Former Anambra Governor, Peter Obi on Wednesday blamed the country’s woes and economic downturn on the lack of adequate investment in education.
Obi disclosed this during the University of Nigeria, Nsukka’s 60th Founders’ Day Lecture, entitled “Nigeria at 60: the journey so far”, which was delivered virtually.
According to him, all over the world, education remains the engine room and driver of any economy, empowering the citizens and fast-tracking infrastructure development.
He said, “For Nigeria to compete with the developed nations, the country must massively invest in education by allocating adequate fund in the budget.
“The annual budget of Nigeria on education is low and an indication that the government is not giving education the required attention.
“Adequate investment in education will create more employment, increase literacy and reduce poverty levels in the country.
“Unfortunately, no fewer than 15 million children are out of school in the country, who knows what will be their contributions if they were educated.”
“If those in government should cut cost by avoiding unnecessary expenditures, it will help to give more communities infrastructure and create more employment,” he said.
He also went ahead to advise the Federal Government to increase its financial assistance to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises ( MSME) to boost the economy and create more employment.
“It is an investment in education and support for MSME that boost the economy of China and other leading economies in the world,” he said
According to him, countries like China, India, America, Britain and South Africa had a good economy because they dedicated a substantial percentage of their annual budgets to education.
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