By Ekwueme Justin

According to the late Nelson Mandela, education means being taught how to read, write, and understand the world around you.

In Nigeria, it has become an issue due to how we treat education—starting from poor infrastructure to lack of teachers or poor remuneration of teachers and other workers in the education sector. It is also a known fact that the type of education system currently in place in Nigeria hardly carries people along, which makes it difficult for the uneducated and semi-educated to gain knowledge because the curriculum does not cater to them. What this means is that once you miss infant education, you cannot embark on any formal learning process except disjointed ones that only focus on the issuance of certificates instead of knowledge transfer. This highlights why adult education is important in every LGA as a major yardstick for grassroots development rather than the use of special centres that serve only the purpose of examination.

Let me take us a little back to the origin of adult education in Nigeria and why we must do everything possible to revitalize, rejig, and resuscitate it using Dr. Ibenaku Harford Onoh’s roadmap.

Adult education in Nigeria dates back to the pre-colonial era when informal education was provided through traditional institutions such as age grades, secret societies, and vocational apprenticeships. The aim was to prepare individuals for roles in the family, community, and trade.

During the colonial period, especially in the early 20th century, Christian missionaries introduced literacy programs to help converts read the Bible. These efforts were mainly in southern Nigeria. In 1944, the British colonial government introduced the Mass Literacy Campaign, which was one of the earliest formal efforts at adult education.

After independence in 1960, adult education gained more attention. In 1976, the Universal Primary Education (UPE) scheme recognized adult education as necessary to combat illiteracy among adults. Later, the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education (NMEC) was established in 1990 to coordinate adult education across the country.

Supposedly, adult education in Nigeria today should include basic literacy programs, continuing education, vocational training, civic and health education. However, it is not as effective as it should be due to negligence from both the government, community leaders, and society at large.

In Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State, this system has been revitalized in such a way that it accommodates everybody—the aged, youths, and so on—because the council chairman, Dr. Ibenaku Harford Onoh, is deeply interested in impacting sustainable and transferable knowledge.

It is also no surprise that one would begin to imagine how this young man was able to achieve so much that adult education in Enugu’s municipal council is gradually gaining attention and active participation. It is no big deal. Immediately he took office, he began consultations with stakeholders across the 13 political wards in Enugu North Local Government Area, where his team engaged with everyone in finding a scheme that would suit each area.

It was discovered that adult education used to exist in five centres across the three development centres in the council.

Led by his Special Assistant on Donor Agencies, Mrs. Ada Oji, Dr. Onoh’s team began periodic, thorough sensitization to inform prospective beneficiaries of the importance of getting an education free of charge, even at old age or as someone disadvantaged by life.

In March 2025, after sesensitization and community engagements across the development centres in the council, the program started in five centres: Hilltop Ngwo, Broadricksoal Camp, St. Luke’s Ogui Nike, New Haven Primary School, and Udi Road, with an average of 30 learners in each centre, focusing on primary education, junior secondary education, and senior secondary education.

What has kept the programme going despite the challenges encountered is the preparedness of Dr. Onoh and his team, who adopted study times according to the areas—some centres start by 4 pm and end by 6 pm, while some start by 6 pm and end by 8 pm. In these centres, forest guards and some neighbourhood watch members are stationed to provide the needed security to both the teachers and students.

Equally important is the deliberate attempt by the council to integrate vocational training into the curriculum, where learners are introduced to basic skills such as tailoring, soap making, and carpentry. To Dr. Onoh, this approach will help many of them acquire life skills that not only promote self-reliance but also improve their income generation capacity, as a blend of formal education with practical skills will solve some problems and peculiar needs of adults who desire more than just literacy.

However, with continuous monitoring and evaluation, this initiative will not only revive adult education but will also renew hope for lifelong learning across Enugu North Local Government Area.

Dr. Onoh’s use of retired teachers who are always ready to work and impact knowledge to people is also another key factor that is making this initiative thrive, as they make use of a learning pattern that enables their students to learn without much trouble, irrespective of their age brackets.

Let me use this opportunity to call on our leaders, professionals, academics, traditional institutions, and other stakeholders to, as a matter of urgency, see the need to resuscitate adult education programs in their localities. The benefits go beyond just literacy—they provide a renewed sense of purpose, promote economic empowerment, and foster civic participation among individuals who were once left behind by the conventional school system. It is our collective responsibility to support policies and frameworks that will ensure adult education becomes not just a program but a legacy of inclusive learning across generations.

In the face of rapid technological advancement and changing global dynamics, no one should be left behind simply because they missed early education opportunities. Adult education serves as a bridge that reconnects individuals with the world of knowledge, giving them the tools to understand, contribute to, and benefit from societal progress. If we fail to strengthen this system now, we risk building a society where inequality thrives not just in income or opportunities, but also in access to knowledge—the very foundation upon which sustainable development stands.

It is also very clear that, this initiative by Dr Ibenaku Harford onoh connects perfectly to Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah’s education vision because, while the smart schools take care of education of young students, the adult education will take care of the education of older adults who missed early education window; thus, making Enugu North Local Government Area an education yardstick for others to emulate as students will also be trained on digital literacy.