Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has championed the need for online universities as a transformative solution to Nigeria’s educational crisis. Speaking at Nexford University’s 2024 graduation ceremony in Lagos, Obi described online education as a scalable and sustainable way to provide high-quality learning opportunities for millions of Nigerians.
“Our universities cannot keep up with the demand,” Obi remarked. “Countries like Pakistan, India, Turkey, and Bangladesh have online universities with more students than all our universities combined. We need to embrace this approach to massively educate our population and drive development.”
Data from the National Universities Commission (NUC) underscores the urgency of Obi’s call: out of two million applicants seeking admission annually, only 700,000 can be accommodated by Nigeria’s universities. This stark disparity leaves a significant number of students without access to higher education.
Obi also highlighted the broader societal benefits of education, urging leaders to focus on compassion, competence, and good governance to enhance the sector.
The event also saw contributions from notable figures, including Okechukwu Enelamah, former Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, who emphasized the global competitiveness of tech-enabled online education. “Online education bridges barriers and prepares students for international opportunities,” Enelamah said.
Oby Ezekwesili, CEO of Human Capital Africa and former Minister of Education, praised Nexford University for equipping Nigerians with the skills to excel globally. She further noted that Africa’s youthful population, with an average age of 18.9, positions the continent to dominate the global workforce by 2050.
“Almost 85 per cent of the increasing global workforce will come from African youth in the next few decades,” Ezekwesili noted, stressing the importance of equipping young people for this responsibility.
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