Boko Haram succeeded in North-East because of poor education, says OBJ

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has blamed low literacy levels for the success of the Boko Haram insurgency in North-East Nigeria.

Obasanjo, who was speaking at the on-going International Symposium for the launching of African Initiative for Education, Peace and Development, said no peace effort would yield any positive result without education.

He pointed to the fact that the most intolerant regions of the African society had the lowest literacy levels.

Obasanjo used the Nigerian literacy and tolerance levels to further the argument, pointing out that the North East geopolitical zone was the least educated, hence the lingering Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

According to him, 2010 literacy figures show that while the South West had 77.9 per cent and the South-East achieved 66.66.8, the North East had a meagre 18.1 per cent.

Literacy levels among women were even more dismal with the South West having 79.9 per cent; South East, 69.6 per cent and North East achieving a lowly 15.4 per cent.

The former president then concluded that the insurgency found it easier to penetrate the North East and be deep-rooted because of low level of education.

He therefore urged participants to find solution to the lingering political, religious and cultural crises in parts of Africa.