By Ebenezer Mabinuola
Marking Children’s Day on May 27, 2025, former Nigerian Education Minister and global governance advocate, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, issued a rallying cry to African leaders: invest meaningfully in foundational education or risk squandering the continent’s future.
In a heartfelt message shared on social media, Ezekwesili urged a reimagining of Africa’s education systems—one that places literacy, numeracy, and emotional intelligence at the core. “Every child holds a piece of Africa’s future,” she wrote, envisioning a continent where children “read with confidence, reason with clarity, and relate with empathy.”
Lamenting the gap between policy rhetoric and implementation, she pointed to existing data on what works, warning that critical learning skills remain undervalued in governance circles. “We don’t need to guess what’s possible,” she stated. “There is a body of evidence.”
Ezekwesili, known for her leadership in the #BringBackOurGirls campaign, framed education not just as a right, but as Africa’s most strategic investment. Her message stood out amid the Children’s Day fanfare, pressing governments to trade platitudes for action—and to align budgets with the bold future children deserve.
