thinking on his feet and whose commitment has remained a sincere pursuit of the overall good of the nation in the tertiary education sub-sector.
Investigation indicates that an average TETFund staff today is a watered garden and sufficiently motivated to ply his or her job with contentment and renewed strength. It is therefore not surprising that their productivity is rising higher every day. The leadership of Sonny Echono is a sweet song on the lips of his staff and buoyant blessings for the whole nation.
Discussions about Sonny Echono invariably always narrow down to the question of what makes him tick as a leader. For answers, the details are in bold relief. One, where other leaders are overcautious of taking a radical step, Echono doesn’t dither, if the situation calls for it.
Echono is a stickler for innovation. In many fora he has emphasized that TetFund under his leadership will continue to deepen and champion a robust innovation and ICT infrastructure across the centres of learning that will transform our educational system and make our graduates global competitors. Stressing that research will lead to innovation and then commercialization of such patents.
TETFund as an education agency under Sonny Echono’s charismatic leadership is no doubt soaring higher and adding great value to the nation’s education sector. All good-spirited Nigerians must therefore accord the Executive Secretary support to sustain the patriotic service to our fatherland.
TETFund was established as an intervention agency under the TETFund ACT - Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Establishment Act, 2011. The Act repeals the Education Tax Act Cap. E4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Education Tax Fund Act No. 17, 2003, which were the enabling legal foundations for the ETF (TETFund, 2017). Its areas of intervention include sponsorship of lecturers for postgraduate studies, funding constructions and refurbishment of educational facilities, promoting creative and innovative approach to learning; provision of higher educational books and funding of libraries, and provision of learning equipment.
Adagher Tersoo
A Public Affairs Analyst wrote from Abuja.
