Opinion
Securing Nigeria Through Education
January 24 every year is celebrated as International Day of Education.
It is a day set aside by the United Nations General Assembly to highlight the role of education for peace and development. With the theme: “Learning for lasting peace”, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), this year focused attention on the vital role of education in building peaceful, fair and sustainable societies. There is indeed no better theme in today’s world where peace is eluding many nations. With the on-going wars between Israel and Palestine, Russia and Ukraine, the Sudan civil war that have left thousands of people dead, the advocacy and sensitisation on the importance of peace and the need to eschew violence and acts capable of causing conflict, discord and the likes become inevitable. In Nigeria, as in some other African countries, there is the need to look at how education can help in stemming the major challenge currently facing the country – insecurity. There is hardly any part of the country free from one form of insecurity or the other.
Terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, communal clashes, and farmer-herder conflicts have long become the order of the day, yet according to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 14 million Nigerian children and adolescents are out of school. Reports show that a greater number of these children are the almajiris. Most of these young boys who study the Quran and Islamic teachings under the guidance of an Imam (Islamic teacher) have no form of formal education or skills for future employment opportunities. They are seen in many cities and villages in the northern part of the country, in tattered clothes begging for food and money, while their mates are in school learning. It is usually heartbreaking seeing these minors who apparently are from poor homes, adorn dirty green “uniform”, hanging on schools’ fences or waiting at car parks to beg for money from people who have come to pick up their children from schools. These children face health challenges due to poor living conditions, inadequate nutrition and limited access to health care.
The subject of Almajiri system sometimes seems like a no-go area because of its cultural and religious undertone. Yes, some former northern leaders like former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El Rufai and the former Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi were bold enough to speak against the Almajiri System. El Rufai went further to galvanise other northern leaders towards ensuring that the Almajiris received formal education. Unfortunately, today, we are back to the status quo ante. The truth is that there is no way Nigeria can be aiming or planning to effectively deal with the insecurity challenges in the country without dealing with this ticking time bomb called Almajiri system. As have been severally stated, these children are potential recruits for criminal activities. Reports have it that some of them are used as informants by criminals. It is high time the federal and state governments mustered the political will to do something about this social problem.
The elites, traditional and religious leaders from the north must join hands and deal with the menace before it is too late. There is the need to sensitise parents of these children on the importance of enrolling them in schools for formal education and sanctioning parents who allow their children to roam the streets when they are meant to be in school. We have often heard that insecurity is a threat to education, especially in view of the series of kidnappings that have taken place in schools. Some kidnapped students like Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi school girls are still in the hands of their captors. But the fact still remains that education plays a crucial role in tackling poverty and insecurity in any society as it can contribute to the development of a more stable and secure society. The United Nations tells us that education is like a powerful tool that can transform people, giving them the knowledge and skills to be peacemakers in their communities.
Education helps individuals develop critical thinking skills, enabling them to analyse situations, identify problems, and propose effective solutions. This can be applied to addressing the root causes of insecurity in Nigeria. By providing people with the skills and knowledge needed for employment and entrepreneurship, education can contribute to economic development, thereby reducing the motivation for engaging in criminal activities due to poverty. Education can promote understanding, tolerance, and cooperation among diverse groups within the society. By fostering social cohesion, it helps build a sense of community and reduces the likelihood of conflicts that can lead to insecurity. Education can play a role in preventing extremism and radicalisation by promoting tolerance, understanding, and critical thinking. By providing alternative narratives and perspectives, education can counteract the appeal of extremist ideologies.
Incidentally, education is a basic right of every Nigerian child. Chapter two, Section 18 of the 1999 Constitution provides that, “government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate opportunities at all levels”. The section went further to emphasise on free, compulsory and universal education up to university level. Also, Section 15 (1) of the Child Rights Act (2003) provides that “Every Child has the right to free, compulsory, and universal basic education, and it shall be the duty of the government in Nigeria to provide such education.” The questions are, how sincere are governments, both federal and states, to implement these laws? How ready are they to invest in education and ensure a brighter future for the children of the poor? In this year’s budget, the proposed spending for education is N1.54 trillion, representing 6.39 percent of the total budget of N27.5 trillion. This falls short of the UNESCO’s recommended 15 per cent annual budgetary allocation on education.
Meanwhile, the same government will budget billions of Naira for renovation of the president’s and vice president’s official residence in Lagos, purchase of exotic cars for lawmakers among other heavy, unimportant expenditures. So, it is high time we got our priorities right in this country. Governments at all levels should prioritise education. Government should improve funding of education in Nigeria particularly at the lower levels, provide conducive environments for learning and cater adequately for the needs and welfare of the teacher. They should secure the schools so that the children will be safe even as they learn. The federal government has informed the nation that trillions of Naira has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu. Could part of this savings not be channelled to the education sector? Could a large percentage of it not be used to tackle poverty, hunger and other harsh economic situations that are causing children to abandon school across the country?
As UNESCO advised, government should improve planning in the education sector and address some of the systematic barriers that hinder the implementation of an effective education strategy in Nigeria. There should be the willingness to deal with socio-cultural norms and practices that discourage attendance in formal education, especially for girls. States that have either not passed or assented to the Child Rights Act should be encouraged to do so. There should be full implementation of the Act and stiff penalty meted on parents who allow their children and wards to roam the streets begging, hawking items or playing during school periods. To tackle the rising rate of insecurity and conflict in Nigeria, government must pay due attention to education which will inculcate desirable human traits like honesty, sincerity, hard-work, punctuality, productivity, innovation, patriotism, selflessness, brotherhood in not only the children and the youth, but all Nigerians especially those in leadership positions.
As opined by a renowned scholar, Dike V, “….. without treating education as a public-health issue that requires serious attention, the youths will continue to receive inferior education; they will continue to suffer mass unemployment and armed bandits will continue to rise; the society will continue to have illiterates and mediocres as political leaders; the society will continue to have political parties without ideology, and Nigeria will continue to fall behind economically, socially and politically.”
Calista Ezeaku
The line that separates betrayal and corruption is very thin. Betrayal and corruption are two sides of the same coin. Like the snail and its shell they are almost inseparable. They go hand-in-globe. Betrayal and corruption are instinctive in humans and they are birthed by people with inordinate ambition – people without principles, without regard for ethical standards and values. Looking back to the days of Jesus Christ, one of his high profile disciples-the treasurer, was a betrayer. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ for just 30 pieces of silver. One of the characteristics of betrayers is greed.
So, when on resumption from his imposed suspension, the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminilayi Fubara threatened to bring permanent secretaries who were found complicit in “defrauding” the State during the days of Locust and Caterpillar regime, he did not only decry a loot of the Treasury but the emotional trauma of betrayal perpetrated by those who swore to uphold the ethics of the civil service. Governor Siminilayi Fubara had least expected that those who feigned loyalty to his administration would soon become co-travellers with an alien administration whose activities were repugnant to the “Rivers First” mantra of his administration. The saying that if you want to prove the genuineness of a person’s love and loyalty feign death, finds consummate expression in the Governor Fubara and some of the key members of the State engine room
Some of those who professed love for Governor Siminilayi Fubara and Rivers State could not resist the lure and enticement of office in the dark days of Rivers State, like Judas Iscariot. Rather, they chose to identify with the locusts and the caterpillars for their selfish interest. Julius Caesar did not die from the stab of Brutus but by his emotional attachment to him, hence he exclaimed in utter disappointment, “Even you Brutus”. The wound of betrayal never heals and the scar is indelible. Unfortunately, today, because of gross moral turpitude and declension in ethical standards and values, betrayal and corruption are celebrated and rewarded. Corruption, a bane of civil/public service is sublime in betrayal. The quest to get more at the expense of the people is the root of betrayal and sabotage.
This explains why Nigeria at 65 is the World’s capital of poverty.
Nigeria is not a poor country, yet, millions are living in hunger, abject poverty and avoidable misery. What an irony. Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies and most populous nation is naturally endowed with 44 mineral resources, found in 500 geographical locations in commercial quantity across the country. According to Nigeria’s former Minister for Mines and Steel Development, Olamiekan Adegbite, the mineral resources include: baryte, kaolin, gymsium, feldspar, limestone, coal, bitumen, lignite, uranium, gold, cassiterite, columbite, iron ore, lead, zinc, copper, granite, laterite, sapphire, tourmaline, emerald, topaz, amethyst, gamer, etc. Nigeria has a vast uncultivated arable land even as its geographical area is approximately 923, 769 sq km (356,669 sq ml).
“This clearly demonstrates the wide mineral spectrum we are endowed with, which offers limitless opportunities along the value-chain, for job creation, revenue growth. Nigeria provides one of the highest rates of return because its minerals are closer to the suffer”, Adegbite said. Therefore, poverty in Nigeria is not the consequences of lack of resources and manpower but inequality, misappropriation, outright embezzlement, barefaced corruption that is systemic and normative in leaders and public institutions. According to the World Poverty Clock 2023, Nigeria has the awful distinction of being the world capital of poverty with about 84 million people living in extreme poverty today.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data also revealed that a total of 133 million people in Nigeria are classed as multi-dimensionally poor. Unemployment is a major challenge in the country. About 33 percent of the labour force are unable to find a job at the prevailing wage rate. About 63 percent of the population are poor because of lack of access to health, education, employment, and security. Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) speculated that unemployment rate will increase to 37 percent in 2023. The implications, therefore, is increase in unemployment will translate to increase in the poverty rate. The World Bank, a Washington-based and a multi-lateral development institution, in its macro-poverty outlook for Nigeria for April 2023 projected that 13 million Nigerians will fall below the National Poverty line by 2025.
It further stated that the removal of subsidy on petroleum products without palliatives will result to 101 million people being poor in Nigeria. Statistics also show that “in 2023 nearly 12 percent of the world population of extreme poverty lived in Nigeria, considering poverty threshold at 1.90 US dollars a day”.Taking a cursory look at the Nigerian Development Update (NDU), the World Bank said “four million Nigerians were pushed into poverty between January and June 2023 and 7.1 million more will join if the removal of subsidy is not adequately managed.” These startling revelations paint a grim and bleak future for the social-economic life of the people.The alarming poverty in the country is a conspiracy of several factors, including corruption. In January, 2023 the global anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International, in its annual corruption prospect index which ranks the perceived level of public sector corruption across 180 countries in the world says Nigeria ranked 150 among 180 in the index. Conversely, Nigeria is the 30th most corrupt nation in the ranking. It is also the capital of unemployment in the world.
Truth be told: a Government that is corruption-ridden lacks the capacity to build a vibrant economy that will provide employment for the teeming unemployed population. So crime and criminality become inevitable. No wonder, the incessant cases of violent crimes and delinquency among young people. Corruption seems to be the second nature of Nigeria as a nation . At the root of Nigerians’ poverty is the corruption cankerworm.How the nation got to this sordid economic and social precipice is the accumulation of years of corrupt practices with impunity by successive administrations. But the hardship Nigerians are experiencing gathered momentum between 2015 and 2023 and reached the climax few days after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who assumed power as president of Nigeria, removed the controversial petroleum subsidy. Since then, there is astronomical increase in transport fares, and prices of commodities. Living standard of most Nigerians is abysmally low, essential commodities are out of reach of the poor masses who barely eat once a day.
The Dollar to Naira exchange rate ratio at one dollar to N1,000, is the most economy-unfriendly in the annals of the history of Nigeria. The prohibitive prices of petroleum products with the attendant multi-dimensional challenges following the removal of the subsidy, has posed a nightmare better to be imagined than experienced. Inflation, has been on the increase, negatively affecting the purchasing power of low income Nigerians. Contributing to the poverty scourge is the low private investment due to.unfriendly business environment and lack of power supply, as well as low social development outcomes resulting in low productivity. The developed economies of the world are private sector-driven. So the inadequate involvement of the private sector in Nigeria’s economy, is a leading cause of unemployment which inevitably translates to poverty.
Igbiki Benibo
In today’s fast-paced, hyper-competitive world, the pursuit of success and growth has become an all-consuming force. Individuals, organisations, and nations alike, are locked in a perpetual struggle to achieve more, earn more, and surpass their rivals. Yet, beneath this relentless drive for progress lies a silent danger—the risk of self-destruction. This perilous pattern, which I call the self-destruct trajectory, describes the path taken when ambition and growth are pursued without restraint, awareness, or moral balance. The self-destruct trajectory is fueled by an insatiable hunger for more—a mindset that glorifies endless expansion while disregarding the boundaries of ethics, sustainability, and human well-being. At first glance, it may appear to promise prosperity and achievement. After all, ambition has long been celebrated as a virtue. But when growth becomes the only goal, it mutates into obsession.
Individuals burn out, organisations lose their soul, and societies begin to fracture under the weight of their own excesses. The consequences are everywhere. People pushed beyond their limits face anxiety, exhaustion, and disconnection. Companies sacrifice employee welfare and social responsibility on the altar of profit. The entire ecosystems suffer as forests are cleared, oceans polluted, and air poisoned in the name of economic progress. The collapse of financial systems, widening income inequality, and global environmental crises are all symptoms of this same relentless, self-consuming pursuit. To understand this dynamic, one can turn to literature—and to Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. In one of the novel’s most haunting scenes, young Oliver, starving in the workhouse, dares to utter the words: “Please, sir, I want some more.” This simple plea encapsulates the essence of human desire—the urge for more. But it also mirrors the perilous craving that drives the self-destruct trajectory. Like Oliver, society keeps asking for “more”—more wealth, more power, more success—without considering the consequences of endless wanting.
The workhouse itself symbolises the system of constraints and boundaries that ambition often seeks to defy. Oliver’s courage to ask for more represents the daring spirit of human aspiration—but it also exposes the risk of defying limits without reflection. Mr. Bumble, the cruel overseer, obsessed with authority and control, embodies the darker forces that sustain this destructive cycle: greed, pride, and the illusion of dominance. Through this lens, Dickens’ tale becomes a timeless metaphor for the modern condition—a warning about what happens when ambition blinds compassion and growth eclipses humanity. Avoiding the self-destruct trajectory requires a radical rethinking about success. True progress should not be measured solely by accumulation, but by balance—by how growth serves people, planet, and purpose.
This calls for a more holistic approach to achievement, one that values sustainability, empathy, and integrity alongside innovation and expansion
Individuals must learn to pace their pursuit of goals, embracing rest, reflection, and meaningful relationships as part of a full life. The discipline of “enough”—knowing when to stop striving and start appreciating—can restore both mental well-being and moral clarity. Organisations, on their part, must reimagine what it means to succeed: prioritising employee welfare, practising environmental stewardship, and embedding social responsibility in the core of their mission. Governments and policymakers also play a vital role. They can champion sustainable development through laws and incentives that reward ethical practices and environmental responsibility. By investing in education, renewable energy, and equitable economic systems, they help ensure that ambition is channeled toward collective benefit rather than collective ruin.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) provides a tangible pathway for this transformation. When businesses take ownership of their social and environmental impact—reducing carbon footprints, supporting local communities, and promoting fair labour—they not only strengthen society but also secure their own long-term stability. Sustainable profit is, after all, the only kind that endures. Ultimately, avoiding the self-destruct trajectory is not about rejecting ambition—it is about redefining it. Ambition must evolve from a self-centred hunger for more into a shared pursuit of the better. We must shift from growth at all costs to growth with conscience. The future will belong not to those who expand endlessly, but to those who expand wisely. By embracing restraint, compassion, and sustainability, we can break free from the cycle of self-destruction and create a new narrative—one where success uplifts rather than consumes, and where progress builds rather than burns.
In the end, the question is not whether we can grow, but whether we can grow without losing ourselves. The choice is ours: to continue along the self-destruct trajectory, or to chart a more balanced, humane, and enduring path toward greatness.
Sylvia ThankGod-Amadi
