Ben Ezechime, Enugu
Professor Chinyere Okunna, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Paul University Awka, Anambra State, has tasked governors of the South-East states to budget more on education for the overall development of the region.
Okunna made the call as a keynote speaker at the August 2024 Ikengaonline monthly Town Hall zoom meeting.
Speaking on the topic: “Education, Mentoring and Carrier building in the South East,” the Professor of Mass Communication commended Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for prioritising education in his 2024 budgetary allocation.
“There is need for South-East governors to prioritise education as it remains the key to our development as a people.
“I commend the Enugu State Governor for budgeting N168 billion, the second after Lagos State in the whole federation.
“This is commendable, it’s the way to go,” Okunna said.
The erudite professor regretted regretted that out of the 36 states, her state Anambra, came a distant 30th position by budgeting a paltry N36 billion.
She said there was no way the region could achieve her potentials without proper education, adding that education is the bedrock of development.
Okunna blamed the dwindling fortunes of education in the south-East, nay Nigeria, on poor budgetary provisions across board.
“In 2024, the Federal Government budgeted only seven per cent in the entire budget which drastically fell short of the United Nations recommendation on education,” Okunna said.
She said gone were the days when brilliant children were trained by the community in Igboland.
Okunna, who is the first female professor of mass communication in Nigeria and the West African sub-region, said the Igbos are industrious and intelligent people, who cannot in any way be subdued by any force, no matter the situation.
She commended the Ikenga Media for their foresight in projecting the cause of the Igbo nation.
According to Okunna, the people of South-East have taken the lead in the area of commerce in Nigeria,” establishing businesses all over Nigeria.”
