Former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Vice Presidential candidate and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has appealed to the federal and state governments to invest in education, stressing that it remains the best legacy in the world.
He expressed grave concerns that the country had jettisoned education, which is a key driver of development more than oil.
Obi made this appeal when he spoke at the 8th annual public lecture of Foursquare Gospel Church, held at the national headquarters in the run-up to the church’s 66th annual convention scheduled to hold between November 15th and 21st at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway campground. The theme of the lecture was National Security Challenges: Youth Neglect?
In his remarks took a swipe at the government and reiterated that most countries have become more accomplished than Nigeria because they made education a priority and invested heavily in the sector.
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‘Most countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia, China, and India have become more accomplished than Nigeria because they made education a priority and invested heavily. Indonesia’s budget on education is US40billion while that of Nigeria is US2billion. In California, the biggest city in America, the governor earn USD250,000 while university professors earn USD300,000.’
On corruption and leadership failure, Obi asked the government to reduce its unnecessary waste and invest such funds in meaningful ventures. Based on per-capita income, he said that Nigeria has more people living in poverty than China and India combined with more unemployed youths than most other African countries because of its population.
‘We are just after Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan and Nigeria has become the most stressful country to live in; all these are evident because all is not invested in the engine of growth that is the youth,‘ he said.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK