By Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
Executive Director, Nigerian Law Society (NLS)
This is my fifth week here in Lesotho. What I have noticed is that the average Mosotho (a citizen of Lesotho) is contented with their ability to obtain the basic necessities of life (food, clothing and shelter). For them, ability to obtain their staple food (papaa-made of corn meal), and grilled meat (with or without a bottle of “motoho”- local drink made of sorghum) is sufficient.
There is no made insistence on designer clothes, clothes is clothes to the average Mosotho.
I have racked my brain to pinpoint where exactly they have gotten this attitude from.
My research points me to the direction of the high literacy rate of the average citizen of Lesotho.
According to an online report” Lesotho has one of the highest literacy rates in Africa, with 82.01% of the population aged 15 and older able to read and write with comprehension in 2022…Lesotho’s literacy rate has increased since 2014, but it declined from 2000 to 2009.
Lesotho’s education system faces some challenges, including:
Language
The language spoken at home and the language of instruction can affect a child’s ability to read and do math. For example, children who speak English at home and have an English-speaking teacher are more likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills than children who speak Sesotho at home and have a Sesotho-speaking teacher.
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Lesotho literacy rate for 2022 was 82.01%, a 5.37% increase from 2014.”
In Nigeria on the other hand, “Of course, Nigeria’s literacy landscape is nothing to write home about, compared to some African countries. That is why this piece largely focuses on the poor reading culture among the educated population. Alarmingly, recent figures from the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education reveal that 38% of Nigerians lack formal education, while a staggering 40% of primary school pupils struggle with reading and comprehension.
Also, a survey conducted by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) in 2021 indicated that only 56% of Nigerian adults read at least one book per year. According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2020, Nigeria had an adult literacy rate of approximately 62%, with reading frequency being much lower. The same report highlighted that an average Nigerian reads less than one book a year, which starkly contrasts with other African nations like South Africa and Kenya, where the reading rate is significantly higher.”