INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY 2026
REWRITING THE FUTURE: A NATIONAL EMERGENCY ON LITERACY
As the global community marks International Literacy Day 2026, the National Association of Seadogs (Pyrates Confraternity) calls for an urgent and fundamental reset of Nigeria’s approach to literacy and basic education.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) proclaimed International Literacy Day in 1966, during its 14th General Conference, and the first observance took place on September 8, 1967. Sixty years later, the world continues to use this day to draw attention to literacy as a fundamental human right and a critical driver of social and economic development.
This year’s theme: “Literacy for People, the Planet and Prosperity” is not merely a global slogan. It speaks directly to the future we want to build for Nigeria, and to the responsibility we bear to ensure that every Nigerian has the foundational skills required to learn, participate, work, innovate and live with dignity.
We believe that literacy is a fundamental human right, a foundation for human development and a prerequisite for inclusive prosperity. We cannot credibly aspire to build a productive, innovative and globally competitive Nigeria while millions of Nigerians cannot write and understand what they read.
NAS/PC considers this year’s theme relevant to Nigeria in her quest to build a population capable of competing globally and accelerating prosperity. A literate population is better equipped with skills and knowledge to build a prosperous economy, protect its environment, and create a more inclusive society. A literate population has access to and power for innovative endeavours that reject ignorance, banish poverty, choose good governance and change the trajectory of a nation’s development.
It is against this background that we are deeply concerned about the mass illiteracy in Nigeria, which evidently breeds social inequality and poverty. According to data from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Nigeria has 18.3 million out- of- school children, one of the highest in the world. Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has also disclosed that three out of every four children at the basic education level are unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text by the age of 10. Even worse, the Chairman of the Governing Board of the National Commission for Mass Illiteracy, Adult and Non- Formal Education(NMEC), Dr Esther Udehi, disclosed that 64 million adult Nigerians cannot read and write. This is scandalous!
These are not mere statistics. Behind every number is a Nigerian whose potential is being constrained and most likely deprived for life. A Nigerian child who cannot read is incapable of fully benefiting from the education system. As an adult, that Nigerian is more likely to be economically disadvantaged, susceptible to manipulation, and cannon fodder for violence.
NAS/PC is not oblivious to the reality that Nigeria’s literacy crisis does not exist in isolation. Indeed, there is a vicious cycle connecting illiteracy, poverty, and extreme violence. The inability of the Nigerian government to protect schools amid an increasing wave of mass abductions of students has led to several shutdowns of schools, further exacerbating the mass illiteracy crisis. Undoubtedly, the high level of illiteracy in Northern Nigeria breeds an army of unemployed youths who are recruited by extremist and terrorist organisations, fuelling banditry and kidnapping, thereby turning a once peaceful and prosperous region into a theatre of war.
If the Federal Government is desirous of having a prosperous nation, then it must be ready to tackle the illiteracy crisis afflicting Nigeria. It is not a coincidence that countries with highly literate populations are better governed, with citizens participating fully in decision-making, and have robust human resources which accelerate development and stimulate economic prosperity.
NAS/PC therefore welcomes the Federal Government’s HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All (HOPE-EDU) programme, unveiled in 2026 as a major intervention aimed at improving foundational literacy and numeracy, strengthening teaching quality and expanding access to quality basic education.
The programme, on paper, represents an important recognition by the government that Nigeria’s foundational learning crisis requires large-scale intervention. Its ambition to improve learning outcomes, mentor and strengthen teachers, and expand support for basic education across the country is commendable.
However, we believe that the success of HOPE-EDU must ultimately be measured in classrooms and in the abilities of children – not in the size of the programme, the amount of money committed or the number of policy documents produced.
CALL TO ACTION
- We call on the Federal Government to make foundational literacy a national emergency and establish clear, measurable targets for early-grade reading and comprehension. We therefore call for transparent implementation of the HOPE-EDU programme with reliable education data, independent monitoring and clear accountability mechanisms. We also call on the Federal Government and subnational governments to ensure that programme resources reach the children, schools and teachers for whom they are intended. We must avoid repeating a familiar pattern in which ambitious education programmes generate impressive announcements but produce insufficient and uneven improvements in learning outcomes.
- The Federal Government must ensure the safety of schools, especially in Northern Nigeria, to prevent the continued mass abduction of students and shutdown of schools. The safety of children in their classrooms is a morale booster for increased enrolment.
- We call for a progressive increase in education spending towards the UNESCO benchmark of 4–6 per cent of GDP, while ensuring that additional resources are transparently and efficiently deployed towards measurable learning outcomes.
- We call for sustained investment in teacher recruitment, training, mentoring, remuneration, welfare and professional development. No education reform can succeed without adequately prepared and motivated teachers.
- We call for regular public reporting of HOPE-EDU funding, implementation, beneficiaries and learning outcomes, supported by independent monitoring and verification.
- We call on state governments to take greater responsibility for enrolment, retention, teacher deployment, school infrastructure and learning outcomes.
- We call on the Federal Government to reform the National Commission on Mass Literacy, Adult Education and Non- Formal Education with an expansion of its reach to rural communities.
- We call for education policies to be integrated with interventions addressing poverty, hunger, insecurity, displacement, social protection and gender inequality.
- We call on parents, communities, libraries, civil society organisations, religious institutions and businesses to create reading programmes, community libraries, book clubs and safe learning spaces.
- We call for modern literacy programmes to go beyond reading and writing to include digital, media and information literacy. In an age of artificial intelligence, misinformation and rapidly changing technology, Nigerians must be equipped to access, evaluate and responsibly use information.
- We call on corporate Nigeria to treat foundational education as an investment in the country’s future workforce rather than simply as corporate social responsibility. Businesses can support teacher development, libraries, reading programmes, digital access, scholarships and community learning initiatives.
Nigeria has one of the world’s largest and youngest populations. We see this as one of the country’s greatest potential advantages. But a young population does not automatically create economic prosperity. If millions of young Nigerians leave school without foundational literacy, our demographic advantage risks becoming a demographic burden. We cannot continue to commemorate International Literacy Day year after year while millions of Nigerians remain unable to read and write.
Nigeria’s dream of a $1trillion economy by 2030 can only become a reality with a highly literate population capable of applying its knowledge and skills as a pathway to economic prosperity. Nigeria must therefore move from mere pronouncements on the literacy crisis to implementing concrete plans to tackle it head-on. We must move from just budgetary allocations to measurable outcomes that indicate progress. And we must move from accepting the literacy crisis as an emergency to confronting it as a national challenge that is surmountable and which we have the power and the responsibility to solve.
Dr Charles Meribole
NAS Cap’n
Abuja
