Africa
The Betrayal Of Education: A Rebuke To The Tinubu Administration And Nigeria’s Governors -By Leonard Karshima Shilgba
The Tinubu administration—and the governors across the federation—must wake up to the simple truth that a nation cannot rise above the quality of its teachers. And teachers cannot deliver excellence when they are overworked, underpaid, and subjected to systemic indignity.
In today’s Nigeria, choosing to become a school teacher—or even a university professor—is no longer a path of honour but a conscious embrace of deprivation, financial humiliation, and societal disrespect. This tragedy is not accidental. It is the predictable outcome of decades of state neglect, deliberate political choices, and a culture that celebrates mediocrity in government while punishing those who shape the minds and skills of the nation.
What is even more baffling is the persistent audacity with which policymakers announce “education reforms” without the slightest intention to reform how teachers are treated. The Nigerian government and political class proclaim education as a priority while treating those who deliver it as expendable. Politicians, legislators, and public office holders take more than their fair share of national resources—openly, shamelessly—while the welfare of teachers deteriorates into a national embarrassment.
In any society where critical thinking is valued, it would be unthinkable for a university professor to struggle with the ordinary needs of life: paying school fees, renting a modest home, maintaining a functional car, covering basic medical bills, or affording an annual vacation—even within the country. Yet in Nigeria, this is the daily reality for many who carry the title of professor.
Today, the Nigerian government is not ashamed that professors at public universities earn less than $500 a month. The same government that proudly compares itself to developed economies is unashamed to “negotiate” whether a professor deserves $1,000 or $1,500 monthly. The question is unavoidable: What kind of leadership is so unaware—or so indifferent—to this scale of degradation?
A Sector in Free Fall
The quality of education in Nigeria is failing for one primary reason: the quality of remuneration and respect for teachers has collapsed. The numbers tell the story without emotion:
- In 2010, a full professor in a Nigerian federal university earned the equivalent of over $3,000 a month (despite fuel subsidy payments at the time).
- By 2025, the same professor earns less than $500 (in spite of the removal of fuel subsidy payments)!
This is not a wage structure—it is an insult. It is a message from the Nigerian state that intellectual labour is worthless, that academic dedication is foolishness, and that national development is mere rhetoric.
Over these same years, the nation’s political class multiplied its allowances, maintained its convoys, expanded its retinue of aides, and institutionalised waste. Nigeria’s leaders live in luxury while its lecturers beg for survival. If Nigeria produces half-baked graduates, policymakers need not look far for the cause.
Decay in Governance, Quality Assurance, and Accountability
Federal universities have not only decayed physically; they have decayed institutionally. Governance has become politicised, unaccountable, opaque, and frequently corrupt. Governing councils act as political colonies. Vice-Chancellors battle unions and manipulate appointments. Merit suffers. Standards collapse. Quality assurance processes have become box-ticking rituals rather than meaningful evaluations.
The Tinubu administration inherited a troubled sector—but its failure to urgently reverse the rot is inexcusable. Nigerians have listened to speeches, read communiqués, and heard promises. But no meaningful reforms have been implemented to:
- review and dignify lecturers’ salaries,
- restore real autonomy to universities,
- stop political interference in appointments,
- stabilise the academic calendar,
- upgrade decaying infrastructure, or
- elevate teaching and research to national priorities.
Instead, the administration has continued the same cycle of delay, neglect, and endless “negotiations” that treat academics like adversaries rather than partners in national development.
The Silent Crisis of Private Schools
Beyond the federal universities, Nigeria’s private schools—primary, secondary, and tertiary—are fighting silent but brutal battles. While the government repeatedly fails its own public schools, private schools must survive without a shred of government support.
Their proprietors face impossible choices:
- Raise school fees and lose patronage from citizens already impoverished.
- Keep fees low and be unable to pay teachers living wages.
- Buy teaching materials and facilities from dwindling revenues.
- Pay extortionary “school dues,” “inspection charges,” and other invented levies demanded by predatory education supervisors who function more like tax collectors than quality regulators.
This is the environment in which private schools must operate—harassed by the very government that refuses to assist them.
State governors boast about “investing in education,” yet the same states:
- provide no grants to private schools,
- offer no teacher training support,
- deliver no curriculum resources,
- and fail to rein in the extortion machinery that preys on private educators.
Private schools, which educate a massive portion of the nation’s children, are left to sink or swim. Most are sinking. The consequences are already visible: declining standards, demoralised teachers, terrorism, and overstretched school owners who can barely cover salaries.
A Nation Reaping What It Sows
Nigeria cannot continue to disrespect its teachers and expect excellence from its students.
Nigeria cannot impoverish university faculty and expect world-class research.
Nigeria cannot harass private schools and expect a flourishing educational ecosystem.
Nigeria cannot neglect quality assurance and expect globally competitive graduates.
The Tinubu administration—and the governors across the federation—must wake up to the simple truth that a nation cannot rise above the quality of its teachers. And teachers cannot deliver excellence when they are overworked, underpaid, and subjected to systemic indignity.
A Call for Courageous Reform
If Nigeria is serious about development, it must take bold actions now:
- Restore dignity to teachers through a complete overhaul of remuneration.
- Reform university governance to prioritise merit, transparency, and accountability.
- Grant university autonomy in appointments and finances.
- Establish support mechanisms for private schools, including grants and training.
- Eliminate corrupt supervisory practices that exploit private school owners.
- Treat education as national infrastructure, not a budgetary inconvenience.
Anything less is hypocrisy.
Nigeria stands today on the brink—economically, socially, and intellectually. As long as its teachers remain forgotten, its future remains forgotten. As long as its universities remain neglected, its development remains imaginary.
It is time for the government to stop pretending and start governing.
©SHILGBA
