{"id":125696,"date":"2026-02-17T09:34:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=125696"},"modified":"2026-02-17T09:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:34:30","slug":"invest-in-education-or-risk-global-irrelevance-gbajabiamila-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/invest-in-education-or-risk-global-irrelevance-gbajabiamila-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Invest in Education or Risk Global Irrelevance, Gbajabiamila Warns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday warned that Nigeria risks global irrelevance if it fails to make sustained and strategic investments in education.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gbajabiamila gave the warning in Abuja at the 2026 International Day for Education Conference themed, \u201cRe-imagining the Future of Education in Nigeria: Collaborative Solutions for a Brighter Tomorrow,\u201d convened by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Delivering his goodwill message, he stressed that in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy, no nation can compete effectively without prioritising human capital development.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cEducation is the bridge between potential and productivity; between aspiration and achievement,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAny country that neglects education in today\u2019s world risks being left behind.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gbajabiamila emphasised that access to quality education must be based on merit and potential rather than privilege, noting that economic hardship should never deny capable Nigerians the opportunity to pursue higher learning.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Recalling his tenure as Speaker of the 9th House of Representatives, he highlighted his sponsorship of the Students\u2019 Loans Bill, which he said was designed to eliminate financial barriers to tertiary education.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to him, President Bola Tinubu assented to the bill within the first three months of the administration, leading to the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. He noted that the Fund has since disbursed billions of naira to eligible students nationwide.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former Speaker described the initiative as strong evidence that education occupies a strategic position within the administration\u2019s Renewed Hope Agenda.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAs Chief of Staff to the President, you can always count on my support. Education will remain central to the Renewed Hope Agenda. Nigeria\u2019s brightest tomorrow will be built in the classrooms we strengthen today,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Gbajabiamila also commended the 10th House of Representatives for intensifying oversight of tertiary education funding, advancing student welfare initiatives, and promoting reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability across institutions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Speaker on International Cooperation and Educational Development, Abisoye Da Rocha-Afodu, noted that the International Day of Education was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 to recognise education as a fundamental human right.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">She lamented that Nigeria currently has over 20 million out-of-school children, the highest number globally, alongside persistent infrastructure deficits, poor teacher welfare, outdated curricula and limited access to technology.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to her, the conference was convened to assemble lawmakers, policymakers, development partners and other stakeholders to identify practical and sustainable solutions to these challenges.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Also speaking, Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Polytechnic and Higher Technical Education, Fuad Laguda, said funding constraints continue to undermine the capacity of polytechnics and technical institutions to deliver industry-relevant skills.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Laguda stressed that any country serious about sustainable development must prioritise education, adding that Nigeria must align its demographic potential with bold investments and policy discipline to strengthen its global standing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The conference formed part of broader efforts to reposition Nigeria\u2019s education sector as a foundation for economic reform, youth employment, innovation and long-term national competitiveness.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tracy Moses The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Monday warned that Nigeria risks global irrelevance if&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":125697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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