Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has raised an alarm over the worsening state of Nigeria’s education sector.
Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) who made this remark, described the situation as a crisis of immense magnitude that demands immediate national attention.
Reacting to the recent revelations by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which reported that over 20 million Nigerian children are currently out of school, with many more unable to read or write despite being enrolled, highlights the state of education in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on his official X handle, Obi also spotlighted the dire state of the education sector, emphasising that the nation’s children deserve functional classrooms rather than neglected, abandoned projects.
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The economic expert further criticised ongoing renovation projects he believes are of little value, while education, a foundational sector, remains in crisis.
Calling for a shift in focus, Obi stressed that “Education is the most powerful investment we can make in the future of this nation.”
He urged the government at all levels to redirect resources towards building functional schools and expanding access to quality learning for all Nigerian children.
“These scary statistics were also mirrored by WAEC,” Obi stated, referencing the latest WASSCE results, which he described as “the worst academic performance in five years,” with only 38 per cent of students passing the examination.
He condemned what he sees as the misplacement of national priorities, lamenting that “at a time when education should be our most urgent national priority and most critical investment, we as leaders continue to spend trillions on infrastructure, most of which contribute little or nothing to the measurable development index.
“Our children deserve classrooms, not abandoned projects.
“A nation that neglects its young people has no future. To build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous nation, we must invest in our children, because when we fail them, we have failed our nation,” he added.
