Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, has sounded the alarm over the worsening state of Nigeria’s education system, describing it as “a crisis of immense magnitude” that requires urgent national intervention.
Reacting to recent data from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), which revealed that more than 20 million Nigerian children are out of school with many enrolled students unable to read or write, Obi condemned the neglect of the education sector by successive governments.
“These scary statistics were also mirrored by WAEC,” Obi said, referencing the recent WASSCE results which, according to him, represent “the worst academic performance in five years,” with only 38 percent of candidates passing.
Obi criticised what he called a clear misplacement of national priorities.
“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,” he lamented.
Highlighting the continued abandonment of meaningful education infrastructure, Obi said, “Our children deserve classrooms, not abandoned projects.”
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He also denounced ongoing renovation efforts he views as superficial, calling instead for investments in real, functional educational development.
“Education is the most powerful investment we can make in the future of this nation,” he stressed.
Urging leaders at all levels of government to redirect resources towards building quality schools and expanding access to learning, Obi warned that the future of Nigeria depends on how it treats its young population.
“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.