A school administrator, Mr Adebisi Olaniyan, has described quality education as a key pathway to Nigeria’s national development, calling for stronger investment in the sector.
Olaniyan, Principal of Victory High School, Ikeja, said no nation could rise above the quality of its schools, stressing that education shaped the character of society.
He said the well-funded education system of the 1960s and 1970s produced many of the nation’s finest minds.
“The leaders we celebrate today were products of good schools. We cannot build a new Nigeria on a broken education system,” he said.
Olaniyan expressed concern over poor funding, dilapidated facilities and the large number of out-of-school children, saying many young Nigerians leave school without the skills required for the modern economy.
“A child without education is a citizen without a future. A nation that fails its children fails itself,” he said.
He urged the government to increase budgetary allocation to education, equip schools with modern facilities and improve teachers’ welfare and training.
Olaniyan also called for greater emphasis on technical and vocational education to reduce unemployment and equip young people with practical skills.
“If we train our children with skills, they will build industries, not join queues for scarce jobs,” he said.
He appealed to parents and communities to support schools and take an active interest in the upbringing of children, expressing optimism that renewed investment in education would secure a brighter future for Nigeria.
