President Muhammadu Buhari has disclosed he is leaving not any inheritance for his children beyond the training and education he gave them.
The President spoke at the palace of the Emir of Daura, Dr Faruk Umar Faruk, in Daura, during Sallah homage.
He also appealed to parents to inculcate the right values in children, including deep fear of God, respect for constituted authorities and living purposeful life through continuous education.
The President charged youths to seek education, not for government jobs, which are unavailable, but to arm themselves with skill and ability to fight poverty and to meet the needs of the 21st century.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari said more time should be given to the coaching of future leaders with basic knowledge of moral values as the fast-changing world driven by new technology, would be more competitive and demanding.
“I was locked up for more than three years, after leading the country. At that point, I realised and I told my children that your net worth is what is in your head, not what you have acquired in life.
“My focus has always been on training the children to be relevant wherever they find themselves. I told my children, particularly the girls, that they can only get married after getting first degree.
They already know that I am not leaving anything for anyone to inherit. My greatest legacy to the children is to ensure they are properly educated,” he said.
The President stated children should be guided and taught history as they would find it hard to be patriotic, responsible and respectful without a thorough understanding of their backgrounds.
“Whoever does not have a good sense of history will easily make mistakes.
“We should ensure the children get proper education. The knowledge they acquire should not be towards getting government jobs. We don’t have jobs in government anymore. With technology, governments are becoming more smaller, nimble and efficient.
“Emphasis should now be on skills acquisition and competence in creation and deployment of technology. During the Covid-19, we asked all level 12 downward to stay at home, and surprisingly the systems worked effectively”, the President noted.
He told the Emir of Daura that he will be more regular in visits, preparatory to the handing over in May, 2023, adding that the prolonged absence was due to the demands of his office.
“This is the longest I have been away from home. In fact, the Emir took to the court of public opinion at the prayer ground, when he openly told everyone that I had not visited Daura for close to a year,” he added.