Journalist advocates improved funding of universities

Mr Sam Ekpe, a veteran journalist, on Friday advocated improved university education for accelerated development in the country.

Ekpe, a former political editor of Daily Star, made the call in an interview in Abuja.

He urged Nigerians to pressure the authorities to properly fund the nation’s universities as part of measures to enhance the quality of teaching and learning.

The veteran journalist charged journalists and authors to rise to the challenge of nation building and scholarship through their works.

He commended authors as Dr Eddie Mbadiwe for his book entitled: Nigerian Universities Echoes from the Underground for using their skill to advance the course of the nation’s university education.

According to Ekpe, the book is a metaphor for educational development in terms of morality and funding.

He described the book as the roadmap to recovery of Nigeria’s lost academic glory.

Ekpe restated the imperatives of education for human capital development and numeracy.

“The author of that book, who was a lecturer, wants Nigeria to evaluate the present university education with the past”.