Vice President Kashim Shettima on Thursday launched the Aliko Dangote Foundation Education Scholarship Initiative, a programme that will commit ₦100 billion annually to education support across Nigeria.
The event, held in Lagos, marked the unveiling of a 10-year, ₦1 trillion intervention designed to improve access to quality education at multiple levels. The Vice President, who represented President Bola Tinubu, called for more private-sector investment in education, describing it as essential to reversing West Africa’s low human capital index.
Senator Shettima said the initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), expansion of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), strengthened TETFUND interventions and the mainstreaming of digital learning. He warned that Nigeria’s youthful population could become a liability without widespread access to education.
“We must treat education as a survival strategy,” he said, stressing that the administration’s National Human Capital Development Programme regards education as a national emergency.
The Vice President praised Dangote’s long-term commitment to education funding, describing the industrialist as “a colossus” whose philanthropy is “structural, generational, and visionary.”
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Aliko Dangote said the programme will be delivered through a transparent, merit-based system and confirmed partnerships with NELFUND, NECO, WAEC and relevant government agencies. He disclosed that 25 percent of his personal wealth has been committed to the foundation to sustain the scheme beyond his lifetime.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, described the scholarship initiative as one of Nigeria’s most comprehensive human capital development programmes and announced that 25 percent of the slots will be reserved for persons with disabilities.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, and the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage (rtd), also delivered goodwill messages, praising the initiative’s potential to expand opportunities, especially in technical and vocational education.
The event concluded with the unveiling of the Dangote Foundation’s Vision 2030 ₦100 billion education support logo.
