How we’re assisting Nigeria to overcome its educational challenges –UNESCO DG

Weekly Trust: UNESCO was created to, among others, establish solidarity among nations. How has this been achieved since 1945?The idea of UNESCO is as old as humanity itself. This is the idea of humanism and the belief in a single humanity, embodied by each of us. I believe the same idea was expressed by the […]

Weekly Trust: UNESCO was created to, among others, establish solidarity among nations. How has this been achieved since 1945?
The idea of UNESCO is as old as humanity itself. This is the idea of humanism and the belief in a single humanity, embodied by each of us.
I believe the same idea was expressed by the late Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, when he wrote: “You must find a way to accept something, however small, from the other to make you whole.”
From its foundation, UNESCO has worked to build the foundations of peace in the minds of men and women through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
On this mandate, UNESCO has become unique vehicle for dialogue among and between societies, on the basis of universal human rights and dignity. The Organization has successfully coordinated several international campaigns for the protection of world heritage (for instance, Egyptian temples, Angkor). It is steering forward scientific projects of global dimension, such as early warning systems for tsunamis and transboundary water management, and it is supporting States in enhancing access to quality education for all, as well as in developing standards and legal instruments for press freedom and freedom of information.
Throughout the world, we see tremendous progress – millions are being lifted out of poverty thanks to the great humanist agenda of the Millennium Development Goals and beyond 2015. But the challenges remain substantial – exclusion, poverty and conflict – and new ones are emerging. This calls on us to rethink peace and to reinvent development. I believe this calls for education, the sciences, culture, communication and information to be at the top of the political agenda. This is the importance of UNESCO’s work today, and it has never been so relevant, to support societies in managing change towards a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable future for all.
In the area of sharing of knowledge, how has UNESCO impacted on Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular?
In Africa, a major focus of UNESCO’s action in the field of science has been the establishment of a network of scientists whose collaboration at national and international level seeks to promote South-South and North-South cooperation for sustainable development and science, technology and innovation (STI).
In 2012, we launched two initiatives to facilitate the exchange of scientific knowledge and skills, and provide training and technical assistance: the UNESCO Global Observatory on STI Policy Instruments and the STI Global Assessment Programme (STIGAP).
Nigeria is involved also in the establishment of SHETSCO Silicon Valley, including a Science and Technology Park in Abuja. The country is also setting up and maintaining virtual libraries with UNESCO in order to deepen scientific and technological literacy.
UNESCO has developed also active networks for knowledge sharing between universities and public research institutions, through its UNESCO Chairs/UNITWIN network programmes and the establishment of UNESCO Category 2 Centres. In Nigeria, this work has been related to geo-resources engineering management, climate change, information technology, along with renewable energy, biotechnology and, integrated river basin management.
UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Programme designated Omo as a biosphere reserve in 1977, and we are seeking today to strengthen the capacity of the Nigerian National Committee for this project.
Nigeria joined UNESCO in 1960. Can you tell us the role Nigeria has played so far and how has it fared?
Nigeria has played a key role in bolstering UNESCO’s work, including as a longstanding member of the UNESCO Executive Board. This is reflected also in the fact that Abuja, always a UNESCO National Office, is since last year a full-fledged multi-sectoral Regional Office and will play an important role in West African development.
UNESCO’s history of cooperation with Nigeria has deepened over the years, notably through the Special Plan of Cooperation signed in 1999, reinforced in 2006 and 2007. Since then, we have launched and completed joint endeavors in a wide range of areas, from literacy and girls’ education, TVET and mobile learning, to cultural heritage, the diversity of cultural expressions, conflict prevention and countering the appeal of terrorism through education and dialogue.
We reinforced our cooperation through the establishment of Category 2 Institutes under the auspices of UNESCO in the fields of culture and science – the Institute for African Culture and International Understanding in Abeokuta (2009), and the International Institute for Biotechnology in Nsukka (2012). 
Through Nigeria’s generous contribution in the form of self-benefitting funds, UNESCO has been actively supporting the country’s literacy programme, its work for technical and vocational education an training, as well as its science and technology system.
I see this as a new and innovative form of cooperation, which UNESCO is keen to expand, complemented by other forms of financial contribution and support, from Federal or State Governments, the private sector or multilateral banks for which Nigeria is eligible for assistance.
Nigeria has made much progress in achieving its development goals, including with the assistance of UNESCO, and we are firmly committed to providing unerring, effective support in the country’s priority areas.
UNESCO has been actively engaged, as part of the United Nations Country Team, to monitor and evaluate the implementation of UNDAF II (2009-2013), and to develop UNDAF III (2014-2017), with Nigeria becoming a “self-starter” Delivering-as-One country by January 2014. The recently released UNESCO Country Programming Document sets out all current activities and those successfully completed, as well as a number of planned new engagements.
I am committed to strengthening our strong and constructive cooperation to support Nigeria in achieving its development goals.
How would you rate the quality of education in Nigeria and what is the body doing about corruption in the education sector of African countries?
Nigeria is the only African country belonging to what we call the “E-9” – a group of high population countries that came together in the 1990s to address their educational challenges together – by focusing on common strategies and sharing good policy and practice. This group of countries, by virtue of their large and highly diverse populations, face enormous challenges – in terms of access, quality and deep inequalities – between rich and poor, between urban and rural areas, between girls and boys. Our 2013/4 EFA Global Monitoring Report sheds light on the quality crisis: some 250 million children around the world are not learning the basics. This translates into a loss of an estimated $129 billion. These figures are a call to action: for more and better trained teachers, for more innovative curricula to improve learning, and for more support to marginalized children.
To meet these challenges, financing for education has to be sufficient and well-targeted. UNESCO and Nigeria are working together through a “Self-benefitting Funds in trust” arrangement by which the country transfers funds for a project to the custody of UNESCO.  With its strict financial regulations and procedures, funds go to the intended project activities. In Nigeria, this model has led to a project on “Revitalizing and Expanding Technical Vocational Education” which reviewed and developed new curricula to world standards, trained TVET instructors and built staff development centres. Another project is the on-going “Revitalizing Adult and Youth Literacy in Nigeria.” It led to the drafting of a National Literacy Strategy that is now used as a reference for programme implementation by all the State Agencies of Mass Education. There is no doubt that this model of financing has great potential to direct funds to the intended educational activities.
Last November I attended the launch of Professor Victor Benjie Owhotu’s book on “UNESCO-Nigeria Cooperation in the Education Sector, 1960–2013,” which I perceive as an invitation to put education at the heart of Africa’s Renaissance and Nigeria’s development. I wish to highlight the benefits arising from UNESCO’s capacity building and policy advice – it is vital for all of us to understand better what are the needs and objectives of a country, in order to craft the best possible tools to achieve them.
Nigeria has only two World Heritage Sites, what is happening to the list of other 12 submitted for consideration, some dating to 1995?
These 12 sites are part of Nigeria’s official “tentative list”, which is a list of natural and cultural properties that a State Party is considering for possible nomination on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The decision as to which (and when) properties should be submitted for nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List lies solely with the State Party.
In this spirit, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has encouraged Nigeria to pursue the preparation of the nomination of the Ancient Kano City Walls and Associated Sites, with a view to increasing the number of World Heritage sites in the country. This project has been selected as part of 10 pilot projects in the upstream process for nominations launched by the World Heritage Committee.
How is UNESCO protecting the World Heritage Sites in conflict regions of the World?
UNESCO is deeply committed to protecting heritage sites and cultural objects in times of conflict. For this, we work for the implementation of wide-ranging international legal instruments in the field of culture – principally, the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (and its two protocols), the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
On the ground, we work through our network of Field Offices with other United Nations agencies and in some cases, such as Mali, with the International Criminal Court and with United Nations Peacekeeping Missions.
To this end, we issue appeals and declarations, we organize international experts meetings to elaborate action plans — in some cases, we establish International Coordination Committees (for instance, in Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Iraq).
We take great care in coordinating globally with such partners as INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, non-governmental organizations in the field of heritage protection — notably the International Council of Museums and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
This collaboration is essential to combat illicit trafficking of cultural property, which frequently occurs in conflict situations. Indeed, museums and archaeological sites (including many World Heritage properties) are especially vulnerable to looting and pillage. During the conflict in Libya, for instance, UNESCO provided all forces involved in military action with geographical coordinates and maps of cultural property in the territory of the country, including the five World Heritage sites, to ensure their protection.