Update to this -> https://www.nairaland.com/8126212/literacy-rates-across-nigeria-state

Zico5:
The moment u see something like this, just know that it's the formulation of those guys from red soil. The reason they are doing this comparison is due to inferiority complex that has been plaguing them for ages. Everything is not about competition. Even if they say Onitcha is more developed than Lagos, so be it. We just need to be careful of their antics. Yoruba are not in competition with anyone. We are proud of our achievements

Am hausa....

Hey guys, I hope you're all doing well.

I recently came across a Twitter post by AfricaFactsZone (AFZ) that showed literacy rates in each state of Nigeria. The data, sourced from a 2017 National Bureau of Statistics report, defines literacy as the % of people aged 15 and above who can read, write, and understand simple expressions in any language, not just English. The findings are alarming, but there hasn't been enough public outrage. The presentation of the data masks regional disparities and doesn't highlight the severe state of literacy and cognitive skills across the country effectively.

So, I decided to visualize this data on a map and share it here. Now, I want to express my concerns. It seems Nigerians, especially politicians, are overly focused on flashy infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, and stadiums as signs of development while neglecting essential services like sewage and sanitation, clean water, healthcare, and education. It's become cliché to discuss the decline in education, pointing to dilapidated universities and outdated curriculums, but we don't focus enough on basic literacy. Given the current situation, there's no excuse for not declaring a state of emergency.

What's happening in our country is not normal. A nation with an adult literacy rate of around 60–65% (1) cannot develop in the modern era. It's impossible. One common misconception is comparing Nigeria to China (or India) and thinking that following their path of opening up to low-level manufacturing and exports will lead to similar success. However, before China opened up, many foundational steps were taken under communism that prepared them to seize that opportunity—steps that Nigeria and many African countries haven't taken.

Under Mao, China made significant efforts to educate a large portion of the population with basic primary and early secondary education. They introduced "barefoot doctors" to improve rural healthcare, promoted lower birth rates to correct previous policies, and took many other actions to improve health and general human capital. People forget that China in the 1960s - when it had GDP per capita figures worse than many countries in Africa, developed a nuclear bomb. So there was a base level of skill/human development that only existed because of efforts to improve basic education. So the key here is human development/human capital.

For Nigeria to develop, we need serious solutions to our human capital problem, starting with addressing basic literacy. More focus on primary and secondary education is crucial because low literacy rates and lack of education are at the root of 75-80% of the issues we face as a country and possibly as a continent.

What are your thoughts? This is the kind of topic that should be trending on Twitter because it's genuinely alarming. My thoughts are scattered right now, so please excuse my poor writing. Let's keep the discussion respectful; the poor state of education and low levels of literacy in Nigeria are problems that affect us all.

P.S

According to Charlie Robertson in The Time Traveling Economist, when looking at historical data, he observed that a country cannot grow sustainably unless it achieves 40% adult literacy, and cannot industrialize unless literacy levels reach 70-80%.

Apologies in advance if there are any mistakes on the map.