27 Years After Democracy, Nigeria Still Underfunds Education, Chidoka Warns

Michael Olugbode in Abuja

Nigeria’s public investment in education has fallen significantly below internationally recommended standards, with total spending in 2026 amounting to just 2.14 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a new analysis presented by former Aviation Minister and policy advocate Osita Chidoka.

Speaking at the 70th Anniversary Gala of the Ekulu Primary School Alumni Association (EPSAA) in Enugu at the weekend, Chidoka described the situation as a “national emergency,” warning that decades of underinvestment have weakened the country’s education system and undermined national development.

Delivering a keynote address titled “Ekulu at 70: How One School Tells the Nigerian Story of Decline and the Duty of Renewal,” the Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership said Nigeria’s education spending remains well below the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of four to six per cent of GDP for developing countries.

The analysis, compiled by the Athena Centre, consolidated federal education spending, interventions by the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), as well as education allocations by the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The combined figure amounted to approximately ₦9.49 trillion, representing only 2.14 per cent of Nigeria’s projected 2026 GDP of ₦442.8 trillion.

Chidoka noted that several African and emerging economies currently outperform Nigeria in education investment. According to the report, South Africa spends 6.7 per cent of GDP on education, Brazil 5.6 per cent, Kenya 4.8 per cent, India 4.1 per cent, and Ghana 3.4 per cent.

“Nigeria is not in the middle of the developing world on this measure. It is below its floor. We have been treating this as a routine budget conversation for too long. The figure is in fact a national emergency,” he said.

The keynote also highlighted what the Centre described as emerging examples of educational leadership at the subnational level.

Anambra State was identified as having the highest education allocation in the federation, dedicating 46.9 per cent of its 2026 budget to the sector.

Enugu State followed with 32.2 per cent and is currently implementing its Smart Green Schools initiative across all political wards.

Other states cited for prioritising education include Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Katsina and Abia. Together, the six states are projected to spend about ₦1.8 trillion on education in 2026.

Despite Lagos State’s substantial overall expenditure on education, the report observed that only 5.6 per cent of the state’s total budget was allocated to the sector.

The Centre argued that this demonstrates that financial capacity alone does not determine educational commitment.

According to the report, Enugu’s education budget, when measured in dollar terms, is now approximately twice that of Lagos, marking a dramatic shift from 2000 when Lagos reportedly spent more than six times what Enugu allocated to education.

“The reform of Nigerian public education is no longer waiting to be born,” Chidoka stated. “It is being led, not from Abuja, not from Lagos, but from a handful of states that have made the decision the centres of power have not yet made.”

The former minister traced the roots of the crisis to the economic and structural adjustment era between 1986 and 1999, a period he described as Nigeria’s “years of the locust.” During that period, academic salaries and institutional funding suffered severe declines.

The report revealed that the monthly salary of a Nigerian professor reportedly dropped from about $1,000 in 1985 to just $137 by 1997. It further noted that Lagos State’s real per-pupil spending declined from $281 in 1980 to $22 in 1990, while funding levels at Ahmadu Bello University fell far behind those of comparable institutions such as South Africa’s University of Witwatersrand.

However, Chidoka argued that the greater failure occurred after Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, when successive governments failed to reverse the decline despite improved economic conditions.

Beyond diagnosis, the keynote offered a roadmap for community-led intervention. Chidoka challenged the Ekulu Primary School Alumni Association to undertake three measurable projects over the next three years: the creation of a data-driven learning dashboard for monitoring student outcomes, the establishment of a teacher development and recognition fund, and the integration of the school into Nigeria’s expanding digital education infrastructure through collaboration with the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN).

He described the initiative as a moral obligation for former students who benefited from stronger public education systems in previous decades.

“Let’s Get It Done is not charity. It is repayment. It is a clarion call from a generation that received much, to a generation now standing in the same classrooms, asking only what was once routinely given,” he said.

Founded in 1956 as All Saints School by Reverend Timothy Bruce Fyffe of the Church of England, Ekulu Primary School predates Nigeria’s independence and remains one of Enugu State’s longstanding public primary institutions.

The school’s anniversary celebration served as both a commemoration of its legacy and a reflection on the broader challenges facing public education in Nigeria.

Education stakeholders have repeatedly expressed concern over inadequate funding, deteriorating infrastructure, teacher shortages, and declining learning outcomes across the country. UNESCO and other international development agencies have consistently urged governments to increase education financing as a prerequisite for sustainable economic growth and social development.

The Athena Centre said its full report contains additional data on education spending trends, international comparisons, and lessons from countries such as Poland, Vietnam and China that successfully transformed their education systems through sustained investment and reform.