By Muhammad Mamman
In a stirring address at the 6th Annual Lecture of the College of the Immaculate Conception (CIC) Alumni Association, former Nigerian Aviation Minister and Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, Chief Osita Chidoka, hailed Enugu State’s unprecedented allocation of ₦320 billion—33% of its 2025 budget—to education, calling it a “visionary investment” poised to reshape the region’s future.
Speaking at the International Conference Centre in Enugu, Chidoka praised the state’s Smart Green Schools initiative and its focus on technology-driven learning, describing the move as a potential blueprint for transforming public education across Nigeria. “This is a bold statement of intent,” he said, “placing education at the heart of Enugu’s development strategy.”
Chidoka also spotlighted the remarkable contributions of the CIC Alumni Association, which has raised over ₦3 billion to fund transformative projects at their alma mater. These include a ₦1.5 billion state-of-the-art sports complex, a 540-bed solar-powered hostel, a modern auditorium, an alumni centre, and staff housing. “These are not just buildings,” Chidoka declared. “They are monuments to excellence, service, and integrity—proof of what unity and vision can achieve.”
Yet, he sounded a note of caution, highlighting Nigeria’s stark education funding gap compared to global peers. While nations like Singapore and South Korea invest over $10,000 per student annually, and South Africa and Egypt allocate $4,000 and $1,000 respectively, Nigeria’s per-student spending languishes below $50. “Even Enugu’s ambitious budget falls short of the investment needed to produce globally competitive graduates,” Chidoka warned.
Proposing a bold solution, Chidoka urged the South East’s five governors to adopt the CIC alumni partnership model—a collaborative framework where government provides 40% of funding, school fees cover 25%, and alumni contributions account for 35%. He called for each state to transform five legacy secondary schools into elite, STEM-focused boarding institutions, creating 25 “gold-standard” schools across the region.
“With the South East already leading in literacy and exam performance, this region is primed to pilot a national model for education reform,” Chidoka said. He envisioned a future where, within a decade, graduates proficient in coding, robotics, and engineering design emerge as global leaders, their success rooted in “decisions like this, when CIC and its alumni chose to lead
