Former Anambra State governor and 2027 presidential aspirant Peter Obi has described the persistent neglect of Nigeria's education sector as the root cause of the country's poor human development indices, urging an immediate overhaul driven by government, the private sector and academia working in concert.

Obi made the call while delivering a lecture titled Repositioning Nigeria's Education Sector Through Private Partnership for National Growth and Global Competitiveness at Coal City University in Enugu, where he cited data ranking Nigeria 161st out of 193 nations on the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index, with a score of 0.548.

He attributed the ranking to deep structural failures across education, health and living standards, pointing out that Nigeria allocates less than 7 percent of its national budget to education, far below the UNESCO recommended 15 to 20 percent. He linked the shortfall directly to youth unemployment and underemployment figures exceeding 30 percent and a widening mismatch between graduate skills and labour market demands.

Drawing sharp funding comparisons, Obi noted that South Africa allocates approximately 30 billion dollars annually to education for a population of 65 million, while Nigeria, with a population exceeding 200 million, commits an estimated 2.5 billion dollars. He described the disparity as funding starvation and said it has driven the continued migration of skilled professionals out of the country.

Obi also questioned the exclusion of private Universities from Tertiary Education Trust Fund interventions, arguing that a more inclusive framework would strengthen the entire education ecosystem. "Do students in private universities come from another planet?" he asked.

He noted that Nigeria's life expectancy, estimated between 50 and 55 years, remains significantly below global averages, and that the country's literacy rate, put between 59 and 69 percent, falls short of the requirements of a knowledge driven economy.

Obi contrasted Nigeria's position with that of Indonesia and Egypt, which have recorded Human Development Index scores of around 0.73 to 0.74 through sustained investment in education, healthcare and human capital.

"Nigeria's problem is not a lack of talent, but a failure of alignment, investment, and partnership. Repositioning the education sector is fundamental to achieving sustainable development and global competitiveness," he stated.

He called for curriculum reforms aligned with industry needs, expanded research and innovation funding, stronger skills acquisition programmes and greater private sector commitment to education as a strategic national investment.

The vice chancellor of Coal City University, Prof. Adam Icha Ituma, and the chairman of the occasion, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, described Obi's presentation as timely and urged stakeholders to act on the issues raised.