The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has applauded a nine-year-old Nigerian boy, David Balogun, for becoming one of the youngest students in the world to graduate from high school.
In a post via his X handle on Wednesday, Obi said he is intrigued by the story of David, who made history by becoming the youngest student to graduate from Reach Cyber Charter School, based in Pennsylvania, at the age of 9.
Obi asserted that David’s story reinforces the need for a nation to have the right set of ethical and responsible leaders, committed to building strong national institutions and making the right investments in the critical areas of development such as education, healthcare and lifting people out of poverty.
The LP flagbearer asserted that his mission in New Nigeria is to ensure that every Nigerian child is given access to quality education, especially at the basic level.
He stated that this can be achieved by investing aggressively in education and building a safe and conducive nation that will encourage the discovery and development of the many talents Nigerians are endowed with.
He wrote: “I read an intriguing story of a nine-year-old Nigerian boy, David Balogun, living in Pennsylvania, United States of America, who made history by becoming one of the youngest students in the world to graduate from high school.
“The young Balogun is said to have become the youngest student to graduate from Reach Cyber Charter School, based in Pennsylvania, and is now taking classes at Bucks County Community College. The young boy hopes to go into astronomy, engineering, or software development in the future.
“David’s story reinforces the need for a nation to have the right set of ethical and responsible leaders, committed to building strong national institutions and making the right investments in the critical areas of development: education, healthcare and lifting people out of poverty.
“Due to leadership failure in the country, we currently have about 20 million out-of-school children roaming the streets, who, unlike David, have their great potentials not formally nurtured, and their intellectual potentials do not see the light of the day.
“These children become disadvantaged early in life due to bad governance. I congratulate young David for his intellectual endowments and hard work, which are very exceptional.
“My mission in the New Nigeria is to ensure that every Nigerian child is given access to quality education, especially at the basic level. This we can achieve by investing aggressively in education and building a safe and conducive nation that will encourage the discovery and development of the many talents Nigerians are endowed with.
“Nigeria is a great nation, and Nigerians are great people. Together, we will build the New Nigeria of our dreams.”
