Our Reporter, Abuja
Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, has given reasons behind his ₦20 million donation to the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), calling on the government to urgently address the pressing challenges in education and healthcare across the country.
Making the disclosure on Friday via a post on his X handle, Obi said he made the donation after a visit to the university on Friday, following a distress call he received from the faculty over the weekend. According to him, the Faculty had raised an SOS appeal citing the acute lack of dental chairs and basic training equipment, a situation that could threaten the academic future of the students.
The visit to UNICAL comes just days after a similar engagement with the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where Obi had also responded to an earlier call for intervention.
“Following the SOS appeal I got last week and my visit to the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I received another appeal from the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Calabar, on Saturday, highlighting a similar issue,” Obi said.
“Today, I was in Calabar to meet with the students. After my interaction with them, I offered my commitment towards ensuring their education is not derailed. I made a modest donation of ₦20 million to support the Faculty’s immediate requirements of providing dental chairs to equip the studies of the students.”
Obi stressed the need for government intervention and called on authorities to give the matter urgent attention by providing both financial and institutional support to the university leadership and assisting students who have worked tirelessly to pursue their education.
“I urge the Government to prioritise critical areas of development—education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation. These students must not be made to suffer for circumstances beyond their control,” he said.
He also praised the Vice Chancellor and the university’s leadership for their commitment to ensuring that students are not abandoned in their time of need.
“At this critical time in our nation, we must stop neglecting healthcare, education, and pulling people out of poverty. We must, as leaders, build a country where our students can focus on learning without a lack of basic facilities and tools,” Obi added.
He also said: “We must do better as a nation. Our children must not continue to lose their future in Nigeri…”
Obi’s gesture has been widely commended by students and staff, who described the donation as a much-needed lifeline.
