PFN Leader Warns of National Crisis as Chronic Education Neglect Threatens Nigeria’s Future
A prominent leader within the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has issued a grave and urgent warning to the Federal Government, stating that Nigeria is perilously sitting on a “time bomb” due to its prolonged neglect of the education sector. The caution comes against the backdrop of the persistent and debilitating Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes, which have repeatedly paralyzed public universities and disrupted the academic trajectories of millions of students.
The PFN leader articulated that the continuous cycle of industrial actions, unresolved disputes over funding, staff welfare, and the general infrastructural decay in public tertiary institutions are not merely administrative issues but fundamental threats to national security and social cohesion. He emphasized that an uneducated, disillusioned, and idle youth population creates a fertile ground for social vices, including heightened crime rates, political instability, and increased vulnerability to radicalization.
The Core of the Crisis: Beyond Intermittent Strikes
While the immediate trigger for the warning is the ongoing ASUU crisis, the PFN’s statement points to a deeper, more systemic malaise. The problem is not solely the strikes themselves but the underlying conditions that make them a recurring decimal in the national discourse. For decades, Nigeria has consistently failed to meet the UNESCO recommendation of allocating 15-20% of its national budget to education. This chronic underfunding has resulted in overcrowded lecture halls, dilapidated libraries and laboratories, a brain drain of talented academics, and a severe decline in the quality of education.
The PFN leader stressed that this neglect signifies a catastrophic failure of long-term strategic planning. By failing to invest robustly in human capital development, the nation is inadvertently sabotaging its own future economic competitiveness, innovative capacity, and leadership pipeline. The knowledge economy, which drives modern global prosperity, cannot be built on a foundation of educational instability and decay.
The Impending “Time Bomb”: A Generation at Risk
The metaphor of a “time bomb” powerfully captures the latent danger of creating a vast population of disenfranchised youth. Each prolonged strike period adds hundreds of thousands of students to a pool of individuals whose education is put on indefinite hold. This enforced idleness erodes their skills, dims their career prospects, and fosters widespread frustration and resentment towards the political establishment.
This scenario, the PFN warns, poses a direct threat to national security. A generation that feels abandoned by its government and robbed of its future is less likely to be invested in the health and stability of the nation. The resulting social unrest and potential for criminality or other destructive engagements represent the “explosion” that the nation is being urged to avert.
A Call for Concerted and Sincere Government Action
The warning from the religious body serves as a critical non-partisan intervention, highlighting that the education crisis transcends political, ethnic, and religious lines. It is a national emergency that demands a national response. The PFN leader called on the Federal Government to move beyond temporary fixes and palliatives and to engage in sincere, good-faith dialogue with ASUU to address the core issues permanently.
This includes not only honoring existing agreements but also committing to a sustainable funding model for public universities. It necessitates a paradigm shift where education is treated as the most critical national security and development priority, deserving of substantial and timely investment. The government was urged to demonstrate the political will required to salvage the sector and, by extension, secure the nation’s future.
Conclusion: Averting the Catastrophe
The alarm raised by the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria is a sobering reminder that the consequences of neglecting education are not abstract; they are tangible, dangerous, and potentially irreversible. The recurring ASUU strikes are a symptom of a much deeper illness within the nation’s value system and its approach to nation-building. Addressing this requires more than just ending the current strike; it demands a fundamental re-evaluation of national priorities and a resolute commitment to investing in the minds of the next generation. The time to defuse the ticking time bomb is now, before it is too late.
