*Tukur Buratai is a unique educational reformer.*By: Ojo Emmanuel AdemolaIt’s nearly two years today that Lt General Buratai (Rtd) made the statement, and I quote: “Without education, society will be static, consigned to the backwaters of development.” Since I have taken an intellectual approach to indeed, enable an understanding of the former Chief of Army Staff, who later was appointed by former President Muhammed Buhari as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Benin. At the inauguration of the roads and gates of Command Science Secondary School, Saki, Oyo State, Buratai demonstrated among other central qualities of leadership, an upping for qualitative education. For several decades, the retired General and Ambassador have demonstrated that as a historian, he can credibly add values unprecedentedly to the National Education Agenda using what I consider an effective scaling technique provided by his potent narrative prowess. What an outstanding performer; on the occasion, and essentially pleasing that the exemplary envoy of education, General Buratai explained that education brings life and hope, and he concluded by urging teachers, students as well as leadership of the academy to make prudent use of the infrastructure that nourishes it. He subsequently made a call to the community on how best to get citizenship education as a progressive tool and requested frequently engaging in massive signup of their youngsters in the school to benefit considerably in the interest of the society for social change. The retired General, takes an intellectual approach to provide the nexus on how security agencies would continue to secure the lives of the students, teachers as well as the whole community to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria’s Security ultimately. Understandably, Buratai is a unique Reader, who relishes the quality of leadership, as he understands that proficiency is the key to conquest, and reading books is an extraordinary source of such knowledge. Leaders read books because they know this is one of the acceptable paths to learn specialties they don’t know and gird the fortes they know. Indeed, this is a salute to the retired General who is a unique and centrally authentic motivator in building a winning educational system in Nigeria to exemplify a knowledge-based civilization. Buratai’s impactful approach to National Education is that of exemplary gem to continually call for stakeholders’ reflection and possibly dialogue when considering developmental pathways that could have something significant as outcomes. One should say that, while profound contemplations can in some cases divert thinkers from the real world, Buratai exhibits and remain a profound thinker, always paying attention to what he needs to say since it’s one more possibility to learn and impact the education landscape positively. Such a profound mastermind is quite usually unrepeatable and might accentuate a sense of belonging because thinkers expect that peaceful opportunity could zero in on their viewpoints and give their thoughts space and opportunity to bloom. Such an indication could extend to the notion of safeguarding the educational landscape to exemplify the thoughtfulness that characterizes such deep thinkers, in the likes of the retired General TY Buratai. In debates of National Interest and legacy, I have always come to agree mostly with public engendering with the reading top attributes that must get the Midas touch. Indeed, Buratai has a Midas touch as things are turning to gold at his whiff undoubtedly. Large numbers of us may know all about that popular line in the wonderful soul version of the ’80s. Yet again well, we are at this point not in that frame of mind, ‘as somebody is duplicating the Midas contact. Be that as it may, this time around, in the Nigerian Educational landscape. Going to the history of the educational landscape, when Buratai was the Army Chief, you can only agree that he has Midas touch so much that his record remains an exemplary touch as a unique Reader, he’s for multiple outstanding accomplishments. The spiral assertion that Buratai is not all about firearms, guns, or bombs remains a top-notch accolade that indeed the security challenge in Nigeria shall be a passing phase in our dedication to nation-building, which will eventually pass away and open further doors of opportunity in terms of National Education as veneer-top of National advancement. And thusly, whenever the narrative of both privilege and the unfortunate takes center stage, certainly Buratai’s name will be written and bolded golden and of course in gold. For instance, Buratai ideology is by far an enduring reality and as such a national legacy in bringing in the education notion of what shall be or, and certainly come to pass, in the realms of knowledge and educational development to sustainably suffices. Permit me to make a sure sense of referencing an enduring national legacy again. Buratai like most extraordinary fighters realizes that reasonable harmony and betterment must be accomplished through information and brightness. He puts a phenomenally high premium on the preparation and inspiration of officials, men, and women of the military and commissioned by the realization of his ambition, crowned with being the pioneer Chief of the Army to concept and saw to the establishment of the Nigerian Army University Biu, (NAUB) Borno State. It could never be a matter of afterthought but for a deep thinker that in 2016, the then Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen TY Buratai conceived an idea for the Nigerian Army (NA) to have a university of its own, to serve as a retort nucleus for the diverse specialized and active problems being faced by such a unique education sector of the NA through research inclusiveness of pedagogical and andragogical, innovation, and development. Buratai set machinery in place for the actualization of the laudable idea, and two years after, in 2018, NAUB became a reality, with approval for its establishment by Federal Executive Council, and endorsement by National Universities Commission.The national legacy narrative here will intrigue you with great reassurances that Buratai is a unique scholastic reformer. Before 2014 at the level of uprising in North East Nigeria, and before the appointment of Buratai as COAS, Boko Haramites went after Buratai town and its environs two times. Then Lt Gen TY Buratai Ranch House was a target. The Homestead House was loaded with projectiles and burned to the ground, while the store and other ranch carries out were scoured. At the point when he was designated COAS by Mr. President in 2015, Lt Gen Buratai gave his Ranch House in Buratai, alongside the enormous spread of land to the NA. The cabin in the Homestead House was in this manner transformed into a landmark, which now remains a central unit of the Institute of War and Peace named after the retired General at the NAUB. To other deep thinkers, great minds, and reformers, this is simply exemplary of the retired General. Overall, the efficacy of such a legacy narrative remains a hallowed accomplishment in reality, and this is what Buratai stands for. Essentially, such pursuit of national education development makes further, an exceeding claim that tomorrow’s education business is now, and such impact must be celebrated uniquely and replicated exceptionally across the six geo-political zones. In conclusion, the retired General Buratai is a great mind and a deep thinker, who has chosen to invest enormously in the National Education topography through the successive influence of surpassing preference for the integral role of education in creating endurable human blossoming by the adoption of a holistic strategy to educational development that usually call for National emulation.*Ademola is a Professor and Chairman, of the Professor Ademola Ojo Emmanuel Foundation.*
