Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has criticized the scheduling of public examinations for teenagers as early as 6:30 AM, described it as reckless and dangerous.
Obi made the remarks in a statement posted on his official social media handles on Sunday, expressed deep concern over the plight of candidates writing the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
He lamented that students, mostly aged between 15 and 17 years, were being forced to travel long distances across insecure and unfamiliar terrains in the dark just to sit for their exams.
“Who takes responsibility when a 15- or 16-year-old child disappears or is harmed while trying to access their right to education?” Obi queried.
The former governor said the situation reflected a deeper systemic failure, noting that Nigeria has only about 200 universities for a population exceeding 230 million, which amounts to roughly one university for every one million Nigerians.
Citing data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and IndexMundi, Obi stated that countries aiming for growth and development maintain a Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) of at least 40%, while Nigeria’s GER remains at about 12%.
Drawing a comparison with Indonesia, which has over 4,000 tertiary institutions for a population of around 280 million and a GER exceeding 45%, Obi pointed out that Indonesia’s investment in education provides broader, safer access to examinations and higher education for its youth.
“If we had even half of Indonesia’s educational infrastructure about 2,000 universities the Nigerian child would not be forced into life-threatening journeys just to write an exam,” he said.
Mr. Obi stressed that education is not a luxury but a vital investment in any nation’s development.
“You cannot claim to want development while starving your young of access to knowledge. You cannot claim to value your citizens while risking the lives of teenagers every examination season,” he said.
Calling for urgent reforms, Obi urged the government to expand Nigeria’s educational infrastructure to match its growing population and secure the future of its young generation.
“Our young generation should not be endangered because they desire education. We must do better as a nation and ensure that our future leaders get the new Nigeria they deserve,” he concluded.
He ended the statement with his signature line: “A new Nigeria is POssible.“
