Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra State and a presidential candidate in 2023, has bemoaned the present scenario in which public colleges are on strike while 2023 politics have engulfed practically every aspect of national life.
Obi, who bemoaned the fact that anything like this could only happen in Nigeria, termed the scenario as not only sad but also unacceptable.
According to Naija02, the presidential candidate made his feelings known during a guest visit on the Berekete family radio station in Abuja on Wednesday.
He said that the Academic Staff Union of Institutions (ASUU) strike, which has prohibited students at federal universities from attending classes, is the result of the government’s incompetence and insensitivity.
Obi chastised the administration for making promises without following through on them.
“It is very very sad. It is intolerable that schools are closed and we are campaigning and we are even talking about elections. It would never happen in any other country except Nigeria,” he said.
“Education is the most important investment a nation can do for its citizens, which we are playing with here.
“The scourge of this problem is because we have an uncaring government. The agreement was made in 2009 that they will give universities N1 trillion to renovate universities, and that they will pay lecturers’ allowances.
“If they were to be paying N100 million yearly, the payment would have been paid in full. Even N50 million yearly would have done it to some extent.
“The problem is the government made empty promises. So, this made everyone fight. Money collected from presidential aspirants can feed ASUU’s demands.”
Obi, who is running for President in 2023 on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket, promises to make primary and secondary education free nationwide.
“I won’t make tertiary education free. Primary and secondary will be free, but we must find a way to fund tertiary education,” he added.
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