Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed serious concern over the continued strike by public primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which has kept pupils out of school for more than three months. He described the situation as a troubling setback for national development.
In a statement posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account on Thursday, Obi emphasized the vital role of education in human and societal advancement. He warned that neglecting basic education threatens the foundation of national progress and must be urgently addressed.
“Education is the most critical and immeasurable component of human development,” Obi said. “It is a known and verifiable fact that the more educated a nation is, the more developed it is. Therefore, the most important investment a country can make is in educating its people, especially children.”
He noted that Nigeria has committed to global and local education frameworks, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) law, all of which underscore the right of every child to quality basic education.
Obi expressed frustration that despite these legal and policy frameworks, primary school pupils in the nation’s capital remain out of the classroom due to a prolonged teachers’ strike. “When the strike began, we all thought, ‘This is Abuja; it will only last for a day or two.’ But here we are, three months later, our children are still at home,” he said.
He criticized the government’s focus on physical infrastructure while failing to address the human capital crisis unfolding in the education sector. According to him, true development is not measured by buildings and roads but by the quality of education provided to the next generation.
“The foundation of societal development is an educated citizenry, not just physical infrastructure. True development is about building people. It is about educating the next generation,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra State governor warned that continued neglect of children’s education would only deepen poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment across the country. He argued that the long-term consequences of an uneducated population are far more damaging than neglected infrastructure.
He called on policymakers to realign their priorities and commit to improving human capital development. “We must prioritize investment in human capital, especially in basic education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. That is the path to building the New Nigeria that is possible,” he added.
Obi’s remarks serve as a reminder of the urgent need to resolve the FCT teachers’ strike and place education at the center of Nigeria’s development agenda, particularly at a time when millions of children continue to face barriers to learning.
