Why I donated N200m for education within one week — Obi

The Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, says he donated over N200 million within a week for education in a bid to provide a future for the younger generation.

Obi made this knownduring the 70th Anniversary of Queens School Enugu, organised by the Queens School Old Girls Association (QSEOGA), on Saturday.

“On Monday, I was in Onitsha, where they started a new university. From there, I went to Borromeo College of Nursing.

“On Tuesday, I was at Anyigba in Kogi State to attend to students’ needs, and on Thursdays, I was at Almajiri School in Kaduna to attend to their needs also.

“I have donated over N200 million within the week on education,” he said.

While emphasising the importance of investing in education, Obi said that no country would succeed without education.

He said that he was investing in the future of the young ones to discourage them from crime.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said that the future of any country would depend on its investment in health and education.

He decried the state of Queen School Enugu, which, he said, had producedmany great people but had lost its glory due to negligence.

“Those of you who studied in this school will be wondering how we got here.

“A school that has been celebrated has turned into nothing to be celebrated about.

“I am urging you to pull your resources together towards rebuilding this school.

“My appeal to old girls of this school and others in Nigerians is: Let’s go back and fix our schools rather than build new ones.”

He pledged to partner with the association to give a facelift to the school.

Earlier in her remarks, the National President of the association, Mrs. Ifeanyi Egbunike, said that many things had gone wrong with the school.

She said that the school lacked new structures.

“I graduated from this school in 1974, and we are celebrating Queen School because it has come a long way. I am celebrating 50 years of being part of the school.

“The school has groomed and added value to many. We chose Obi because he was a man with vision; he is result-orientated and alover of education,” Egbunike said.

The Chairperson of the Enugu Chapter of the association, Mrs. Maureen Atuonwu, said that Queen School Enugu was established on Oct. 4, 1954.

She said that alumni of the school came from all over the world to celebrate it at 70 years old, adding that the associationwas working towards uplifting it.

“We have come together to discussways of rebuilding this school, as government alone cannot do it.

“We are partnering with the Enugu State Government to see how we can take this school to greater heights.

“This school has produced a lot of professionals who excelled in their various fields of endeavour, including Prof. Ngozi Okwonjo-Iweala,” Atuonwu said.