It pains me that more than 13m Nigerian children are out of school – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, described claims that over 13 million Nigerian children who should be in school are out of school, as one of the things giving him more pains in the current situation of the country.

Obasanjo spoke when the National Youths Council of Nigeria (NYCN) visited him at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

He admonished his visitors to try and make contributions in the affairs of the country and not allow anybody to tell them they are too young to make input on national matters.

“Whatever I have done, I have done it because I was educated and the love I have for Nigeria. If I didn’t have education, I would not have been able to do what I have done and today, it pains me that more than 13million Nigerian children who should be in school are out of school.

“We don’t need additional teachers; you will only increase what those teachers get maybe by 40 per cent or something, we can even do two streams if we prepare for that and start two years from now and those children would have become product that would be able to make contributions and make their own life better and as well making the life of their families too better.

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“I am so much concerned about the youths, the truth is, over 60 per cent of our populations are youths and under 30 years of age.

“Don’t let anybody tell you that you are too young, I started making contribution to the world when I was serving in Congo in 1960, I was only 24 years old. By the time I went to the war front, I was still under 35 years of age, by the time I became the Head of State, I was under 40 years of age,” he said.

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