The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has raised concerns over the ongoing strike by public primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory, which has left pupils out of school for over three months.
In a statement on X on Thursday, Obi described education as the most critical and immeasurable component of human development, emphasising that a nation’s progress is closely tied to the education of its people.
“It is a known and verifiable study that the more educated a nation is, the more developed it is. Consequently, the most important investment and policy a nation requires is educating its people, especially children, to secure their future,” Obi stated.
He stated that Nigeria is not only a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, both of which highlight education as a critical development indicator, but also has the Universal Basic Education Act in place to ensure that every child has access to quality basic education.
Obi expressed disappointment that, despite these frameworks, primary school students in Abuja, the nation’s capital, have been absent from school owing to a prolonged strike.
“When the strike began, we all thought, ‘This is Abuja; it will only last for a day or two.’ But here we are, three months later; our children are still at home, and we are busy renovating the infrastructure,” he said.
According to the former governor of Anambra State, focusing on physical infrastructure while neglecting education is a misplaced priority.
“The foundation of societal development is educated citizenry, not physical infrastructure. True development is about building people. It is about educating the next generation,” he said.
Obi cautioned that ignoring children’s education equals deepening poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment. He called for a renewed focus on human capital development.
“We must prioritise investment in human capital, especially in basic education, healthcare, and pulling people out of poverty. That is how nations grow. That is how we build the New Nigeria that is possible,” Obi stated.
