Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged academics to chart a course towards a more secure and prosperous Nigeria.
Shettima made the call in Abuja on Friday at the public presentation of two books titled,” Boko Haram and Other Security Challenges in Nigeria: Issues and Options for Policy,” and “Reflections on the 2023 General Elections.”
The books were written by Prof. Abdullahi Shehu.
Represented by Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr Aliyu Moddibo, Shettima acknowledged the role of academics as custodians of the nation’s memory, intellectual inquiry and data-driven analysis.
The Vice-President applauded the contributions of academics to national unity, adding that through their works, a more secure and prosperous country was possible.
Shettima described the books ”as a must-read book for those tasked with protecting lives and properties.
“We must ensure that our dear brother’s ideas and discoveries don’t merely remain as a literary exercise,” he added.
He commended the scholarship of the author of the books, Prof. Shehu, saying ” these books aren’t only topical ,but much-awaited interventions in our public discourse and policy circles.
“The books must be seen by each of us, present and absent, as an invitation to learn and adhere to the truths of our nation.
“The books are also an invitation to recreate a memory of the nation that is rooted in neither bigotry nor dishonesty.
” This retelling of our history through research, free from the biases that have frustrated public discourse in Nigeria, is the memory we seek.”
