Education Key To National Dev’t, Global Competitiveness – Gbajabiamila

Chief of Staff to the President, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said education remains the strongest tool for national development and global competitiveness.

Gbajabiamila stated this at the 2026 International Day for Education Conference, themed “Re-imagining the Future of Education in Nigeria: Collaborative Solutions for a Brighter Tomorrow” in Abuja yesterday.

He commended the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, for convening the conference and for what he described as a firm commitment to national development through education.

Gbajabiamila, a former speaker of the House, also said education is not merely another sector of the economy but a matter of national survival for Nigeria as Africa’s most populous nation.

“Education is the bridge between potential and productivity; between aspiration and achievement,” he said, stressing that no country can compete globally without sustained investment in learning.

Gbajabiamila recalled that during his tenure as Speaker of the 9th House, he sponsored the Students’ Loans Bill to ensure that no capable Nigerian student would be denied tertiary education due to financial hardship.

He noted that access to education should be determined by merit and potential, not by privilege, saying that within the first three months of the current administration, President Bola Tinubu assented to legislation that paved the way for the establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.

Gbajabiamila described the move as a clear demonstration that education is central to the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The former speaker also praised the 10th House of Representatives for strengthening oversight of tertiary education funding, supporting student welfare, and promoting reforms to enhance accountability in the sector.

“As Chief of Staff to the President, you can always count on my support. Education will remain central to the Renewed Hope Agenda. Nigeria’s brightest tomorrow will be built in the classrooms we strengthen today,” he added.

Earlier in her opening remarks, the Special Adviser to the Speaker on International Cooperation and Educational Development, Abisoye Da Rocha-Afodu, said the International Day of Education was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018 to recognise education as a fundamental human right.

She stated that Nigeria currently has over 20 million out-of-school children—the highest number globally—and faces significant challenges, including poor infrastructure, weak teacher welfare, outdated curricula, and limited access to technology.

Da Rocha-Afodu said the conference was convened to bring together lawmakers, policymakers, development partners, and other stakeholders to identify practical and sustainable solutions.

According to her, there is an urgent need to strengthen partnerships between government institutions, the private sector, and communities to expand access to quality and inclusive education, particularly for girls and persons with disabilities.

She added that although the International Day of Education is observed globally on January 24, the conference was held in February because the National Assembly was in recess in January.

On his part, chairman of the House Committee on Federal Polytechnic and Higher Technical Education, Fuad Laguda, said the conference offered an opportunity to assess Nigeria’s education system against international benchmarks.

He noted that funding remains one of the most pressing challenges confronting the sector, particularly polytechnics and higher technical institutions.

Laguda emphasised that collaboration is essential to meaningful reform, pointing out that participants from diverse sectors gathered to build synergy and chart a common path forward.

He added that any nation seeking sustainable development must invest heavily in education, stressing that Nigeria must raise its ambitions if it hopes to compete effectively on the global stage.