ABUJA — Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has expressed grave concern over the prolonged strike that has shut down public primary schools in Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for over three months, warning that continued neglect of basic education is a dangerous threat to national development.
Speaking in a statement issued on Thursday, 26 June, 2025, Obi lamented what he described as Nigeria’s misplaced priorities, emphasising that true national progress begins with educating the people—particularly children.
“The most critical and immeasurable component of human development today is education,” Obi said. “It is a known and verifiable study that the more educated a nation is, the more developed it is. Consequently, the most important investment and policy a nation requires is educating its people, especially children, to secure their future.”
Obi recalled that Nigeria is not only a signatory to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—which prioritise education as a core development index—but also has in place the Universal Basic Education law, which guarantees every child the right to quality basic education.
Despite this, Obi pointed out, public primary school pupils in the nation’s capital have remained out of school for more than three months, following an unresolved 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 and we are busy renovating infrastructure,” Obi stated.
The former Anambra State governor argued that while physical infrastructure has its place, human development must be the country’s foremost priority.
“The foundation of societal development is an educated citizenry, not physical infrastructure. True development is about building people. It is about educating the next generation. A nation that ignores its children’s education is digging deeper into poverty, insecurity, and underdevelopment,” he warned.
Obi called on government authorities at all levels to urgently resolve the lingering strike and begin to prioritise human capital development through basic education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation.
“We must prioritise investment in human capital, especially in basic education, healthcare, and pulling people out of poverty,” he urged. “That is how nations grow. That is how we build the New Nigeria that is possible.”
The ongoing strike by primary school teachers under the Local Education Authority (LEA) in Abuja has entered its third month, with many families raising concerns over their children’s future. Stakeholders continue to call for immediate intervention to bring an end to the impasse.