CELEBRATING THE STARS OF TOMORROW
Being the Text of an Address Presented by Governor Alex C. Otti, OFR, at the Umuahia Township Stadium on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, at the Celebration of the 2025 Children’s Day
Protocols
- It is my honour to join the children of Abia State, fellow parents, teachers and all who love the joy and excitement that come with being around the young ones in welcoming all of us to the 2025 International Children’s Day celebration in our State. We have gathered as members of one large family to share in the excitement of our children as they celebrate their day and enrich their childhood memories. As Governor of the State and in some way, the father of every child in Abia, I do not take this event for granted because I still hold dearly to the memories of participating at Children’s Day activities from more than 45 years ago. You may recall that last year, I was here with you, watching the excitement on your faces as you marched, sang and performed other engaging and entertaining activities. My promise is that whenever I am disposed to be in your midst for this event during the term of my governorship, you will always find me here because there is no greater joy than sharing the company of our children.
- The children of Abia, it may interest you to know, are not just dear to us, they are our motivation and strength. The campaign to rescue Abia was driven largely by the commitment to put critical structures in place to secure the future of the children of Abia. Many of us watched with dismay as the public primary and secondary schools that produced the champions of today were ran aground, desecrated and turned into hideouts for criminals and street urchins. We shed tears when the teachers whose influence helped in shaping our worldview became objects of caricature due to years of neglect by successive administrations. More painfully, we were embarrassed to see our mentors living in misery or returning to the streets to fight for their daily bread when they should be resting and enjoying the fruits of their labour in retirement.
- For us, the ill-treatment of active and retired teachers was not just an act of grave injustice to the society, it sent a very dangerous signal that we are a society that do not care about its future because what future is there without dedicated teachers passing their knowledge and sound moral character to the children? It was therefore no surprise that many bright minds left the teaching profession in pursuit of better opportunities elsewhere and for thousands of young graduates; teaching became the least attractive career path. It was strange that rather than pause to reflect on what may have gone wrong, the political administrators of the past doubled down on their disdain for education and by extension, the future of our society. Rather than recalibrate the incentive system for teachers to attract the best and reward the sacrifices of those who spend their waking hours pouring out their lives and learning that our offspring may become better, the teaching profession became a channel for settling political hangers-on and expectedly, the quality of learning became terribly abysmal as the average product of our school system struggled to make a mark, even with rolls of certificates. This event presents us a great opportunity to apologise for the poor judgement of the political establishment in times past as it affects the education of our children. And believe it or not, all of us are culpable and I will be the first to admit that we made mistakes in our choices in the past. While I apologise on behalf of all of us, I can assure you that never again will education be relegated to the background in the state of heroes like Michael Okpara, Alvan Ikoku and Jaja Wachukwu.
- Today, I am glad to announce the dawn of a new era. We are holistically rebuilding the entire learning architecture in the State to answer to the demands of the new global order. In no distant future, we shall start delivering the 20 schools we are converting to smart schools to set a new benchmark for teaching and learning in the State’s public school system. Thereafter, another 20 will follow. You are already aware that we recently published the list of 5, 300 competitively-recruited teachers who are now being deployed not just to teach in our schools, but to become emblems of the new standard of excellence for our educational system. As you may be also aware, we have concluded arrangements to recruit additional 4, 000 teachers with a special bias for persons with competences in science, engineering, mathematics and technology. As I announced yesterday at a joint session of the State Executive Council with the leadership and members of the State House of Assembly, the era of rote learning in our public schools is gone for good. Our children would no longer be sent to rehash old ideas and cram their way to good grades. No, we have trained thousands of teachers across the State in modern pedagogical techniques so as to make teaching and learning participatory and engaging.
- Let me use this opportunity to appreciate Abia parents for taking advantage of the free basic education system we introduced at the beginning of the year. Enrolment figures have shot up astronomically and we are now struggling for space in the schools in urban and rural communities. But we are prepared for the challenge because already, we have awarded contracts for the retrofitting and expansion of hundreds of public primary and secondary schools in the first instance. Things are expected to get even better in the months ahead as additional schools have been marked for structural improvements following the injection of funds from the Universal Basic Education Commission.
- Beyond our investments in education which for us is the surest way to secure the future of our children after years of uncertainty and neglect, we are also doing taking proactive measures to improve the economic environment so that parents are able to fend for their families and cater for the basic needs of the children. Our desire is to build a State where all who work hard can earn enough to support themselves and support their loved ones, especially their children.
- Let me specially thank Her Excellency, the First Lady of the State and my dear wife, Her Excellency, Mrs Priscilla Chidimma Otti, for her commitment to the welfare of children. I am also impressed with the various initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Women Affairs in the State and other relevant agencies of the government to cater for and protect our young ones from environmental and social hazards. As a Government, we shall continue to give priority attention to programmes and policy choices that would have net positive impact on the future of Abia children.
- As I conclude, let me assure every child here that your future is bright. I am optimistic that all of you would grow to become stars and leaders in your chosen fields of interest. We shall do our best to provide you with the necessary support to realise your dreams but again, you have to bear in mind that for anyone who desires genuine success, there can be no alternative to hard work and resilience. Apply yourself wholly to your studies, refuse to be distracted and never permit anyone to lure you to bad gang, drugs, crime or behavioural choices that may pose immediate danger to the beautiful future ahead of you. Take time to learn and express yourselves in healthy development activities like sports, debates, drama, music and membership of youth-oriented voluntary organisations in your communities and places of worship. Tomorrow is yours to take, let nothing hold you back.
- Thank you for listening and may God bless you.
Dr Alex C. Otti, OFR,
27th May, 2025
