Deborah Tolu‑Kolawole writes that President‑elect Bola Tinubu, who will assume office on May 29, inherits a multitude of problems in Nigeria’s education sector, including low funding, brain drain and poor infrastructure. For a sector widely regarded as the bedrock of any society, Nigeria’s education system has long suffered from a range of issues: incessant disruptions of academic calendars due to union strikes, funding and allocations far below the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s 15 percent benchmark, brain drain, inadequate infrastructure and weak research capacity, among others. After more than 24 years of democratic rule, the “nearly dead” sector, which has been at the mercy of successive governments, needs more than manifestos, assurances and promises to stand on its own, experts argue.
Although Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress emerged as president‑elect following a highly competitive but controversial election—observers allege it was marred by violence and rigging—his earlier manifesto and plans for education must go beyond “ordinary words,” given the failed promises and poor implementation by past administrations. For instance, the regime of Major General Muhammadu Buhari, which Tinubu is about to succeed, claims to have spent over N6 trillion on education in the last six years. Yet the Nigeria Union of Teachers, led by National President Titus Amba, insists the sector still battles inadequate funding, deplorable infrastructure, low remuneration and the non‑implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage in some states at the basic level.
During his campaign, Tinubu—two‑term former governor of Lagos State—promised reforms from basic to tertiary education. He said his administration would review curricula at all levels “to suit emerging global best practices and current socio‑economic realities,” ensuring Nigerian graduates are conversant with global trends and can contribute productively to the economy. He added that graduates would be trained not only for white‑collar jobs but also to be enterprising and innovative. These promises come amid a surge in out‑of‑school children, a figure contested between Nigeria’s education authorities and global institutions. The United Nations Children’s Fund and UNESCO estimate 18.5 million and 20 million out‑of‑school children respectively, while the government maintains the number is far lower; Minister of Education Adamu Adamu cited 6.9 million in both 2020 and a recent briefing.
Tinubu says he will invest “heavily” in infrastructure to integrate school‑age children into conventional schools. He pledged to collaborate with state governments, traditional, community and religious leaders to provide incentives for school attendance, and to prioritize teacher training. “We will work with both states and local governments to reform and retool the system,” he said, emphasizing curriculum development, teacher welfare and training as essential catalysts for a better system. He acknowledged the Buhari administration’s initiatives, noting that the current APC government, in partnership with development partners, has provided alternative access to education and vocational training for vulnerable children. Tinubu’s administration aims to build on these initiatives to create skills and empowerment opportunities that reduce vulnerability and promote sustainable social mobility.
Corruption allegations surrounding the school feeding programme raise concerns about the government’s ability to address these challenges. Ayodamola Oluwatoyin, Programme Director of Reform Education Nigeria, told our correspondent that the education sector is highly sensitive and should be prioritized at every level. “Often the basic level is neglected while too much focus is placed on tertiary education,” she said, noting that even tertiary institutions suffer deficits, frequent strikes and brain drain, low research quality, poor infrastructure and inadequate remuneration for lecturers. At the basic level, which is largely under state and local control, she described education as “literally dead” due to poor teacher treatment, low minimum wages and unimplemented benefits. Reform Education Nigeria advocates increasing federal budgetary allocation to education and ensuring state compliance, ending incessant strikes in tertiary institutions, and establishing a national higher‑education policy. Oluwatoyin also suggested alternative funding mechanisms such as education banks, endowment funds and student loans to revitalize the sector.
Professor Gbolahan Bolarin, Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, echoed these demands, insisting they remain unchanged: increased funding, improved welfare for academics, better research financing, curbing the proliferation of institutions, and infrastructure development. He emphasized that good welfare packages motivate academics and that committed leadership is essential; the issues are not about “blackmail” but about genuine revitalization.
In sum, experts agree that sanity, succor and confidence in Nigeria’s education sector will only return when the new government takes bold, sacrificial steps to resolve the deep‑seated problems at both basic and tertiary levels. Half‑measures and lip‑service will not suffice against the backdrop of Tinubu’s promises.
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