Obi condemns ongoing strike by FCT primary school teachers
Obi condemns ongoing strike by FCT primary school teachers
Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the prolonged strike by public primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which has kept pupils out of school for more than three months.
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Obi emphasized the vital role of education in national development, describing it as the most essential and invaluable element of human progress. He stressed that a country’s level of development is directly linked to the education of its citizens.
“It is a well-established and verifiable fact that the more educated a nation is, the more developed it becomes. Therefore, the most important investment and policy direction for any country should be the education of its people, especially children, to safeguard their future,” he stated.
Obi also reminded the public that Nigeria is a signatory to both the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which place a strong emphasis on education as a cornerstone of development. He further noted that the country has enacted the Universal Basic Education (UBE) law, which guarantees every child access to quality basic education.
Obi expressed dismay that despite these frameworks, primary school pupils in Abuja, the nation’s capital, have been out of school due to a prolonged 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 and we are busy renovating the infrastructure,” he said.
According to him, focusing on physical infrastructure while neglecting education is a misplaced priority.
“The true foundation of societal progress lies in educating the people, not merely constructing physical infrastructure. Real development is centered on nurturing human potential and educating future generations,” Obi said.
He cautioned that neglecting children’s education only serves to worsen poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment. Obi urged leaders to shift their focus toward building human capital.
“We must make human capital development a top priority—especially in areas like basic education, healthcare, and poverty reduction. That is the path to national growth and the way to create the New Nigeria that we all believe is possible,” he concluded.
