Adult education in Nigeria: The consequence of neglect and agenda for action

In spite of the rich variety of natural resources in Nigeria, the country is still very much underdeveloped. Within and outside Nigeria, analysts are of the view that the country clearly has the potential to be prosperous. As Nigeria attempts without much success to pull itself out of the quagmire of underdevelopment, the inevitably persistent question has been: given the resources at its disposal, why has the country remained mired in poverty? This paper attempts to provide a partial answer by arguing that Nigeria's inadequate commitment, over the years, to pursue the development of adult education as a strategic objective, as well as an instrument for national development has been one of the major drawbacks to the country's efforts to pull itself out of poverty. Underscoring the role of education in contemporary society, the paper proposes an adult education agenda for Nigeria.