Former Anambra State governor and 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised serious concerns over the declining state of Nigeria’s education sector, calling it a “national emergency” that requires immediate attention and a decisive shift in government priorities.
Speaking on Thursday in response to alarming reports from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Obi condemned the country’s continued neglect of the education sector amid massive spending on projects with questionable developmental value.
UBEC recently disclosed that over 20 million Nigerian children are out of school, while millions more, though enrolled, lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. Citing the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results, Obi described the figures as devastating. Only 38.32% of the nearly two million candidates passed five subjects, including English and Mathematics — the worst result in five years.
“These scary statistics were also mirrored by WAEC,” Obi noted. “At a time when education should be our most urgent national priority and most critical investment, we continue to spend trillions on infrastructures, most of which contribute little or nothing to measurable development.”
He criticised what he sees as misdirected leadership focus, pointing to numerous abandoned renovation and infrastructure projects across the country, while schools remain dilapidated, under-resourced, and overcrowded.
“Our children deserve classrooms, not abandoned projects,” Obi asserted, stressing that investment in functional, well-equipped schools must take precedence over political grandstanding or vanity projects.
Obi warned that the consequences of continued neglect are dire, not just for the individual child but for the nation as a whole. According to him, without a firm investment in education, Nigeria risks deepening poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment.
“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,” he said. “When we fail them, we have failed our nation.”
Obi called on both federal and state governments to urgently redirect resources toward rebuilding and revitalising the education system, with a focus on access, quality, and infrastructure.
His statement has since sparked fresh conversations online, with many Nigerians echoing his call for educational reform and urging policymakers to act swiftly before the crisis worsens.
