Nigerian Students Face Loan Burden Amid Oil Wealth

The article addresses the irony faced by Nigerian students who, despite being born in a country rich in oil and natural resources, are encouraged to borrow money for their education. NELFUND was established under the Student Loans (Access to Higher Education) Act, 2024, to tackle Nigeria's higher education financing gap amid inadequate public funding and rising costs.

The article questions whether a student loan scheme should be the primary solution to the affordability crisis, which is partly due to insufficient public investment in education. Nigeria's crude oil was discovered in commercial quantities in Oloibiri in 1958, and since then, the economy has increasingly relied on petroleum, overshadowing agriculture.

Despite extracting billions from oil, Nigeria is now asking its youth to borrow for education and skills necessary to manage its resources and diversify the economy.