By VALENTINE OBIENYEM

Whenever the issue of education arises, I make one simple request: bring your record, and let us compare.

Peter Obi’s investments in education as Governor of Anambra State remain the most comprehensive educational interventions by any Nigerian governor. More importantly, even after leaving office, his continued interventions in schools across Nigeria as a private citizen rival what many serving governors are doing today.

For Peter Obi, education was never a campaign slogan; it was the foundation for development. He believed that the future of any society depends on the quality of its schools, teachers, and learning environment. His administration therefore invested massively at every level of education – from primary schools to universities.

Some of the landmark achievements include:

Basic and Secondary Education

● Returned mission schools to their original owners while maintaining government support, restoring discipline and excellence to many schools. He also gave them over 2 billion Naira to rehabilitate returned schools. This is why no school in any part of the country compares to aesthetics of Anambra schools.

● for those saying he built no school, Obi constructed five classroom blocks in each of Anambra State’s 177 communities, one of the largest school infrastructure programmes ever undertaken by a state government. The town chairmen at that time can attest to that. Who has done so in Nigeria before?

● Renovated hundreds of dilapidated schools across the state, including schools in which trees had grown. Examples include Comprehensive Secondary School, Onitsha, and Oraukwu Grammar School.

● Distributed about 40,000 computers to schools—an unprecedented digital education initiative at the time.

● Equipped 450 secondary schools with Microsoft Academies, introducing ICT education long before it became fashionable.

● Connected all the schools across the state to the internet. If you doubt it, the pictures are with us.

● Supplied generators to schools throughout the state, many of which are still in use today. If you doubt it, people will post the pictures.

● Established libraries in schools to encourage reading and academic excellence.

● re-started schools’ sporting activities.

● Installed boreholes in over 300 schools, including all girls’ schools, ensuring students had access to clean water and reducing exposure to risks associated with fetching water.

● Distributed two buses to every public secondary school in Anambra State. Who else has done so in Nigeria?

● Released ₦525 million directly to schools for the construction of sick bays. That amount today runs into billions.

● Issued direct intervention funds to principals for erosion control and emergency infrastructure needs.

Teachers and Academic Standards

● Recruited 2,000 teachers for primary schools. He kept money to cover their salaries for two years in order not to burden his successor.

● Recruited 5,000 teachers and an additional 2,000 special subject teachers for secondary schools. He kept money to cover their salaries for two years in order not to burden his successor.

● Ensured prompt payment of teachers’ salaries and allowances. Cleared all the arrears of pensions and gratuities owed to teachers in the state.

● Restored teacher promotions, removing the ceiling that had prevented progression beyond Grade Level 16.

● Regularly recognised and rewarded outstanding principals and teachers.

● Improved accreditation and academic standards across educational institutions.

Technical and Adult Education

● Fully renovated and equipped the Government Technical Colleges at Onitsha, Nkpor, and Umuchu.

● Secured accreditation for multiple technical programmes.

● Strengthened vocational education through Adult Education Centres, Market Schools, and youth empowerment initiatives.

● Equipped 53 nomadic and migrant schools.

● Sustained campaigns against school dropouts through targeted interventions.

Higher Education

Peter Obi’s administration transformed tertiary education across Anambra State.

At Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, his government constructed or completed numerous landmark projects, over 40. Some of them are:

● Faculty of Law Complex.

● Faculty of Engineering.

● Faculty of Agriculture.

● Faculty of Management Sciences.

● Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

● Mass Communication Complex with radio and television studios.

● Administrative Complex.

● Engineering workshops and laboratories.

● Departmental buildings.

● Hostels.

● E-learning and Research Centre.

● Internal road networks.

● Water supply infrastructure.

● Electricity-generating facilities.

● Campus landscaping.

● Master plan for university development.

● Tarring of access roads to the campuses.

His administration also:

● Released ₦5 billion to Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University for infrastructure development. Unprecedented!

● Facilitated the construction of two 250-bed hostels through the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Dr. Kingsley Moghalu. What has anybody attracted after him?

Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugbe

His government provided:

● Major classroom and lecture hall construction.

● New staff office complexes.

● Library renovation.

● Boreholes.

● Electricity-generating sets.

● Security improvements.

● Accreditation of academic programmes.

● Improved research environment.

● Employment of staff.

● Construction of an auditorium.

● Significant upgrades to instructional facilities, with departments receiving national recognition for their equipment and facilities.

He provided buses, generators and ambulances to both Odumegwu Ojukwu University Nwafor Orizu College of Education as well of many for the teaching hospital.

College of Agriculture, Mgbakwu

Peter Obi remains the governor most closely associated with the physical transformation of the institution, with about 15 buildings constructed during his administration.

Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu Teaching Hospital

His administration built the teaching hospital from scratch, with over 25 buildings.

He also built classrooms in major nursing and health institutions in the state. Some of them—St. Charles Borromeo Hospital and Iyi Enu—are today teaching hospitals. I believe strongly that, in no distant time, Diocesan Hospital, Amichi; St. Joseph’s Hospital, Adazi-Nnukwu; and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital will become teaching hospitals. I have no doubt about that, knowing the level of support they received.

Support Beyond Government-Owned Institutions

Peter Obi believed that every school educating Anambra children deserved support, regardless of ownership.

Accordingly, his administration extended financial assistance to institutions such as:

● Madonna University.

● Paul University.

● Tansian University.

● Peter University.

These institutions reportedly received grants amounting to about ₦100 million each at the time, which translates into billions today, in addition to vehicle support.

Rewarding Academic Excellence

Peter Obi also introduced a policy of rewarding academic excellence by presenting ₦1 million to every Anambra indigene who graduated with a First Class degree.

The Record Speaks

Education is not measured by speeches but by investments, infrastructure, teacher welfare, technology, and opportunities created for young people.

Peter Obi invested simultaneously in classrooms, teachers, libraries, computers, internet connectivity, laboratories, universities, technical education, adult education, water supply, transportation, and academic excellence.

His commitment did not end when he left office. Across Nigeria today, he continues to support schools, donate educational facilities, build classrooms, provide learning equipment, and assist educational institutions as a private citizen.

The challenge, therefore, remains simple:

Bring your record on education. Let us compare—project for project, school for school, investment for investment, and impact for impact.

•Obienyem is Peter Obi’s Media Adviser.

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