Written by Onyinyechi Obi
It was Nelson Mandela Who said “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Today September 22, 2025, as schools across Abia State reopen, a new flame burns in classrooms long forgotten. This is no ordinary resumption. It is the dawn of a revolution deliberate, powerful, and unmistakably stamped by the leadership of His Excellency, Governor Dr. Alex Chioma Otti.
For many years, public schools in Abia State were nothing to write home about. They were places of pain and frustration. Broken desks, leaking roofs, overcrowded classrooms, and teachers who had lost hope told the sad story.
Parents abandoned government schools and rushed to private schools, not because they wanted to pay more, but because they wanted their children to learn in a decent environment. Public schools had become symbols of neglect, moral decay, and government’s nonchalant attitude.
But then came Governor Alex Otti and everything began to change.
With precision and purpose, he declared a State of Emergency in Education and launched a total overhaul. Across the state, decaying school buildings are being fully renovated roofs fixed, walls rebuilt, water and power restored.
Where cracked walls and leaking roofs once defined classrooms, today there are repaired blocks, fresh paint, working toilets, and even digital-ready “Smart Schools” under construction. Instead of abandoned structures, children now sit in safe, clean, and dignified classrooms.
Parents who once turned away from public schools are returning because they can see with their own eyes that government is serious.
These are not promises. They are visible transformations proof that a new standard has arrived.
Yet, buildings alone do not teach. That is why Governor Otti went straight to the heart of education: the teachers. Thousands of new teachers have been recruited not through lists or backdoor influence, but through merit. People applied, wrote exams, and only the qualified were hired.
For the first time in a long while, teaching jobs in Abia are based on what you know, not who you know. With capable teachers back in classrooms, learning will no longer be guesswork.
This is not just recruitment it is restoring dignity to the profession.
At the same time, the governor introduced bold reforms that ended decades of exploitation. School Leaving Certificates now cost a flat, affordable fee, putting an end to arbitrary charges. Pupils in SS2 can no longer switch schools to manipulate exams; they must sit for WAEC and NECO where they have studied.
A Government Centralized Exam must be passed before registering for national exams restoring integrity and fairness. Textbooks are reusable, so siblings can inherit them, reducing costs for families. Extravagant nursery graduation parties have been stopped, returning seriousness to early education.
These rules apply to all schools, both public and private. Governor Otti governs not for profit, but for principle. With the Abia First Initiative, education is now free and compulsory for all pupils up to junior secondary school a bold decision that places every child’s future above every excuse.
And because no child should return empty-handed, the compassionate touch of Her Excellency, Mrs. Priscilla Otti is being felt. Through her efforts, school bags, books, and writing materials are reaching children who would otherwise have gone without.
For many poor pupils, this is not just support it is a lifeline, a reason to stay in school and dream again. This is compassion in action: proof that under this administration, education is not only free, but also sustained and protected.
The results are already visible. Children who once hawked on the streets are now back in classrooms. Parents who once doubted public schools are enrolling their children with pride. Teachers who once felt abandoned are regaining their dignity. Confidence in government schools, long lost, is being restored step by step.
Governor Otti did not inherit a functioning system he inherited a collapse. Yet, instead of excuses, he delivered results.
Today, September 22, is more than a resumption date. It is a declaration:
Abia’s public schools are back.
They are respected.
They are rising.
Pupils are not just walking into classrooms. They are walking into a promise kept. They will find teachers ready, policies protecting them, and classrooms fit for learning. They will no longer feel abandoned by their government they will feel valued.
And at the heart of this revival stands one man Governor Alex Otti
Let history record it clearly:
When Abia’s education was dying, one leader chose to bring it back to life.
