𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞-𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐛 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧

Sometimes, we fixate on what we perceive as urgent issues while completely ignoring the ticking time-bombs that threaten our future. And when I say 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, I mean it quite literally.

I remember coming across the recently released cut-off marks for admission into Federal Government Unity Schools and feeling an overwhelming sense of dread. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞!

These schools—established to promote national unity—Have since been admitting students under an educational apartheid system where merit is sacrificed on the altar of politics and regional appeasement. The implication? We are deliberately nurturing a future class of 𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐫-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐢𝐫𝐢 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐧—students admitted with little foundational knowledge—who will, on paper, graduate with the same qualifications as their peers from other states, yet lack the same level of competence.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?

The public outrage that initially followed the release of these scores was predictable. Nigerians condemned it, raged on social media, and even cursed the government. But, as always, after a few days, the outrage fizzled out, drowned by a collective sigh of resignation. *Government does not care anyway*, and it understands the psyche of its people well enough to simply wait out their anger. No explanations. No justifications. No corrections. Just calculated silence. And as expected, the people moved on.

𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐥𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐧𝐮𝐠𝐮 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟑𝟒 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟎.
𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐛𝐞? 𝟐 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬.
𝐙𝐚𝐦𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐚? 𝟒 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬.
𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐚? 𝟑 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬.
𝐒𝐨𝐤𝐨𝐭𝐨? 𝟗 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬.

𝐈 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐭—𝟐 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟎.

This is not just a scandal; it is a systemic rot designed to perpetuate mediocrity. How do we expect students with such extreme differences in entry requirements to compete fairly in the same academic environment?

It is an open declaration that **some Nigerians are, by government policy, considered less intelligent and less capable than others.** It is the most institutionalized form of intellectual sabotage imaginable.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬

It doesn’t end with admission. What many do not realize is that 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 These students—who entered with significantly lower scores—will likely be 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 throughout their schooling. That means the same exams will be marked with different yardsticks: a student from a high-cutoff region could score 50% and be deemed a failure, while another from a low-cutoff region could score the same and be passed.

So, what do we end up with?

I first posted this in 2016. These were the figures then! So, I humbly ask, almost 10 years later, has anything really changed!

We graduate a generation where a student from the South who had to fight tooth and nail for admission sits in the same job market as another who barely scraped in. And because certificates do not bear the marks with which you were admitted, society assumes they are of equal competence.

But are they?

This is not *affirmative action*. This is *a rigged system that rewards mediocrity and punishes excellence*.

### The Ultimate Betrayal

There are two tragedies here:

1. **For Northern Nigeria:** This policy cements a *generational cycle of dependency and underdevelopment*. It is an unspoken agreement that *"our children are not capable, so let’s just push them through anyway."* What kind of future are we building when we deliberately lower the bar instead of raising our standards?

2. **For Nigeria as a whole:** We are filling our classrooms, our workforce, and eventually our leadership with underqualified individuals. When we eventually complain about incompetence in government, in the civil service, in the economy, we should remember *we built this system*.

Is this not the *worst* form of corruption? Not the stealing of money, but the theft of *quality education*—the very foundation of any progressive society.

Why have we accepted this silence? Why do we allow a system that *institutionalizes failure*? Why do we destroy our own future while pretending all is well?

If Nigeria is ever to rise as a truly competitive nation, then we must urgently rethink this *deliberate* degradation of our education system. The day we realize that **excellence is non-negotiable**, we will finally begin the journey toward true development.

The question remains—will we continue to stay silent? Or will we demand better?