The wife of Edo State Governor, Mrs Betty Obaseki says the population of Nigeria alone makes education nearly impossible for any government to tackle effectively.
Obaseki who spoke as she commissioned a newly built 21-seater 40 classroom blocks in Obioma community in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu state, called on private individuals to support education drive by either owing schools or helping government to renovate or build good schools for their respective communities.
She eulogized the individual who built the school, Iyke Chioke, (Prince of Obioma Kingdom) and said “Iyke is one who is a scholar so i believe it is one of his interests to give back to the society, to ensure that many young children are given the opportunity to actualize their potentials.
“So we need quality education like what Iyke has done and is still doing to ensure that Nigeria breeds a crop of future leaders that would be capable and qualified to manage Nigeria’s economy”.
Also in an address, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, Ernest Obodo said it was proper for Nigeria to have a good education system that works.
“There is no system that Nigeria is following in education. Let us have a system whereby the time a child finishes primary education, he or she already has more information.
“Look at countries like Germany, France, America, etc, a child has about 90% access to quality education and knowledge in computers and ICT.
“But in Nigeria the children are not taught as the teachers live in Enugu and go to school some hundreds of miles away. Some go to school once or twice a week. And the children play about after which they go home without any information or knowledge at their disposal.
“So let us have in Nigeria a system that works where teachers are well paid and where there is discipline”, Bishop Obodo said.
The Group Managing Director, Afri Invest West Africa, Iyke Chioke, who also built the school, said education was key to lifting the future generations out of poverty with quality primary education.
“I want to bring the telecommunications capacity and information age into my local community so that a child in a private school in Ikoyi, Lagos would not have any advantage over a child in this public school in Obioma, my community.
“So i want to build an army of smart programmers between the ages of 12-14 who could sit in Obioma and through computers, work for companies and earn salaries to support themselves without leaving their homes”, Chioke said.
Nneka Ukachukwu
