Burkina Faso’s Educational Leap: A Wake-Up Call for Nigeria and Africa’s Sleeping Giant

Last week, in a historic move, Burkina Faso’s transitional government led by President Ibrahim Traoré abolished school fees at all levels, from cradle to university. In a country grappling with security and economic challenges, this bold decision sends a powerful message: education is not a luxury reserved for the privileged; it is a fundamental human right and a national survival strategy.

It was a moment that immediately echoed the visionary leadership of Ahmed Sékou Touré, the former President of Guinea, who declared free education from cradle to university in the aftermath of colonialism. Touré understood, as President Traoré does today, that no true independence exists without intellectual freedom.

At a time when global instability threatens Africa’s future, Burkina Faso has boldly reminded the continent, and indeed the world, that investing in education is investing in sovereignty.

Rwanda’s Example: When Vision Meets Leadership

Burkina Faso is not alone. Rwanda, emerging from the ashes of genocide, has rebuilt its society through strategic investment in education. Today, Rwanda boasts one of the highest literacy rates in Africa. Through policies like the 12-Year Basic Education program, which offers free and compulsory education up to the senior secondary level, Rwanda has demonstrated that no country is too broken or too small to prioritize its children.

In Rwanda, education receives over 15% of national budget allocations, approaching UNESCO’s recommended minimum of 15–20%. The results are visible: Rwanda’s human capital index, school enrollment rates, and innovation rankings are steadily rising.

Nigeria: The Giant That Refuses to Wake

And then there is Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the so-called “Giant of Africa.”
A giant in name, perhaps, but when it comes to the education of its children, a sleeping and staggering giant in reality.

According to UNICEF’s 2024 report, Nigeria holds the heartbreaking title of the country with the highest number of out-of-school children in the world, an estimated 18.3 million children excluded from education.

Shockingly, for those in school, research by the British Council and other bodies reveals that many are not acquiring even basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Children are attending school but emerging without the foundational competencies needed for life, work, and citizenship.

Even worse, Nigeria’s investment in education tells a damning story:

• In the 2024 budget, education accounted for less than 8% of national expenditure, far below UNESCO’s global benchmark of 15–20%.
• Billions of naira meant for education remain trapped in the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Fund because many state governments refuse to provide the mandatory counterpart funding required to access federal grants.
• Lawyers and civil society groups have gone to court to challenge this systemic negligence, but political indifference prevails.

In short, Nigeria is sitting on an education time bomb, one it is choosing to ignore.

Hypocrisy of the Political Class: Education for Theirs, Neglect for Ours

And yet, the Nigerian political elite understand the power of education.
They send their children to the best schools abroad, in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Europe, paying tuition fees that could rebuild dozens of local schools.
Their children thrive in environments of dignity and excellence, while the children of the poor languish in dilapidated public schools at home.

If ignorance persists among the masses, it is not by accident.
It is the byproduct of systemic neglect, a deliberate political economy of exclusion.

As a Family Attorney, Family Strengthening Advocate, Child Safeguarding and Protection Innovator, and passionate believer in the dignity of every child, I say it without equivocation:
Nigeria’s failure to educate its children is not ignorance, it is design.

Africa’s Future: The Torch is Passing

Today, smaller nations like Rwanda and Burkina Faso, under vastly different political conditions, are taking the lead.

They understand that a nation’s future is not built by slogans, but by strategic, courageous investment in young minds.

Countries like Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, and Ghana also allocate higher proportions of their national budgets to education compared to Nigeria.

Nigeria must confront an uncomfortable truth:
Size without substance is a liability, not a leadership position.

A Call to Conscience

Burkina Faso’s courageous step is not just an internal reform; it is a clarion call to the rest of Africa, and especially to Nigeria.

Education must cease to be a mere policy slogan or budget line.
It must become a sacred national cause, protected and pursued with the urgency of survival itself.

Because, in the end, no nation can rise higher than the minds it raises.
No giant can stand if its children have forgotten how to walk.

Congratulations, Burkina Faso.
May your example be the spark that rekindles Africa’s forgotten dreams.