Obi of Onitsha urges citizens’ involvement in reforms

The Obi of Onitsha, Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, has sought urgent reforms, citing inadequate funding and a disconnect from global trends. Speaking at the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) after being conferred with a distinctive honorary fellowship alongside former Editor of The Guardian on Sunday, Jahman Oladejo Anikulapo, the monarch highlighted that the country’s average annual allocation for education over the past 25 years was approximately 7.81 per cent of the national budget.

This figure is significantly below the UNESCO and National Policy on Education recommended guideline of 20-26 per cent. Obi Achebe contrasted Nigeria’s education budget with those of other African countries over the same period, noting that Ghana allocated 24.37 per cent, Kenya 21.70 per cent, Senegal 21.32 per cent, South Africa 19.94 per cent, and Morocco 17.61 per cent.

He also noted that in the 2025 budget, Nigeria’s allocation from the federal and 22 state governments was 7.3 per cent. Only four states – Enugu, Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa – exceeded the UNESCO guideline in 2025.