A former education minister Obiageli Ezekwesili has disclosed that nine out of every 10 African children are not able to read and learn numbers at the age of 10.
Ezekwesili, who is also a co-convener of #BringBack Our Girls, lamented that such statistics and reality were an economic disaster.
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She added that for Nigeria to move forward from its present economic state, education and human capital must be the new crude oil.
Ezekwesili stated this in Abuja yesterday during the graduation ceremony of the class of 2021 of the Pace Setters Academy.
While stressing love of oil and the gains from it by the elite and political class of the society, she noted that crude oil had a severance date and as such, there must be a change in focus.
She said that for the error of misplaced priorities, God would not be happy with the country’s middle and upper class.
“If children are not able to read to get a certain numerical concept before the age of 10, they are going to be completely unable to accomplish much in life. I’m citing evidence and not merely saying,” she said.
The proprietor of the school, Kenneth Imansuagbon, said that education had the capacity to open the human mind and liberate individuals from chains of poverty and societal ills.
