A former Anambra State governor and presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, on Thursday, raised alarm over the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s education sector, describing it as a crisis of immense magnitude that demands immediate national attention.
Obi, also spotlighted the dire state of the education sector, emphasising that the nation’s children deserve functional classrooms rather than neglected, abandoned projects.
Obi was reacting to recent revelations by the Universal Basic Education Commission, which reported that over 20 million Nigerian children are currently out of school, with many more unable to read or write despite being enrolled.
“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 percent 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 infrastructures, most of which contribute little or nothing to the measurable development index.”
Obi further criticised ongoing renovation projects he believes are of little value, while education, a foundational sector, remains in crisis.
“Our children deserve classrooms, not abandoned projects,” he stated.
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 government at all levels to redirect resources towards building functional schools and expanding access to quality learning for all Nigerian children.
“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 concluded.
