Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s decision to grant scholarships to students in St. Lucia, describing it as a gross display of misplaced priorities amid Nigeria’s deepening education crisis.
Tinubu had announced the scholarship initiative for students from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) wishing to study in Nigeria during his recent visit to St. Lucia.
However, the president’s gesture has drawn backlash from many Nigerians, including Obi, who described the move as “heart breaking and negligence as its peak”.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the former Anambra governor said it was deeply troubling that the President would extend educational aid abroad while millions of Nigerian children remain out of school, and public schools in the Federal Capital Territory have been shut for months.
“It is heartbreaking that our President, who leads a country with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, and whose capital, Abuja, currently has students out of school, would travel to St. Lucia and offer scholarships, while the education system at home lies in ruins,” Obi stated.
He questioned the logic of allocating taxpayer-funded support to a foreign country that, by global development standards, outperforms Nigeria in key areas such as literacy, life expectancy, and human development.
Obi noted that St. Lucia boasts a literacy rate of over 90% and a life expectancy of more than 72 years—both significantly higher than Nigeria’s statistics.
He described Tinubu’s gesture as a “betrayal of the Nigerian child,” citing over 20 million out-of-school children, unpaid teachers, and months-long closures of public schools in the capital.
Citing United Nations data, Obi pointed out that Nigeria ranks 161st out of 193 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI), while St. Lucia is listed in the high development category—highlighting the irony of offering them educational support.
“Mr. President, by offering St. Lucian students a scholarship, you have shown that you understand the value of education, yet you continue to deprive Nigerian students of that same opportunity,” Obi said.
He concluded by urging Nigerians to reject the normalization of what he called “misplaced priorities” and to work towards building a country that puts its people first.
