Protocols
I am hugely delighted to return to my alma mater the great and only University of Nigeria to speak at your 42nd convocation. Twenty eight years ago I sat just like you those of you who are part of the graduating Class of 2013; excited by my graduation. It was 1985 and I was very privileged to be one of the then only 3% of our own youthful population that had the opportunity of a university education. Today, you are still fortunate to be one of the yet paltry 4.3% of your own youthful generation with an opportunity for university education. For Nigeria that percentage does not compare favorably with 37.5% for Chile 33.7% for Singapore 28.2% for Malaysia, 16.5% for Brazil and 14.6%. Our lag in tertiary education enrollment is quite revealing and could be interpreted as the basis of the competitiveness gap between the same set of countries and Nigeria.

The Federal Government, Sunday, reacted angrily to comments by the former Minister of Education, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili alleging that the governments of Presidents Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan, squandered $67 billion(about N10.6trn) in foreign reserves, describing the allegation as “outlandish and clearly fictitious.”

Holders Chelsea needed an 83rd-minute equaliser from Fernando Torres to rescue a 2-2 draw at third-tier Brentford on Sunday as they narrowly avoided a humiliating exit in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

At least 245 people died early Sunday when a fire tore through a nightclub packed with university students in the southern Brazilian city of Santa Maria, police said.