Oluchi Chibuzor
The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) at the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has said that the education sector remains Nigeria’s biggest challenge, calling for more human development programmes across the country.
He equally stressed the need for Nigerians to pray unto God to touch the heart of its political leaders to use its public money for public good.
Obi stated this yesterday at the graduation of cohort 3 of the “Thinking into Results Programme’, organised by Thought Energy Consulting.
He said the problems in the country can be resolved once the government prioritises investing in human capital development rather than physical infrastructure like flyovers and bridges.
“We need to invest in education, education, education. I always tell people that those of us who are paying school fees for our children abroad are actually in danger. Because if those people in the village don’t go to school and we train our people, once they come back they’re going to become kidnap victims.
“In terms of driving the knowledge economy, unless we start talking about knowledge-based economy, start moving ourselves from this consumption that is now ruining our country, to production, we are wasting our time. We need to invest in education. It is the most critical measure of development today.
“You need to invest in health. These are the two things you need to do first, and then invest in pulling people out of poverty. And education and health helps you to do that. Otherwise, you are wasting your time. Physical infrastructure cannot replace human infrastructure. So you need to build that first, before you talk about money,” he stated.
With the government battling to do even the basic things, he observed education remains the topmost priority.
“The teacher is not trained. The class is bad. The only thing that we did in the building is because of corruption, because the bigger it is, the more we can earn more money. So all these things are things we need to change,” he added.
Managing Director, Thought Energy Consulting, Mr. Chidi Agbapu, said the programme had shown that with a mental shift, nations can grow once its citizens prosper and develop.
He noted that once average citizens achieve success through self development, it invariably impacts the country.
“So if every family finds happiness, finds purpose, do things in a very rational, fair means, if every country is good, there won’t be armed robbers on the streets. There won’t be miscreants on the streets. So like I said, there’s nothing like a country. It’s a collection of individuals that make up a country,” he stated.
