00:00today the world marks international literacy day 2025 observed every september 8th under the
00:07auspices of unesco this year's theme is promoting multilingual education literacy for multilingual
00:14understanding and peers the focus is on using local languages to strengthen literacy
00:21foster cultural understanding and promote peace in diverse societies globally literacy rates have
00:29climbed to about 86 percent but unesco says more than 781 million adults are still unable to read and
00:38write africa's average adults literacy rate stands at 67 percent with countries like seshu's south
00:46africa and sautome and principe recording over 90 percent in contrast nigeria continues to lag behind
00:54despite being africa's most populous nation official figures put nigeria's literacy rate at about 69
01:03but that national average hides troubling regional disparities in the south states such as emo lagos
01:12ekiti and rivers record literacy levels above 95 percent but in the north the numbers are far lower
01:22yobe state had just seven percent literacy as far back as 2017 katsina 10 percent sokoto 15 percent and
01:32zamphara 19 percent not much progress has been made since then the gender gap also persists according to
01:41unicef one third of nigerian children drop out before reaching junior secondary school and most of them are
01:48girls from the north factors such as poverty insecurity kidnapping child marriage and religious extremism
01:56have combined to push millions out of the classroom unicef estimate that at least 10 million children
02:04are currently out of school one of the highest figures in the world the 2025 theme is especially
02:12relevant to nigeria a country with over 300 ethnic languages education here is still dominated by
02:21english which often limits comprehension for children learning in a language different from their
02:27mother tongue experts argue that multilingual education teaching children in their first languages
02:34can boost learning outcomes preserve culture and promote national cohesion
02:40there have been some encouraging steps the federal government assert a target to raise literacy level to 70 percent
02:48by 2025 and digital literacy to 95 percent by 2030 the national library of nigeria has expanded digital
02:58access to books and resources while initiatives such as african storybook projects are publishing children's
03:06books in nigerian languages to promote early reading yet experts say far more is needed nigeria spends less
03:16than 10 percent of gdp on education well below unesco's recommended 15 to 20 percent without major investment in
03:25schools libraries and teacher training the literacy divide between north and south will persist
03:32as the world reflects on this year's international literacy day nigeria stands at a crossroads promoting
03:40literacy in local languages could not only improve educational outcomes but also strengthen unity
03:47and peace in africa's and peace in africa's most diverse nation the call to action is clear bridge the gaps
03:54invest in education and give every nigerian child and adult the power to read write and thrive
04:12in education
04:17so
04:19you
04:21you
