News
Nigerian Students Need Free Data for Educational Resources, Not Price Cut in Five Years
By Joel Popoola
We called on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, to give our children free data; he offered us a price cut in five years!
The British government recently promised a “New Deal” to kick-start its economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, calling to mind the vast investment in jobs and infrastructure designed by former American President, Franklin Roosevelt, to save America from the Great Depression.
When details of this “New Deal” arrived, it turned out that the people of Britain (649,000 of whom have lost their jobs due to COVID-19) were being offered £10 (4000 Naira) off restaurant bills for 14 days in August.
Not so much a New Deal as a meal deal – it would be like the Nigerian government trying to rebuild our economy with discounts in a fast food joint!
It was hard for me not to feel the way the people of Britain must have felt when they heard this as when I heard Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami announce government ambition for a 40% cut in data prices by 2025.
Two weeks ago, I called on Dr Pantami to require telecommunication firms to exempt educational resources from data charges to save a generation of Nigerians from having their education permanently disrupted by COVID-19.
Data is a luxury many Nigerian families cannot afford. Education is a necessity. A 40% price cut in five years time will not help Nigeria’s lost generation one little bit.
In the same speech Dr Pantami announced that government plans to “promote digital economy and improve the living standard of the citizenry” with an emphasis on “skill acquisition”.
This is music to my ears, but during the speech, the minister also boasted that broadband penetration in Nigeria has risen to 40.18%.
Dr Pantami spoke of targeting a rapid rollout of 5G capability across Nigeria – but we have yet to achieve significant 4G penetration! Indeed, with government projections stating that by 2025 only 70% of Nigerians will have any sort of internet.
The youth of Nigeria will never develop digital skills if less than half of them are able to access the internet, and those who are cannot afford to.
Dr Patami’s goals are the right ones and I genuinely applaud both his efforts and ambitions. And there is not getting around it – universal broadband takes time to deliver.
But our children need action now, especially those unable to access education.
One in every five of the world’s out-of-school children is Nigerian. 10.5 million of our 5 to 14 year-olds are not in school. This is a national disgrace. And that was before COVID-19 robbed so many more children of months of education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionised digital and online education as lessons move online across the world.
But in Nigeria, many homes are not equipped to adapt to these new methods of learning. This means children who have fallen behind will never catch up, and Nigeria will continue to feel the effects of the coronavirus for long after the pandemic is over.
About 170 million Nigerians have a mobile phone subscription, but many of those with smartphones cannot afford the data fees to make the most of the opportunities of the digital age. Many Nigerian parents will be burning through data trying to use online resources to help with their children’s schooling. When the data ends, so does the learning.
As head of the Digital Democracy campaign, Rate Your Leader, I am calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to tell our telecommunication companies that this isn’t good enough.
Our app allows registered voters to directly contact their local politicians – building trust, transparency and accountability, and allowing a two-way flow of information which educates and benefits both parties. We know Nigerians want this – so tell your local leaders!
All of this is done with the touch of a smartphone button from the comfort of the home. It would take next to nothing for children otherwise unable to access education to learn the same way. But while Rate Your Leader requires minimal data, online educational resources do not.
As for the telecommunications companies themselves, free data for education should not be seen as an act of charity, but a sensible business decision. It is companies like them who stand to gain most from a more digitally-skilled workforce and wider internet access. For any of our telecommunication companies with consistent modest, profit after tax for decades, this modest investment would pay for itself many times over.
Nigeria’s lost generation needs free data for education now, not a price cut in five years
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and is the creator of the free Rate Your Leader app. He can be reached via Joel@rateyourleader.com @JOPopoola
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
The simmering political battle in Rivers State appears to have taken a fresh turn, following the screening of aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Assembly primaries, with several loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara failing to make the party’s final list.
In a development already stirring political intrigue across the state, former Obio/Akpor council chairman Chijioke Ihunwo and serving lawmakers Sokari Goodboy and Victor Oko-Jumbo — all widely regarded as strong allies of Governor Fubara — were among those not cleared by the party’s screening committee for various reasons.
Political observers are interpreting their failure to scale through as more than just a routine internal party exercise. They say it is the latest signal of the deepening political fault lines in Rivers, where Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Minister Nyesom Wike, remain locked in a prolonged struggle for political supremacy.
On the other side of the divide, the list of cleared aspirants appears to favour established political figures and returning lawmakers, largely seen as loyal to the Wike camp.
Among those cleared are:
Maol Dumle
Major Jack
Enemi Alabo George
Tonye Smart Adoki
Tekenari Granville
Their emergence is being viewed as a reinforcement of the influence of the former governor within the APC structure in Rivers State.
The screening exercise, announced by Rivers APC publicity secretary Chibike Ikenga, comes at a politically sensitive time, with alignments already forming ahead of future elections and control of the Rivers State House of Assembly remaining a critical battleground.
For many political watchers, the outcome raises fresh questions: Is the APC in Rivers consolidating into a single power bloc? And does this effectively shut the door on Fubara’s loyalists seeking alternative political platforms?
Fubara, elected under the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, joined the APC last year, following a political dispute with Wike.
The Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) has been factionalized ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The rival factions emerged after its chairman, Governor Hope Uzodimma, was reportedly removed on Thursday.
While Uzodimma insists that he remains PGF chairman, Ogun State governor, Dapo Abiodun and his Kwara State counterpart, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, are reportedly leading a separate faction.
Another bloc within the forum has reportedly queued behind the duo of Abiodun and AbdulRazaq.
The development, which comes amid growing political realignments within the ruling party, marks a significant crack in the ranks of APC governors ahead of the 2027 general elections.
According to reports by Arise TV, details surrounding the disagreement remain unclear, but sources within the party said tensions have been building over internal leadership control and strategic positioning ahead of the next election season.
As of the time of filing this report, none of the factions had made an official clarification regarding the alleged division.
