*Calls For More Investment In Education
*Says N8,000 Palliative Not Enough To Cushion Effect Of Subsidy Removal
*Says Nigeria’s 20 Million Out-Of-School Children Alarming
Presidential candidate of Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has said he hoped Nigerian leaders in the nearest future would be those with authentic academic certificates with recognition from their classmates.
Obi said this as he decried people busy celebrating leaders with criminal pasts at the expense of those that have excellent education and worthy careers.
He said he was still determined to change course of the country if availed of the opportunity to lead.
Obi spoke in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the graduation ceremony of students of Pacesetters Academy.
He maintained that Nigeria cannot develop without education, adding that the country must invest more in education.
Obi, who insisted that his presidential ambition was alive, said, “In the next Nigeria, you will not be a leader unless you attended a school, unless you know your classmates unless you have a good certificate whereby if you bring your certificate, nobody will doubt it.”
He said: “In Nigeria, You will not be a leader and unless you attended a school, unless you know your classmates, unless you have a good certificate. When you say, I went to Pacesetters, people can say yes, was in the same class with the person and you will be celebrated”.
Obi, while also noting that education was the most pivotal mechanism that any nation needed, said “What differentiates development and underdeveloped was education.
“For me, education is the most important thing that any nation needs. What differentiates developed and underdeveloped is education. It is the foundation. Even when you go out and people tell you about measures of development being hinged on the human development index and they tell you it is education, health and per capital income, I will tell you that of all these three, health is about education, if you don’t have a well-educated society, you can’t have a healthy society.
“You can’t pull people out of poverty without education. The more people are educated, the more they pull themselves out of poverty and that is critical. The more you put people out of poverty, the more you reduce humanity and you can’t do that unless you invest in education.
“The more people are educated, the more they put themselves out of poverty and that is critical. You can’t have 20 million out-of-school children and think of development tomorrow. We must have to invest in education.”
He stressed that N8000 to 12 million households was not enough to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal, insisting that almost every parent need the money across the because of the level of poverty in the nation.
He said: “I was telling my people to find a way how to enrol for this N8,000 because almost everyone needs it; both parents and teachers need the 8,000.”
While speaking on the importance of education in any nation, Obi described as alarming the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) report that more than 20 million school-age children in Nigeria are out of school, saying there was no way there could be meaningful development when such huge number of children have no access to education.
“If you follow the 2022 World population of counties we are talking about the population of Norway, Ireland, Singapore and Dubai put together that is out of school in Nigeria. When you put together the population of these four successful countries together, it will be over 19 million and we have 20 million out of school. So, we have the population of the four thriving, successful, developed countries put together that out of school in Nigeria, so how can you talk about development in the future? So, investment in education is critical,” he said.
Obi noted that various studies have indicated the human development index, health, education and per capita income, education is about all three because health is about education.
According to him, a nation could not have a healthy society without educated people and there was no way to take people out of poverty without education.
The former Governor of Anambra state said poverty is largely responsible for the challenge of insecurity being witnessed in the country today, saying the more people are put out of poverty, the more criminality is reduced “and you can’t do that unless you invest in education.”
Obi observed that the more people are educated, the more they are able to put themselves out of poverty, stressing that there was the need for the government to invest in private schools as in the public, arguing that the children in private schools are Nigerian children.
“Nigeria is a country that says, we have Universal basic education. What this means is that we have the budget for each child and that budget what you do is that, if Pacesetters is a private school, you will make sure that you give Pacesetters the budget we have for each child so that parents can add more; that is how to implement it.
“As a governor of Anambra State, I didn’t really know the difference between the children in public schools and private schools because the children are not private. When people talk about private schools, I say well, it does not matter to me when I am supplying computers to public schools, I gave to private schools as well.
“For me, if I have the opportunity, education will have the highest amount in our budget; that is key and teachers will be celebrated,” he said.
He noted that the most critical component of education is the teacher, saying they are the ones that teach and mould the character of children.
On national honour awards, Obi said it was unfortunate that instead of recognising diligent and hard-working teachers across the country, the Nigerian government confers national honour awards on those who stole from the country and are not even supposed to be part of the country.
While thanking the teachers for the great role they are playing in nation-building, Obi urged them not to be discouraged that they were being recognised, adding this what they are doing was noble and important for the society just as they are one important aspect of the society.
He charged the graduating students to always maintain good character, discipline, be truthful and do the right thing, saying education was what they need to succeed.
He also urged them not to follow the footsteps of bad people, noting that in Nigeria it was easy to say that only bad people succeed, which he added was a wrong notion.
He commended the parents who struggle to put their children in schools, saying he was aware of the difficulties a lot of parents face to pay school fees and other commitments for children to be in school. He, however, assured the parents that their investment would not be in vain.
Chairman, Pacesetters Schools, Abuja, Barr Kenneth Imansuangbon, on his part charged the graduating students to be good ambassadors of the school, saying the school has given training and moulded them to be of good character.
Imansuangbon said: “We have trained them well. They should go out and represent the country as ambassadors, they are the future of Nigeria.
“Nigeria needs change and I believe the training they have received puts them in a better position to represent this country because they are the future of Nigeria,” he said.
Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammad Hameen Nuhu Sunusi, on his part, lamented the declining standards of education because of poor investment in the sector across all levels.
He, however, commended Imansuangbon, for his investment in education, noting that he would be a good governor in Edo state if elected by his people, especially in the area of transformation of education in the state.
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