Experts: Nigeria’s Education System Failing Our Kids

• Demand urgent overhaul at Nebo Memorial Lecture

Mary Nnah

Nigeria’s education system is failing its students, and the country cannot afford to keep pretending otherwise, speakers declared at the 20th Anniversary and 5th Memorial Public Lecture for the late Col. G.O. Nebo (Rtd), mni, held at Nebo Hall, Abalti Barracks, Surulere.

Under the theme “Rethinking Nigerian Educational System: The Need for a Paradigm Shift,” the annual lecture became a blunt assessment of what experts say is a broken system, outdated teaching methods, and a national mindset that is holding back millions of young Nigerians.

Dr. Dideolu Adekogbe, Lead Consultant at Florish-Gate Global Consult, told the packed hall that Nigeria’s biggest problem is not just funding or infrastructure, but attitude.

“When thinking about the Nigerian educational system, the need for partnership is an ongoing topic. Because for life, the need for partnership will always be there. There will never be a time to say we are done thinking,” she said.

“Mindset in some of the communities is really bad”, she noted further.

Her critique zeroed in on the government’s role, arguing that education leadership has been reduced to political rewards rather than competence.

“Our governments are leaders for political purposes. They make these kinds of education for the purpose of political benefits. You know, this person has a desire for law. Let’s give it to him. Somebody doesn’t know anything about administration… We need to shift. We need to do right for these children,” she said.

Adekogbe said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed Nigeria’s dangerous lag in technology adoption and warned that the country risks being left behind if it doesn’t act fast.

“It hit us hard,” she said. “COVID-19 exposed us badly, and the reason it hurt so much was because we were slow to embrace technology. If Nigeria wants to stay relevant, we have to make technology part of how we teach and learn. I look forward to a time when our children can learn from home without being shuffled around from place to place.“

 She argued that Nigeria must rethink the physical movement of students across the country, saying too many children die or suffer while traveling long distances for schooling.

“Children have to go from their locality to another place completely. And a lot of them experience proximity. Some of them even die.”

Technology, she said, must be applied to allow students to learn and take exams from where they are, with teachers trained to use the right tools.

The consultant also took aim at the National Youth Service Corps scheme, saying it no longer serves its original purpose.

“This NYSC, for me, as a Nigerian, actually does not need to stand. It’s a purpose… Just for orientation. And let orientation work for six weeks or six months… Let the children set down their books, take math, probability, and training, and the rest. That’s what that should be. Then they go back to their course.”

For Adekogbe, the most urgent shift must be in how Nigeria values its teachers. “One very important paradigm shift, the value of teachers. We don’t value teachers. This nation, this system, does not value teachers… We need to value teachers. We need to respect teachers.

“We need to ensure that we make them know that we value what they are doing and respect them for what they are doing. When that is done, teachers will do their best.”

She warned that today’s students are smarter, faster, and less patient with outdated systems. “They are smarter and faster. They won’t take it. They won’t mess it up. So, you know, if something doesn’t go right, they will not be ready to take it. They have books, and they will speak. They are very assertive. They will open their mouths and say whatever they have to say.”

Representing Major General Abdullahi Garba Ibrahim, the 32nd Corps Commander Ordnance, Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps, Colonel A.A. Shoda, paid tribute to the late Col. Godfrey Okechukwu Nebo, describing him as a figure whose discipline and foresight still shape the Corps.

“The late Godfrey Okechukwu Nebo (retired), remains a respected figure whose contributions to the development of Nigeria’s world continue to resonate with our professional and administrative architecture,” Shoda said.

But even as he honoured Nebo’s legacy, Shoda echoed concerns about falling academic standards. “Now, if you look at universities these days, I don’t know whether it is still common, but if you notice when you see universities that are getting a lot of the best classes, you see, Nigeria is graduating just five hundred. That is the truth. That paradigm shift is the truth,” he said.

Founder of the Nebo Memorial Foundation, Mrs. Mary Ohagwasi, tied the nation’s future directly to education, saying no country can stand without it.

“Without education, a profession is nothing. Without education, nothing for me. Without education, no nation can confidently say they have the world. Look at what the world is looking like. Countries with a global education scheme.

“And I said that if we can start education, we will solve the security situation in our nation.”

She recounted how her late father pushed her to pursue higher education even while on his sickbed, a push that led her to become a lecturer and later return for a PhD.