ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – The Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi has reacted to the recently released Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results, saying that it highlights the sobering picture of Nigeria’s education system.
Regrettably, out of 1,955,069 candidates who sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), only around 420,000 scored above 200. This means over 1.5 million candidates — a staggering 78% — fell below the 200-mark threshold, Obi noted.
The two-term former Governor of Anambra State who took to his verified X account to give the analysis on Tuesday, emphasized that this outcome underscores a systemic failure rooted in decades of underinvestment in education — a sector that should be central to our national development strategy.
According to Obi, Nigeria’s total university enrollment is around 2 million students whereas the National University of Bangladesh, (a single institution), enrolls over 3.4 million students, even though Bangladesh has just 75% of Nigeria’s population. Similarly, Turkey, with a population of about 87.7 million, has more than 7 million university students — over three times Nigeria’s total, he added.
He further stated that these figures are more than statistics; they are evidence of a national crisis. Countries that once trailed Nigeria in development indices now surpass us in education and the Human Development Index (HDI).
Obi therefore advised that education must be seen not merely as a social service, but as a strategic investment — the most powerful driver of national development and a key tool for poverty eradication. Stressing that if Nigeria is to become prosperous, secure, and equitable, the time to invest aggressively in education at all levels is now.
