A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Kingsley Uju-Chima, representing Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Oru federal constituency of Imo State, has appealed to the National Assembly to shore up the proposed 2023 budgetary provisios for teachers and education development, so as to appreciate the teachers for their impact in building a better society.
He stated this as his contribution in celebrating the World Teachers’ Day, which was celebrated on Wednesday, with the theme, “The Transformation of Education Begins with Teachers”.
Hon. Uju-Chima in a statement issued in Lagos, urged members of the House of Representatives to find a way to reflect more for teachers as soon as it receives the proposed 2023 budget from President Muhammadu Buhari.
“As a parliamentarian, I want to urge us today that the budget we are going to receive from Mr President (Muhammadu Buhari) in a couple of days, we should devote enough percentage for teachers and enough percentage for the development of education system in Nigeria.
“Why I say this is because, the United Nations charter says education should be given utmost priority in order to develop a nation.
“If we watch the level of insecurities today in the country, it’s borne out of the level of ignorance and illiteracy,” Uju-Chima said.
The lawmaker added that there was the need for every Nigerian to appreciate teachers because without them, members of the House for instance, including him would be in their various villages.
He explained that our lingua franca exists because of teachers, otherwise lawmaking would have been almost impossible considering the different tongues and tribes represented at the Assembly.
“I am very optimistic that if the teachers were not there, maybe some of us might be farming, be in the village and not have the opportunity of coming to Abuja to see the level of development we have seen or are seeing today in Abuja.
“This is why it is very imperative for us to use this medium again to celebrate the teachers, most especially the ones that taught and impacted directly on our life as a student either in primary, secondary or in the university,” Uju-Chima added.
He further added that, teachers inculcated most virtues and discipline exhibited as lawmakers into them.
According to him, most of them hated many of those teachers for being disciplinarian but their discipline paid off.
“Those canes were actually to remodel us,” he recalled.
He, however, commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, for creating opportunity to celebrate the teachers on the World Teachers’ Day marked on October 5, and also for setting two weeks aside to intervene in the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, with aim of resolving the impasse.
Uju-China added that no one can become anything without going through the school system, stressing that school system made each member of the parliament what they are.
“This is one major transformation the teachers have actually given to us members of the National Assembly,” he said.
He, therefore, advised
the members of the National Assembly to deemphasise “on whatever projects that would not impact positively on the lives of our children and the lives of those students who are out of school because of ASUU strike.”
