Op-ed: Does Tinubu’s EFCC-NELFUND Deal Deserve Nigerians’ Applause?
By Shafihi Abdulrasheed
What better use can a nation make of recovered public funds than to send its young people to school? Should money recovered from corruption simply return to government coffers, or should it be put behind the dreams of students whose parents cannot afford tertiary education?
These questions came to mind following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive that eligible liquid funds recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) be channelled to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
For me, this is one decision that should rise above the usual political brickbats. When recovered public money is redirected towards educating the children of ordinary Nigerians, the circle begins to close: what was taken from society returns to serve society.
More importantly, there is an important distinction that should not be lost in the excitement. As explained by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the directive does not cover seized properties or funds still subject to litigation. It concerns liquid EFCC recoveries that are free of legal encumbrances. The Federal Executive Council also approved the channelling of funds from unclaimed dividends and the Dormant Account Trust Fund to NELFUND.
This is particularly significant because the student loan scheme is expanding rapidly, and expansion comes with a price tag. According to NELFUND reports, more than 1.6 million loan applications had been recorded as of August, with 1,659,853 beneficiaries across 319 tertiary institutions. The Fund reported ₦192.89 billion paid to institutions and about ₦129.80 billion in upkeep allowances. Combined, that is more than ₦322 billion committed to keeping Nigerian students in school. Numbers, as they say, do not lie.
This is also where critics of the administration should be willing to give credit where it is due. Since the removal of fuel subsidy, one recurring question has been: where are the safety nets?
Is NELFUND not one? A safety net does not always have to arrive as a bag of rice or a one-off cash transfer. When a struggling father no longer has to choose between feeding his family and paying his child’s tuition, that is relief. When a student from a poor home can remain in school because institutional charges are covered and an upkeep allowance is provided, that too is a safety net. The impact may not make noise in the marketplace, but it is felt around the family table.
Education is perhaps one of the most enduring social interventions because it does more than help a citizen survive today; it equips that citizen to stand independently tomorrow.
I have seen videos of students celebrating their NELFUND payments. Yet, there will always be someone insisting that nobody has benefited simply because his friend has not told him so. That is hardly a fair way to measure public policy. A beneficiary may choose to keep quiet. Some students may not even disclose to their parents that they receive upkeep support. Personal silence cannot erase documented disbursements.
That said, there is room for improvement. NELFUND should consider a secure system, subject to beneficiaries’ consent and applicable privacy rules, through which a registered parent or next of kin can be notified of relevant loan support. Such a system could strengthen accountability, improve family awareness and make the programme even more transparent.
So, does President Tinubu deserve applause? On this decision, yes, he does! Applause does not mean surrendering citizens’ right to question the government. Neither does it mean pretending that every Nigerian student now has an easy road. It simply means recognising a policy that makes sense.
President Tinubu has chosen to put recovered money behind young Nigerians seeking an education while creating additional funding streams to sustain a scheme already serving students on a large scale. That is not money thrown down the drain. It is money invested in human capital.
One last thing: There are indications that the policy will be faithfully implemented and transparently managed, hence, some of the young people entering lecture halls with NELFUND support today will become the doctors, engineers, teachers, entrepreneurs and leaders Nigeria depends on tomorrow. When government gets something right, politics should not stop us from saying so.
On the EFCC-NELFUND decision, the President deserves his flowers.
Shafihi Abdulrasheed is a PR practitioner. He writes from CityBoy Movement HQ, Abuja and can be reached via sharvee2@gmail.com | +234810 9941929.
