The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Education

  • Bayelsa education tax

    •It is hard to accept in an oil-bearing state since non-oil states do it without levies

    Bayelsa State Governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, has announced the introduction of a compulsory education levy in the state to be administered through a newly established Education Development Trust Fund (EDTF).  Justifying the initiative, Dickson said: “It is better for us to put together resources to fund mass education. Yes, in this state we have some educated people but the judgement I have made over time is that we have yet to get that critical mass of highly skilled and qualified personnel and unless we have them, we are in trouble”.

    Giving some insight into how the compulsory education tax will be implemented, the governor said it would cut across board and will involve civil servants, businesses, contractors, parents and other stakeholders making some sacrifice for the cause of education in the state. Throwing further light on the issue, he said: “…it will take little contributions from every Bayelsan; some will pay as little as N400, N500 per month. There are others that will have to pay N1,000 or more depending on their businesses. For those in the public service, they will also contribute”. Apparently desirous to lead by example, Dickson said he would be contributing N100,000 monthly to the fund while the deputy governor would contribute N50,000, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, N30,000 and other political office holders also contributing amounts commensurate with their status.

    The governor undoubtedly means well and deserves some commendation since the fund is meant, among others, to support free feeding and free uniform for school children as well as other items that will most certainly be of significant relief to parents. However, Dickson’s administration will also have to contend with the perception that Bayelsa as an oil-producing state, which enjoys 13% derivation in addition to its monthly allocation from the Federation Account, should be financially viable enough to effectively fund education without additional tax burden on the citizenry. This is particularly so because Bayelsa State has a population of approximately two million people, which is far less than that of some other states that are providing free education for their citizens without enjoying the benefits accruing to oil- producing states.

    Apparently anticipating some degree of resistance to the new tax, particularly at this economic recessionary period, the governor had threatened that anyone who opposed the levy would be considered an enemy of the state. We would rather urge continuous engagement by the administration with stakeholders, with a view to persuading them to see the necessity for the tax and the long-term benefits to the state.

    It is no news that Bayelsa State, like most of the 36 states, has been severely affected by the country’s current fiscal crisis attendant on the sharp drop in the international price of crude oil. Lamenting the sharp drop in its allocation from the Federation Account, last year, Governor Dickson said the state was no more in a position to comfortably meet its wage bill obligation of N4 billion to its workers or even borrow from banks to augment salary payment as was the practice in the past. The parlous finances of the state was reflected not just, for instance, in pensioners protesting alleged non-payment of five months pension arrears last year but also by the more significant fact that in 2016, the state’s budget was N150 billion as against N250 billion in 2015, with a negligible sum of N25 billion allocated for capital projects.

    The underlying lesson of Bayelsa’s financial crisis, which mirrors the situation in most other states, is the imperative, both to manage available resources more prudently at that level of governance and also for states to creatively tap their potentials to achieve better economic viability and self sustainability, as well as reduce their dependence on allocations from the centre.

  • Christie Toby: Amazon of inclusive education

    Christie Toby: Amazon of inclusive education

    At the recent Unity Day event of the Archdeacon Brown Education Centre(ABEC) Group of Schools in Iriebe, Rivers State, 16-year-old Obinna Onyisi shone like a million stars.

    Most fellow pupils, guests and teachers, already used to his rare display of ingenuity at the trumpet, oratorical prowess at the panel discussion received yet another surprise: Master Onyisi thrilled at the scientist exhibition by producing a sprinkler irrigation tool. Yet, he is visually impaired.

    In fact, many of the major prizes went to Onyisi and his school mates from the Christie Toby Inclusive Education Centre (CTIEC), including the hearing and speech impaired. Pureheart Ogedengbe, a hearing and speech impaired six-year-old pupil of the school, went home with the ‘Cook of the Year’ prize.

    ‘’I want to be a lawyer so that I can fight the widespread injustice and right the dysfunctionalities in our system,’’ Onyisi said. ‘’If our system were working, this would never have happened to me,’ he told this writer, a broad smile on his cherubic face shaded by dark goggles.

    Onyisi is a victim of a failed health system having being blind after being given an expired malaria drug four years ago. The school came to his rescue and he has found solace, his bearing and the right atmosphere to shine. He came tops in the Junior WASC and Junior NECO exams in 2015 with 14 Distinctions (written in Braille).

    Yet, Onyisi and those who won at the Open Day are just a few of the several beneficiaries of the school established in 2008 by Mrs. Christie Toby, a retired teacher and top-notch career civil servant, to carter for pupils with disabilities.CTIEC’s uniqueness lies in its inclusiveness.

    Rather than put up a school for ‘deaf and dumb’ or blind children exclusively, thereby reinforcing the pervasive sense of discrimination, she established one, which is a mix of regular pupils and those with special needs, such as hearing, sight and physical impairment. The school is one of two in the country and the only privately run institution of such in the country. So far, the experiment has worked perfectly in ensuring a seamless mix of the school children whether impaired or not. It has reduced discrimination, enforced cohesiveness among them, and most notably, regular students go away skilled in sign language proficiency and even Braille. Many children whose parents would have shoved away to a corner of their houses owing to the stigma attached to their disabilities, have now found hope through the magnanimity of one woman. Many, drawn from several, are also on the school’s scholarship so that their parents’ financial incapacities would not cripple or blur their life’s dreams.

    For Dame Christie, setting up CTIEC was a gesture of love for society’s rejects. ‘’Children with disability ought not to be segregated because in the wider world, there is no segregation, so they must mix at every point, including in the educational environment.’ Setting up the school,’’ she added, was the realisation of some of her innovativeness as a government teacher and principal which were stifled by bureaucracies and boardroom politics. Mrs Toby’s example in inclusive education should inspire both the government and private investors in the educational sector.

    Yet, the CTIEC (comprising nursery, primary and secondary school section) is just one of the six schools across the state run by Mrs. Toby known to generations of pupils, especially girls in the state, as the ‘articulate and strict teacher/principal’.

    The others are ABEC Secondary School (full boarding), ABEC Day Secondary School, ABEC Nursery and Primary School, Archdeacon Brown Advanced Level Centre (ABALC), Mary Virginia Nursery and Primary School, all through whom Mrs. Toby provides ‘quality and affordable’ education, a reprieve from the country’s crass educational failures.

    As a testimony to the quality of education dispensed in the ABEC schools, their alumni have continued to shine across the global skies. For instance, Ebuka Okwuokonye, a 2009 graduate of ABEC Secondary School is a well-sort, high profile software development expert who has developed soft ware for leading institutions, including the Bank of Industry, Covenant University, SAHCOL, Elizade Toyota, Diamond Bank, among several others.

    A thoroughbred teacher, Rivers State-born Dame Christie, 75, started teaching in 1963 at 22 and has maintained her life-long commitment to the teaching, deepened with degrees in Education from the University College, Cardiff (BA), University of Bath – both in Britain and a PH in Education from the University of Port Harcourt in 1990 (having obtained a National Certificate in Education (NCE) from the Rivers State College of  Education earlier in 1975.

    Owing to sheer hard work, she climbed the ladder to the position of principal. Her feats as  principal of St. Scholastica Girls’ High School, Bakana, Rivers State  between 1979 and 1981, a school she restored from reputational ruins.

    Also as principal of the Holy Rosary Secondary School in Port Harcourt (1982 to 1988), she left behind the same legacy of enforcing high standards. Same as Sole Administrator of Delta Hotels Limited  (a chain of 14 government-owned guest houses),   successfully breathed life into it between 1995 and 1999, turning around the run-down conglomerate into highly functional company.

    In recognition of her administrative acumen, the Nigeria Institute of Management (NIM) conferred on her a Chris Abebe Awardee in 2003 and a Fellowship later. A former National Vice President, she is a council member of the institute.

    A knight of the Anglican Church, alongside her husband, Alabor  Gabriel Toby, former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, and a leading light from Opobo Kingdom, she has served as Lay Secretary Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) for the past 12  years), having served as a lay preacher for several years.

    Until recently, she was the Chief Commissioner of the Nigerian Girl Guide Association of Nigeria (NGGA), a group she led to unprecedented height.

    Why has Mrs Toby remained largely uncelebrated, especially outside the Niger Delta, despite her elephantine accomplishments? ‘’I think she is under-celebrated, in view of her huge accomplishments in her stewardships as a civil servant and in other areas,’’ said her daughter, Mrs. Ibim Semenitarim, former Commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers State and immediate past Acting  Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). ‘’And that is basically because of the type of persons my parents are; not wanting to blow their own trumpets,’’ she added.

    Dame Toby is a perfect women’s month gift!

     

    • Abah is a journalist and child’s rights advocate

  • ‘Allocate 80% of budget to education’

    Founder Nigeria Oral Literature Association (NOLA) Prof Gabriel Godini Darah has advocated that 80 per cent of the country’s budget be allocated to education.

    Darah premised his proposition on the fact that a country with much focus on education triggers development and instils self confidence in its citizenry.

    He spoke at the 55th Anniversary of the Department of English, University of Lagos (UNILAG). His lecture was entitled: “The humanities and the redemption of Africa”.

    He said: “Nigerian government at all levels must commit about 60 to 80 percent of the budget on providing knowledge and education to all the citizens. Once we have that knowledge, each person will become self reliant. We will no longer be asking government for work. That is the kind of emancipation that exists in Korea, China, and Europe.

    “Education is the key and we are saying that it must be mandatory and paid for by the government. Once you do that in five to 10 years, other nations will run to Nigeria for solutions because we already have the first assets (human beings) of over 180million.”

    Darah of the Department of English at the Delta State University (DELSU, explained that the African society faces inferiority complex with their counterpart,which he said, has affected their psychological stability for great development.

    With statistics, Darah explained that the development of man started in Africa, precisely in Egypt over three billion years ago, adding that there is the need to restore her lost glory.

    He noted that education is needed to provoke radical thinking and self reliance.

    “First of all, we need to believe in ourselves that we are not inferior to anybody. Nigeria needs a new type of knowledge, new type of radical understanding.

    “All the geniuses who invented mathematics, engineering, medicine, architecture and the likes were blacks. So, how come that we Africans who were the originators, are now lagging behind? The truth is, if we have 180milion Nigerians educated, we do not need oil and gas,” he said.

     

    The Head of Department of English, UNILAG, Prof Hope Eghagha, lamented that the continent is competing poorly in development, noting that History as a subject which provides information about the country has not been given its right of place.

    “It is more appalling that the young people coming behind us don’t have a history of Nigeria; they do not have a sense and development of Nigeria. If we are conscious of our history, then we can understand where we are and know where we ought to go.”

    Renowned poet and literary critic, Odia Ofeimun, believes that the society is filled with moral decadence.

    “Parents who buy exam questions and answers for their children are not youths. In some parts of Nigeria, SS3 have been wiped out because parents are buying miracle centres for their children to pass exams. The universities have also been following that path.

    “There is only one means to change a society – education. Those who have not been brought up in the way of good things cannot be properly good because they do not know the meaning. If we must start, we have to start with a proper education system.

    “They did not actually cancel History subject, they just made education impossible. These are people who came to power by destroying the constitution. Why would they want their stories to be told properly because all the histories they have are negative,” he added.

  • Bayelsa youths support Dickson’s education levy

    Bayelsa youths support Dickson’s education levy

    The Niger Delta Youths Coalition for Peace and Progress (NDYCPP) has hailed the educational policies of Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the governor last Friday announced that he had signed the Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund and Bayelsa Higher Education Trust Fund.

    The laws make it mandatory for every taxable adult, civil servants and corporate bodies to contribute on a monthly basis to the trust funds.

    The fund will be used to run secondary educational institutions and provide revolving loans to indigent students in tertiary institutions.

    NDYPP in a statement by Pastor Olayinka Tiedor and Chief Henry Nabena, acting national chairman and acting state chairman in Bayelsa,  pledged to collaborate with the government to sensitise the public to contribute to the trust funds.

    It noted that the educational programmes of the Dickson  administration were panacea for reversing the state’s backwardness.

    The group said the establishment of Ijaw National Academy, a model boarding secondary school providing scholarship for 1, 000 pupils  from the Niger Delta, was an ambitious effort worthy of support.

    “We support in totality, the educational development levy because of its importance in sustaining quality education at all levels.

    “This will also check youth restiveness by providing opportunity for youths to ensure self development.

    “This wake-up call to give education the priority it deserves is key to the speedy transformation of Bayelsa and indeed the Ijaw nation.

    “Therefore, all hands must be on deck to bring it to fruition irrespective of political party affiliation or tribe.

    “The NDYCPP, a coalition of youth groups across the Niger Delta, with structures in all the states and local governments of the region, remains a viable youth advocacy platform.”

    NDYCPP said it is committed to empowerment of 5, 000 youths in Bayelsa within the next one year.

    It said in collaboration with the Bayelsa Ministry of Agriculture, it had facilitated the participation of 200 youths in the CBN Anchor Borrowers Scheme for Fish/Cassava farmers.

    The body said the target of empowering 5,000 youths was feasible, considering its efforts in agriculture, entrepreneurship development, wealth creation and existing partnership with the three tiers of government and private sector

    It praised the plans of the  government to float Bayelsa Young Entrepreneurship Programme to provide soft loan for youths with viable business ideas capable of creating jobs to decongest the labour market.

    The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has urged governors in the Niger Delta to prioritise education and step up investment in education.

    The group was reacting to the foundation laying for Senate building of Niger Delta University by Governor  Dickson in Amassoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government.

    IYC Secretary Mr Parkins Ogede said the governor has taken the bull by the horns in tackling the educational disadvantage of the region by initiating the Education Development Trust Fund (EDTF).

    The organisation enjoined  other governors to emulate Dickson by paying attention to education.

    Ogede said IYC will not hesitate to call out under-performing governments in the region and in extension the Ijaw nation, to take steps to meet the expectations of the people to provide education to uplift the living standards of the people.

     

  • Education is key, pupils told

    Pupils have been advised to take education as a priority to succeed in life.

    The National Chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Olawale Oshun, gave the advice at his 67th birthday celebration, which his non-governmental organisation (NGO) Olawale Oshun Foundation, organised for him in collaboration with the Pen Society of Nigeria.

    Tagged: Oshun 17 reads, the event held at the National Library, Yaba, had pupils from schools within Lagos Mainland.

    Oshun said education was the bedrock of whatever the pupils aspire in life as it would enable them contribute to the development of the nation.

    He advised that the 21st Century has created a wider environment and made information easily accessible, therefore, the youth should take advantage of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) platform to boost their knowledge.

    “You have a wider environment now compared to our days. You have access to internet, Information Communication Technology all these at your doorsteps. It is left for you to explore these opportunities. They are to enhance your knowledge because irrespective of your career choices in life, education should be prioritised,” he said.

    Responding to questions from them on youth development Oshun said: “It is you that need to have the zeal to do something. You have to make yourselves available, then, the opportunities will definitely come by. If you want to serve the society, you have to be willing to sacrifice to serve other people well. You can start showing those capabilities in your early stage in your school environment.  At times, it might not be rosy seeing yourself placing other peoples’ needs before yours; that is just the spirit of sacrifice.”

    “You need to have confidence to discuss your ambition with your parents. Do not wait till they start asking you. Discuss it with your teachers and people you think can help you shape your understanding towards the path you have chosen. In all, your education is key and learn to be skilful. Remember, good education with a bad attitude is useless,” he warned.

    He noted that celebrating his birthday with them was a step he took seven years ago when he marked his 60th birthday. According to him, it was to encourage pupils on their education.

    The event also featured presentations of articles by pupils on ‘National Youth Development’.

    A member of the Pen Society, Mr Olarewaju Adelaja, said the organisation is a literary and art oriented gruop, interested in developing the reading culture among the youth.

  • Foundation backs education development

    Youris Olatunji Bashorun Education Foundation, (YOBEF), has declared its support for the promotion of quality education for Nigerians.

    The foundation, as part of its support, has consecutively held the annual quiz competition for selected schools across the six education districts in Lagos State.

    Speaking at the grand finale of this year’s competition held at Isolo, Mr. Yakub Bashorun, son of the late Olatunji Bashorun who the Foundation is named after, said the initiative had over the years produced awardees whose academic performances remained reference points among their peers.

    Bashorun, who is Lagos State Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, provides scholarship awards to indigent students from Isolo Local Government.

    He expressed the belief that if relevant stakeholders identified with the education sector, such support would inspire students for improved academic performance and healthy rivalry.

    Bashorun further said YOBEF has also decided to expand its scope to accommodate sponsorship of result-oriented school teachers to pursue post-graduate degrees.

    He urged participants at the competition to leverage on the opportunity to strive for the best in their academic pursuit.

    From the four schools that contested for the first, second and third positions Ansar-ud-Deen Senior College, Isolo emerged the overall winner followed by Ansar-ud-Deen Girls’Senior High School, Itire and  Ansar-ud-Deen Comprehensive Senior High School, Okota which emerged first and second runners up, while Zumratul-Islamiyyah Senior High School, Yaba, came fourth.

  • Groups condemn eviction of Lagos community

    Groups condemn eviction of Lagos community

    A coalition of Civil Society groups has condemned the recent forced eviction of the Otodo Gbame community in Lagos State by the government.

    The groups in a signed joint statement also condemned the alleged brazen disregard for rule of law by the state government.

    The protesting groups are Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, Network on Police Reform in Nigeria, Enough Is Enough, Centre for Children’s Health, Education,Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), Center        for Defense of Human            Rights  and Democracy in Africa (CDHRDA) and Community Life Project Legal Defense and Assistance Project (LEDAP).

    “We condemn such impunity and brazen disregard for the rule of law, which is incongruous with a democratic society and Lagos’s aspiration to be a center of excellence and a world-class megacity. Lagos is a megacity by virtue of its population and it will only be a world-class megacity if it refocuses its energies on serving the needs of the people, especially the poor and vulnerable.

    “We are shocked by the State Government’s attempts to justify the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people based on protection of the environment and to deny that it was violating a court order. The purpose of preserving the environment is for the wellbeing of mankind and, therefore, environmental protection measures must also respect and protect fundamental human rights.

    “An order that parties should maintain the status quo, indeed, refers to the status quo ante bellum. Under the circumstances, the status quo ante bellum refers to the situation before the conflict began, i.e. when all the communities that fell under the Governor’s 9 October 2016 attack were still intact since this is the situation the communities sought to preserve by approaching the court.

    “Further, there can be no question but that the forced eviction of nearly 4,700 people from their homes without any notice and without any alternative shelter constitutes yet another unconstitutional violation of the right to dignity, among others, already condemned by the court,” the groups stated.

     

     

     

  • Our universities, again

    Our universities, again

    • A case for subsidies

     

    The communiqué issued by the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities at the end of its biennial meeting in Abuja reads like a manifesto on the future of higher education in Nigeria, by a conclave of one of its principal custodians. It deserves careful study and analysis.

    A good many of its prescriptions are all too familiar: full autonomy for the governing councils of universities, not just on paper but in practice; strict compliance by proprietors of private universities with the charters of their institutions; funding universities and tertiary institutions to make them relevant and globally competitive, and providing more government scholarships and bursaries.

    That these prescriptions invariably figure in every discussion of higher education is an indication that they have not been addressed forthrightly.

    The vice chancellors are eminently on solid ground when they challenged their colleagues to deal creatively with the unending labour disputes that often paralyse the campuses of many universities for the better part of an academic year, if not longer. They noted correctly that transparent and accountable management practices would help create a healthier industrial climate on the campuses.

    This calls for communication and consultation, as well as good-faith negotiation on the part of the university authorities and all the unions, not forgetting the student body.

    Some of the issues raised in the communiqué are self-indicting, such as when the vice chancellors urged universities to work out fresh strategies to build linkages with industries, as well as partnerships with the private sector. Examples of such collaboration abound in Germany, the United States, South Africa, and India. The vice chancellors will do well to draw on them to advance the fortunes of their institutions.

    It is even a greater self-indictment for the vice chancellors, principal actors in the scheme of things, to call for a comprehensive overhaul of the education sector “to tackle the decay reflected from the primary to the tertiary level.”

    Why did they not raise an alarm before standards fell so precipitously? Every year, tens of thousands graduate from the universities, only to join the multitude of thousands who had graduated years back but cannot find meaningful work.

    The average university graduate, Professor Charles Soludo declared when he was Governor of the Central Bank, suffered from a deficit of knowledge as well as language skills that rendered him or her unemployable. His was by no means a lone voice. What concrete measures have the universities taken to stem this scandalous slide? What remedies are they proposing?

    There is also the huge deficit in the training of technicians and technologists in manufacturing, building and construction, agriculture, and health. The education authorities need to address this deficit as well. It is a distortion of the nation’s needs when a university degree, any university degree, counts above all else.

    Perhaps the most controversial of the committee’s prescriptions relates to the overarching issue of tuition. The committee said tartly that tuition-free education was “no longer realistic” in Nigeria. In its place, it called for a policy that would have parents, guardians and the government share “equitably” the financial burden of education. It proposed a policy whereby students would pay fees “commensurate with the true value of university education.” Free tuition, it went on, was “incompatible” with sustainable practical and qualitative education.

    Charging such fees would shut out at least one-half of the students currently enrolled in the university system, and the same proportion figure of potential enrollees. It would reduce university education in public institutions to a transactional undertaking. No society that cares for its place in a knowledge-driven future will embrace such a policy.

    There is always an element of subsidy in the provision of social goods such as education and health. For the same reason that no modern society requires patients to pay “commensurate” hospital and treatment fees to stay healthy, no society should require citizens to pay fees commensurate with the cost of educating them.

    In the final analysis, that cost, including the subsidy, constitutes society’s investment in its own future. The more substantial the investment, the richer the harvest, all things being equal

    How much subsidy to provide is the crucial question, not whether to provide it. As vice chairman of the Federal Executive Council during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, Chief Obafemi Awolowo calculated that the Federal Government was subsidising university education to the tune of 97 percent of the cost. There was, he argued, nothing to lose, but much to gain, from making university education tuition-free.

    Since then, the numbers of universities and student enrolment has exploded, just as the nation’s economic fortunes have declined. But Awolowo’s argument still holds: the public universities are still heavily subsidised, and little value would be added by charging fees that only the wealthy can pay for their wards. Under such a scheme, education would be a privilege, to be enjoyed by the privileged.

    University education should be seen as a social good and an investment. To regard it in any other light is to handicap Nigeria in the global race toward a knowledge-driven future.

    So, let the subsidies continue.

  • Ahmed seeks more investments in education

    Ahmed seeks more investments in education

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has called on stakeholders in the education sector to invest more on education infrastructure. Ahmed, who admitted that such intervention required an all-stakeholders’ input, called for stronger support from community associations, old students and others in revamping the country’s education sector.
    The governor spoke at the Government House in Ilorin, when he received the Old Boys of Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran, led by its President, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi.
    A statement by Ahmed’s Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahaab Oba, said the government would intervene in some secondary schools to make learning environments more conducive.
    The schools include Government Secondary School and Queen Elizabeth School, Ilorin; Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran and Offa Grammar School, Offa.
    According to Ahmed, the government earmarked money under the Infrastructure Development Fund to meet the needs of secondary schools, and assured the stakeholders that with an improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), critical development projects will be executed.
    Mr. Olusegun listed projects embarked upon by the association to turn things around in the school. He said the body had spent over N200 million on development projects.

  • Obi: education key to growth

    Former governor of Anambra State Mr. Peter Obi has reiterated the call for African leaders, especially Nigerian leaders to invest more in education to ensure a guaranteed future for the people.

    Obi spoke at the Oxford University Business School, Africa Forum in Oxford, United Kingdom.

    He said, “The future of the continent lies in tapping her greatest resources – human resources and the only way to realise this is that Africa must aggressively educate her people.”

    Obi said that billions of Naira wasted by Africans in epicurean consumption was enough to raise the standard of education in the continent.

    He called on wealthy Africans to devote part of their wealth to education as the Indians are doing, saying that once Africans get it right, the continent would experience economic explosion.

    Speaking further, Obi decried the level of hunger in Africa, insisting that it was only through massive investment in education, especially basic education, that such calamities would be overcome.