Nigeria is ranked 43rd out of 52 countries in its attainment of the SDGs and sits at 14th out of 15 nations in West Africa. The SDGs are 17 global goals and 169 targets. They all aim at making the world we live in a better place and were ratified by world leaders in New York in 2015. 

Education, being the 4th Sustainable Development is vital to modern society. This SDG goal seeks to achieve quality primary and secondary education for all children by 2030 irrespective of gender and economic status. In western nations, there has been over 90 per cent achievement,  however, in Africa and Nigeria especially, this figure remains below 50 per cent.

According to UNICEF, one-third of Nigerian children are out of school and one in five out-of-school children in the world is Nigerian. UNICEF has described this as a cause for serious concern.  These statistics are even more alarming in Northern Nigeria where socio-cultural issues, gender marginalisation, and insecurity are prevalent.

Education improves our understanding of the world around us. It provides knowledge and life dexterities and helps to secure our future and build a stable life. 

Ever since Nigeria became an independent nation in 1960, the government has played a significant role in education from the primary to the tertiary level. This sector has been affected by myriad issues, the core of which is poor funding and corruption. Other problems include political will and a rising population.

I am privileged to attend a private school, however, private school education accounts for a mere fraction of the population of Nigerian school children. The majority of children attend government-owned schools. The yearly budget for education in Nigeria is less than 10%. In 2021 it was 5.7% and in 2022 it was 5.4%. This is significantly below the UNESCO recommendation of 15-20% of the budget of nations for public education. There is a lack of political will toward the sustainable development of this sector and government policies can be described as merely paying lip service.

This is worsened by corruption in the sector as allocated funds are often diverted by corrupt administrators. The effect of these is devastating as seen in the deplorable state of our schools, from primary school buildings to university hostels that are not fit for human habitation. The impact of these is a high crime rate, unemployment and social decay

I recommend increased accountability and transparency by government agencies and stakeholders. I can achieve this by encouraging communities around me, especially parents to demand transparency at the local government level, ask how much is allocated to their local schools and how the money is utilized. We can also form pressure groups to inspect, monitor and assess government school projects and contracts to ensure quality and efficiency.  We need tighter controls all around. 

There is also a need to lobby the government to increase the budgetary allocation for education to a minimum of 15 per cent. This should be non-negotiable. It is noteworthy that Nigeria will be holding a general election in the coming year, all eligible voters should be encouraged to vote for only individuals or parties that have a clear and sincere plan for our education sector. I am not qualified to vote, however, I can spearhead a campaign within my community, creating voter awareness on the importance of electing leaders that will provide the much-needed reforms in this sector.