Mr. Obi stated on Arise TV during a talk show that the fact that children in the north could read the Quran demonstrated that they could learn skills that would help them get out of poverty. "If they can learn Quran, it means they are intelligent," said Mr. Obi, a former governor of Anambra, as part of a broader response to education issues. "I'll meet them where they're learning Quran" and tell them they can be skilled.
"In addition to increased investment in education, we need to increase inspection across state and local government," Mr. Obi said. Northern Nigeria's education has lagged behind the rest of the country for decades, and UNICEF estimates that a large proportion of the country's unschooled children are from that region.
Mr. Obi has repeatedly stated that education in Nigeria has the potential to play a significant role in guiding the country out of endemic poverty and deprivation. If elected in the upcoming presidential election, he has pledged to devote 10% of federal budgetary resources to education, a feat never achieved in the country's 62-year history.
