Legal luminary Afe Babalola has slammed President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime and his predecessors for failing to meet the UNESCO funding benchmark for education.

On Thursday, Mr Babalola said there had been underfunding of tertiary institutions in Nigeria while speaking during a public presentation of a book at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka, accusing the governments of perennial failure to prioritise and devote significant resources to education.

“Despite the perennial rhetoric by successive governments on their plans to build world-class universities in Nigeria, they have consistently failed to meet the UNESCO funding benchmark of 26 per cent of every country’s budget,” he explained.

Mr Babalola, represented by Gboyega Oyewole (SAN), lamented the country’s education system was characterised by low budgetary allocations and poor remuneration of workers.

The ex-UNILAG pro-chancellor added that institutions of higher learning, especially the universities, were barely carrying out their core mandates.

He noted that they did not have the financial wherewithal to compete with their peers globally.

The renowned lawyer added that there was an urgent need for governments to inject financial stimulus into all the country’s institutions of higher learning.

“I am therefore using this opportunity to appeal to the federal government to pay all outstanding salaries to university teachers and fund education adequately,” urged Mr Babalola. “It is only when education is adequately funded that universities will be able to perform their statutory functions of quality teaching, up-to-date research, and impact their community.”

(NAN)