A former governor of Anambra state, Mr. Peter Obi, and the Chairman of Pacesetters Schools in Abuja, Kenneth Imansuangbon, have called for more investments in the nation’s Education sector.
Obi said investing in education would get people out of poverty.

He linked the rising security challenges facing the country with growing poverty in the land.

Peter Obi spoke at the weekend during the end-of-year ceremony of Pacesetters Schools in Abuja.

According to the World Bank, four million Nigerians were pushed into the poverty trap in the first six months of this year with another 7.1 million more expected to join the conundrum, if properly targeted measures are not taken to manage the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

Obi noted that the higher the number of Nigerians that are pulled out of poverty, the lower the level of criminality would be across the country.

The Labour Party stalwart said this could only be achieved by investing more in education.

He said: “For me, education is the most important thing any nation needs. What differentiates development and underdevelopment is education; it is the foundation. When you go out, people tell you about the measures of development being hinged on the human development index and they tell you it is health, education and per capita income.

“The problem of insecurity in Nigeria is hinged on poverty. The more you pull people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality. And you can’t do that unless you invest in education.

“The more people that are educated, the more they are able to pull themselves out of poverty. You can’t have 20 million out-of-school children and think of development tomorrow. We must invest in education.

“If you follow the 2022 world population of countries, the population of Norway, the population of Ireland, Singapore and Dubai; if you put the population of these big, successful countries together, their population is 19.7 million and we (Nigerians) have 20 million out-of-school children. We have a population of more than these four successful, thriving, respectable, developed countries put together as our out-of-school children.

“Imagine what it will be if we invest in education. So, investment in education is critical. We will invest in public schools and we will also invest in private schools.

“So, for me, if I have the opportunity, education will get the biggest share of our budget and our teachers will be celebrated. This is because the most critical components of education are the teachers. They are the ones that our children will take after. They are the ones that talk about discipline. But today, we are not celebrating them.”

Obi urged the graduands to remain true to the values they have acquired.

“Without education, there cannot be meaningful development.”

“The politician, who said 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.”

Obi said,”As a governor of Anambra State, I did not have what we called private schools or public schools because the children are not private, they remain our own children.”

“So when people tell me about private school, I would say well, it doesn’t matter to me. We now equipped public schools with computers. When I gave it to them, I gave it to private schools as well.

“So for me,if I have the opportunity, education will have the highest amount in our budget and our teachers will be celebrated because the most critical components of education are the teachers. They are the ones that our children will take after, they are the ones that talk about discipline but today, we are not celebrating them. Nobody celebrates them but we are busy celebrating and giving national awards to those who have stolen the country dry, we’re busy giving awards to those who should not be part of us. And we are not celebrating the teachers. Things have to change.”

He tasked teachers not to be discouraged by the current development.

“Do not be discouraged because people don’t regard or celebrate you. Know that what you are doing is noble. It is important for the society.

“We can’t have people unless we have people with the right character, we can’t have people unless we have people with the right behaviour, we can’t have people unless we have people with the right discipline.

“As you move to the next stage, know that we want you to be in a different Nigeria, we want you to be part of Nigeria where people who are dropouts will come back to be part of the new Nigeria. Know that the only certificate, the only thing you need is good education. To remain a good person, remain disciplined person, remain truthful, and always do the right thing. It is easy to say that only bad people succeed in Nigeria but please, do not be part of them. That is what we are trying to change,” he added.

Imansuangbon, a frontline aspirant in next year’s governorship election in Edo State, advised the graduands to work hard in order to make a mark in the world.

He 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.”

Also, the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammad Sunusi, decried the state of education in the country.

The monarch, who recounted his days as a student of one of the unity schools, urged the Federal Government to restore the standard of public schools.

He said: “It is quite unfortunate that we have to send our children to private schools in Nigeria. I was a product of Federal Government College in Kano. But we have to ask ourselves why the standard of education in Nigeria is declining. We have to ask ourselves that. Something has to be done.”

The emir urged the chairman of Pacesetters Schools to raise the standard of public schools in Edo State, if he wins next year’s governorship election.

“I was told Kenneth is contesting for the governorship of Edo State. It will be a good opportunity and an advantage to the educational system in Nigeria.

“This is because I believe he will do something about the public schools in Edo State, which will be a model to other states, because education is the key. Without education, we are going nowhere.”