…delivers Unilag’s 56th convocation ceremonies lecture
With more than 100 million Nigerian children at a critical crossroads, Orondaam Otto, founder of Slum2school Africa advocates education reforms which he said are essential to ensure youngsters are empowered with quality learning to thrive and compete globally.
Otto in his lecture titled, ‘Maximising Nigeria’s Demographic Dividend through Urgent Education Reform for Global Competitiveness in the 21st century’ deliver at the 56th convocation ceremonies of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, on Monday, said a Nigeria where the working age population is larger than its dependent population can only happen when the country’s people are educated, healthy, and productively employed.
“Demographic dividend to an economists is a period where a country’s working age population is larger than its dependent population.
“Are we preparing the children to be dividends or liabilities? This calls for urgent education reform,” he said.
He emphasised that being global competitiveness in the 21st century means that Nigeria is no longer educating its children to survive locally, but to compete globally.
“This means that we’re in a world where every child we educated in Lagos, would compete with a child in Boston, Massachusetts and this is no longer about titles, but competence,” he noted.
Turning high population growth into productivity
Otto reiterated that Nigeria’s population could become its greatest assets or instability depending on how the education system is designed.
For Nigeria to turn its youthful population into its greatest source of prosperity, he said the country needs a national education vision, protected by law, institutionise a 15-year of compulsory education and transform schools into centres of excellence, reposition teaching as Nigeria’s most elite profession, and standardise and decolonise the national curriculum, among others.
According to him, “Nigeria’s greatest weakness in education is not lack of effort or policy documents, it is a lack of continuity, coordination, and legally protected national direction.
“We plan education in four-to eight-year political cycles, while education itself unfolds over generations. That contradiction quietly sabotages every reform attempt.”
Read also: Nigeria’s grid crisis sparks push for digital energy solutions -Schneider
However, he said that such a vision cannot be written in Abuja alone, it must be born of national consensus by traditional councils, religious leaders, educators, labour unions, private sector, and political leaders across party lines.
“Collectively we must agree on one fundamental question; what kind of Nigerians do we want to produce in 50 years
“To raise generations of Nigerians who think clearly, act ethically, and build boldly rooted in African identity, committed to national transformation, and capable of competing and leading anywhere in the world,” he said.
Otto decried the fact that Nigeria’s education system which earlier was tailored along 6-3-3-4 system was replace with 9-3-4 formula. This, he noted, includes nine years of basic education, consisting of six years of primary education, and three years of junior secondary education, followed by three years of senior secondary education and four years of tertiary education.
However, he said that in law, only the first nine years are compulsory and enforceable.
“Senior secondary education remains optional, unevenly funded, and weakly regulated. That legal gap alone already fractures our demographic future
“Beyond secondary education, the basic education component itself sounds complete. It sounds deliberate, but when we look closely, a quiet structural omission reveals itself, one that shows a foundational loss,” he noted.
Teaching as elite profession
Otto stressed that the future of a nation does not first sit in parliament or boardrooms, but in a primary one classroom, listening to the voice that stands in front of it.
He noted that who teaches a Nigerian child should matter to all stakeholders, because the teachers shape the future of a child.
Comparing Nigeria’s teaching profession with other countries, he said, “In Finland, teaching is a highly selective profession, often requiring a master’s degree and admits only the top 10 percent of applicants.
“France mandates a teaching master’s and competitive national exams, while Portugal, Italy and Spain all require postgraduate training and formal professional licensing,” he stressed.
Skillisation of education: reengineering education around skill development
For decades, Nigeria’s education system have been designed to reward memorization, examinations, and certificates, while postponing real skill acquisition until too late.
Children, he said, spend their most formative years proving what they can recall, not what they can do, and by the time they graduate, many are academically qualified, yet economically stranded.
“By age 10, every child should have exposure to at least two structured, age-appropriate skill areas. By age 18, every graduate should leave the secondary school system with at least three to five market-relevant, income-generating skills.
“These skills should include digital literacy, basic coding, creative production, communication, problem-solving, practical craftsmanship, and other 21st century skills as predicted by the World economic Forum,” he said.
