- Obi noted that those who “stole the country dry” are being celebrated
- Obi advocated for an increased budgetary allocation for education
- He lamented government’s indifference to teachers’ plight
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has said national awards have lost their reverence and appeal.
Obi accused the Federal Government of giving national awards to unscrupulous individuals and persons of questionable antecedent and character.
He spoke on Saturday at the graduation ceremony of Pace Setters Academy in Abuja.
Obi noted that those who “stole the country dry” are being rewarded and used as model for young people while the roles played by teachers in moulding the “leaders of the tomorrow.” are ignored.
Obi, who clamoured for an increased budgetary allocation for education, blamed the country’s level of development on the government’s understanding of the importance of education.
He stated, “Education is the most important thing any nation needs. It is the foundation of development. If you don’t have an educated citizenry, you can’t have a healthy society. You can’t pull people out of poverty without education. This is because the more people you ensure get education, the more they would be able to pull themselves out of poverty.
“We can’t have 20 million out-of-school children and start to talk about development tomorrow. That is why we need to invest in education. During our campaigns, we said we will invest in public schools and private schools. We talked about having a budget for every child in a way that the budget for each child will be paid to their respective schools, whether private or public.
“As the governor of Anambra State, I didn’t have anything called private school because there is no private child in Nigeria. I equipped schools with computers and other necessary facilities. If I have my way, education will have the highest budget and teachers will be celebrated. They are the ones moulding the children.
He referenced a teacher, Akeem Badaru, from St Michaels School in Ogun State for winning Cambridge’s best teacher award, beating 99 other countries. “Many Nigerians did not know. We are busy giving national awards to those who stole the country dry,” he added.
The founder of the school and LP governorship aspirant in Edo State, Kenneth Imansuangbon, in his remarks, charged the graduating students to be at their best always.
“The students are the future of Nigeria and we have trained them. It is now time for them to go out and practice what they have been taught,” he added.