Editorial
Addressing Low School Enrolment
The report by the Federal Ministry of Education recently, that 16 million Nigerian children are not enrolled in primary and junior secondary schools across the country is not a cheering news.
Of that figure, 11 million should be in primary schools while the other five million ought to be in secondary schools.
According to the report, only 500,000, out of the 40 million non-literate adults are currently enrolled in mass literacy programmes in the country, but the figure could even be higher considering the number of Almajiris in the North and children of fishermen in the Niger Delta region that are not yet exposed to formal education.
The low level of children enrolment in schools has, for sometime now, remained a big challenge to the education sector and amounts to an indictment on government’s inability to do all the right things, needed to lay a solid foundation for future growth of the country.
Regrettably, public schools in most states of the federation are either in poor states of disrepairs and overcrowded or lack basic infrastructural facilities necessary to aid learning. The Tide regrets a situation where children sit on bare floor for learning or study under the trees. It is unthinkable to imagine how such a scenario can encourage school enrolment.
Added to this is the fact that most parents can ill- afford the outrageous educational demands made of children in many states largely because of their meagre earnings.
To reverse the situation, the federal, state and local governments must address the root causes and improve access to education. Specifically, the governments must work in synergy to actualise the objective of the Universal Basic Education UBE) Act, in order to increase enrolment in public, primary schools, which is programmed to ensure nine years of continuous education for every Nigerian child as a bold step towards achieving the Education For All by 2015, target.
By the UBE Act, every Nigerian child of primary and junior secondary school age is entitled to enjoy free and compulsory education, and prescribes penalties for parents that fail to comply with the demands of the Act. Unfortunately, government’s efforts to increase enrolment in schools have not achieved much result partly because parents whose children are not in school are never punished as prescribed by the law.
Another disturbing fact is that most states have failed woefully to access the UBE Implementation Fund made available to them by the federal government because of their inability to meet basic milestones of performance instituted as checks against abuse of the UBEC matching fund. For instance, to access such funds a state is expected to contribute not less than 50 per cent of the total cost of projects to be expected. By last year, more than N40 billion belonging to various state governments was known to be lying idle at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) because the state reneged on their counterpart funding requirement to access the funds.
But the states alone are not to blame. Parents must complement government efforts by showing deep interest in their children and wards, their over blown indigent status notwithstanding.
We say so because every child deserves popular education to prepare him or her for future challenges. It is so important that many educationists have at various times said that it is next in importance to freedom and justice without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently entertained.
That being so, government should intensify its enlightenment of parents on the numerous ‘advantages and penalties for denying their children basic education. In fact, the revelation should propel all other stakeholders towards positive attitudinal change while, State governments, in particular should urgently contribute their counterpart funding necessary to access the UBE funds.
Even so, The Tide considers it instructive to advise UBEC to consider more meaningful collaboration with the Governors’ Forum, with a view to encouraging states still lagging behind to step up compliance and work more assiduously towards boosting enrolment in primary and junior secondary schools.
However, integrating non-formal education centres into the formal sector, we think, should be seriously considered as a means of complementing other efforts. Afterall, education for all should be a responsibility of all.
And unless concerted efforts are made by all stakeholders and governments at all levels, to arrest the downturn in school enrolment, the country will mortgage her future and the attainment of national and international goals of Education for All, the Millennium Development Goals, and Vision 20:2020 will remain elusive.
When Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, received the Board and Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), led by its Chairman, Senator Adeyeye Adedayo Clement, his message was unmistakable: Rivers’ seaports remain underutilised, and Nigeria is poorer for it. The governor’s lament was a sad reminder of how neglect and centralisation continue to choke the nation’s economic arteries.
The governor, in his remarks at Government House, Port Harcourt, expressed concern that the twin seaports — the NPA in Port Harcourt and the Onne Seaport — have not been operating at their full potential. He underscored that seaports are vital engines of national development, pointing out that no prosperous nation thrives without efficient ports and airports. His position aligns with global realities that maritime trade remains the backbone of industrial expansion and international commerce.
Indeed, the case of Rivers State is peculiar. It hosts two major ports strategically located along the Bonny River axis, yet cargo throughput has remained dismally low compared to Lagos. According to NPA’s 2023 statistics, Lagos ports (Apapa and Tin Can Island) handled over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s container traffic, while Onne managed less than 10 per cent. Such a lopsided distribution is neither efficient nor sustainable.
Governor Fubara rightly observed that the full capacity operation of Onne Port would be transformative. The area’s vast land mass and industrial potential make it ideal for ancillary businesses — warehousing, logistics, ship repair, and manufacturing. A revitalised Onne would attract investors, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth, not only in Rivers State but across the Niger Delta.
The multiplier effect cannot be overstated. The port’s expansion would boost clearing and forwarding services, strengthen local transport networks, and revitalise the moribund manufacturing sector. It would also expand opportunities for youth employment — a pressing concern in a state where unemployment reportedly hovers around 32 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Yet, the challenge lies not in capacity but in policy. For years, Nigeria’s maritime economy has been suffocated by excessive centralisation. Successive governments have prioritised Lagos at the expense of other viable ports, creating a traffic nightmare and logistical bottlenecks that cost importers and exporters billions annually. The governor’s call, therefore, is a plea for fairness and pragmatism.
Making Lagos the exclusive maritime gateway is counter productive. Congestion at Tin Can Island and Apapa has become legendary — ships often wait weeks to berth, while truck queues stretch for kilometres. The result is avoidable demurrage, product delays, and business frustration. A more decentralised port system would spread economic opportunities and reduce the burden on Lagos’ overstretched infrastructure.
Importers continue to face severe difficulties clearing goods in Lagos, with bureaucratic delays and poor road networks compounding their woes. The World Bank’s Doing Business Report estimates that Nigerian ports experience average clearance times of 20 days — compared to just 5 days in neighbouring Ghana. Such inefficiency undermines competitiveness and discourages foreign investment.
Worse still, goods transported from Lagos to other regions are often lost to accidents or criminal attacks along the nation’s perilous highways. Reports from the Federal Road Safety Corps indicate that over 5,000 road crashes involving heavy-duty trucks occurred in 2023, many en route from Lagos. By contrast, activating seaports in Rivers, Warri, and Calabar would shorten cargo routes and save lives.
The economic rationale is clear: making all seaports operational will create jobs, enhance trade efficiency, and boost national revenue. It will also help diversify economic activity away from the overburdened South West, spreading prosperity more evenly across the federation.
Decentralisation is both an economic strategy and an act of national renewal. When Onne, Warri, and Calabar ports operate optimally, hinterland states benefit through increased trade and infrastructure development. The federal purse, too, gains through taxes, duties, and improved productivity.
Tin Can Island, already bursting at the seams, exemplifies the perils of over-centralisation. Ships face berthing delays, containers stack up, and port users lose valuable hours navigating chaos. The result is higher operational costs and lower competitiveness. Allowing states like Rivers to fully harness their maritime assets would reverse this trend.
Compelling all importers to use Lagos ports is an anachronistic policy that stifles innovation and local enterprise. Nigeria cannot achieve its industrial ambitions by chaining its logistics system to one congested city. The path to prosperity lies in empowering every state to develop and utilise its natural advantages — and for Rivers, that means functional seaports.
Fubara’s call should not go unheeded. The Federal Government must embrace decentralisation as a strategic necessity for national growth. Making Rivers’ seaports work is not just about reviving dormant infrastructure; it is about unlocking the full maritime potential of a nation yearning for balance, productivity, and shared prosperity.
