‘Education Not Scam’ – Obi Unveils Roadmap For New Nigeria

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has unveiled further details of his proposed roadmap for national transformation, focusing on reforms in education and healthcare while refusing the notion that education is a scam.

Obi described this proposed roadmap as the foundation of human capital development for a productive and prosperous Nigeria.

Obi, who released the latest roadmap on Thursday, had outlined the broad framework of his proposed roadmap for national renewal in the first week of July.

He said that the vision emphasised that Nigeria’s transformation must begin with rebuilding human capital through quality education and healthcare, supported by reforms in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), character and civic education, and strategic investments to move the country from a consumption-driven economy to a production-driven one.

His broader vision, first articulated when he decided to run for the presidency, was to place Nigeria on the path of unity and national transformation.

“This vision,” he said “is anchored on a commitment to unity, inclusion, social justice, equity, and the freedom of every citizen to pursue lawful dreams,” adding that education and healthcare reforms remain central to that roadmap.

Obi described human capital as indispensable to national progress, emphasising that “Robust human capital is indispensable infrastructure for national progress.”

He stressed this human capital “serves as the fundamental capital upon which daily life, economic expansion, and the delivery of essential public services depend,” describing education and healthcare as “foundational areas that we must reform with energy and determination if we are to reap the demographic dividend of our youthful population.”

He said his administration, from its outset, would establish a task force dedicated to drastically reducing the number of out-of-school children, alongside a stronger emphasis on TVET to support industrialisation anchored on the country’s agricultural endowments.

“We will place greater emphasis on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) to support our drive for massive industrialisation, anchored on our agricultural endowments and value addition across value chains organised around industrial parks to be located in development zones across the geopolitical regions of the country,” he said.

This broader vision was encapsulated in his 2023 vision when he contested the office of president, calling it, ‘From Consumption To Production, where he sought to birth aggressive local manufacturing to create jobs and arrest ‘japa syndrome’ among the youth, expand the economy and tackle insecurity.

He argued adequate electricity would kick-start that drive for a new Nigeria where cottage industries would provide the needed jobs and income, especially among the youth, thus helping his government achieve the new Nigeria “where everyone would love and call home.”

Zeroing in on skill in the first vision, Obi said funding and equipping TVET institutions through partnerships between government, the private sector and social entrepreneurs, including faith-based educators, would create apprenticeship opportunities similar to Germany’s dual education system.

He argued that Nigeria must confront the paradox of high unemployment alongside a shortage of skilled labour that pushes entrepreneurs to establish businesses elsewhere.

“The situation in which unemployment remains high while Nigerian entrepreneurs establish businesses elsewhere because skilled labour is scarce must be confronted decisively,” he said, adding that doing so was essential to the country’s shift from consumption to production.

Building on that earlier framework, Obi used Thursday’s statement to expand specifically on education and healthcare, describing them as the bedrock of any prosperous nation.

“They are the cornerstones of the foundation that will ensure that a son of nobody can become somebody and remove many from the ranks of the disaffected who often become tools in the insecurity challenges confronting us,” he said.

Citing global evidence, Obi referenced Princeton University Nobel Prize-winning economist Angus Deaton’s book, “The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality,” which he said highlights how quality education and accessible healthcare distinguish thriving nations from lagging ones.

He dismissed the notion held by some young Nigerians that education is a “scam,” insisting that education, combined with good health, “provides the ladder for individual upward mobility and drives economic growth for the nation.”

He called for Nigeria to align education more deliberately with national priorities, drawing comparisons to Singapore’s education-driven development model and China’s transformation under Deng Xiaoping.

“We must become more intentional about aligning education with our national priorities, as Singapore did, and challenge our country to value education in the same way Deng Xiaoping repeatedly urged China to do from 1978 onwards, with the remarkable transformation we see today,” he said.

On implementation, Obi said his administration would work through commissions to strengthen collaboration across tiers of government, ensuring primary education is domiciled at the community and local government levels with strong parental involvement and curricula tailored to local economic realities.

He added that state governments would be supported to expand access to quality TVET and general secondary education through targeted grants and incentives, while universities would be encouraged to specialise in research and teaching areas that make them globally competitive and better equipped to produce a future-ready workforce.