Prof. Onuora-Oguno Calls for Urgent Education Reforms in UNILORIN 264th Inaugural Lecture

Professor Azubike Chinwuba Onuora-Oguno of the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law at the University of Ilorin, in his 264th Inaugural Lecturecalled for urgent reforms to enhance the right to education in Nigeria. The lecture, titled “Disorder in the Order of the Economic and Social Rights Jurisprudence in Nigeria,” was held at the University Auditorium.

Professor Onuora-Oguno emphasized the need for strengthening key institutions to ensure that every Nigerian’s right to education is fully realized. He proposed an amendment to the Nigerian Constitution to make education compulsory and enshrined in Chapter Four.

To achieve this, Professor Onuora-Oguno highlighted the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders, including the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), the National Teachers Institute (NTI), the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), and the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). He urged these bodies to mobilize efforts for quality education across the country.

He also stressed the need for enhanced capacity within institutions and non-state actors to improve advocacy for educational rights. Professor Onuora-Oguno called for a more active role from the judiciary in matters of economic and social rights and encouraged individual lawyers and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to challenge inadequate educational provisions in their communities.

The professor argued that education should be approached from a “classical theory perspective” and be firmly enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution. He urged the National Assembly to consider this amendment, which he believes will significantly improve the quality of education.

Additionally, Professor Onuora-Oguno advocated for better welfare for teachers, emphasizing that improved conditions for educators would positively impact the quality of education. He also highlighted the roles of pupils, parents, teachers, and the community in ensuring the right to education and suggested aligning educational policies and laws from a rights-based perspective.

The lecture also addressed the importance of adequate data on the educational needs of persons with disabilities, advocating for better budgetary and logistical planning to support inclusive education. He appealed to the Federal Government to support non-state actors in their educational roles and encouraged all citizens to contribute to the provision of quality education.

In closing, Professor Onuora-Oguno urged Nigerian Faculties of Law to establish special funds to support students’ participation in Moot Court activities and to ensure that emerging jurisprudence is tested through clinical legal education. The inaugural lecture was presided over by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, and attended by legal luminaries, judges, students, and colleagues of Professor Onuora-Oguno.