4.2 By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education

· Attendance of school at the pre-primary education level is improving in Nigeria especially in the urban areas. This is because of the existence of private schools that provide the service. Most states do not have and do not provide pre-primary school facilities. The Education Ministry only supervises these private schools.

· Since private schools are driven by the need to make profit, the school fees are high and many persons in the lower-income class and people without any steady means of livelihoods cannot send their wards to such schools.

· Pre-primary schooling is equally non-existent in the rural areas since private persons will not establish schools in areas they will not get a critical number of persons to enable them to make profit from the business.

· The Almajiri caste system and some religious adherents are proving a stumbling block to the government and others providing qualitative education in some parts of the north.

· The assessment by UN in 2017 that only about 42% of children participate in organised learning one year before the official entry age for a primary school in Sub Sahara African may still be overambitious for Nigeria in the year 2020 since most children of the poor in the urban areas and people in the rural areas do not benefit from it.

4.3 By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

· The number of women that attend higher education in Nigeria has improved and in some cases, more women compared to men attend these technical, vocational institutions to acquire skills and other tertiary educational institutions including universities.

· The Nigerian government has established many federal universities and the government has given licenses to many private concerns who have also established universities. However, funding of universities (mainly public ones owned by states and the federal governments) has continued to be a challenge and when that improves, the quality of university education will improve. Even at this level, however, due to the high human population and poor economic growth of Nigeria, the country has not been able to accommodate adequately everyone willing to attend technical, vocational and tertiary institutions of learning.

4.4 By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

· Most youths and adults do not have skills that would enable them to get employment or become entrepreneurs. This is one of the reasons why unemployment is very high in Nigeria. The government and other private concerns have only been scratching the surface and no significant impact has been achieved.

· There is a huge unemployment problem in Nigeria and the high human population can be a huge market and a fertile ground for entrepreneurs.

4.5 By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations

· The level of gender disparity is not high in the southern parts of Nigeria because it has been reducing over the years but it is still evident in the northern part of the nation.

· The kidnapping of many girls from time to time from their schools by Boko Haram and other terrorists has discouraged parents from sending their female wards to secondary schools.

· The presence of vocational training is not adequate for the able-bodied and the disabled desiring to be trained.

· There is no special attention or affirmative activities benefiting people with disabilities in many states of Nigeria.

· Girls, especially from poor homes, are likely to suffer disruption of their schooling because of teenage pregnancies.

4.6 By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy

· There is no marked effort to encourage adult education in Nigeria. Many adults are still unable to read and write. The government has not given this aspect of education any good attention.

· The assessment by the UN that 44% of adults in Sub Saharan Africa are illiterate is realistic.

4.7 By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and culture’s contribution to sustainable development

· There is still massive illiteracy and ignorance militating against people willing to accept the benefits from information derived from educational campaigns for hygiene, disease prevention, sustainable livelihood lifestyles, etc.

· There is also a high level of superstitious beliefs in many communities, giving people false hope and protection against diseases and accidents. These attitudes have detrimentally emboldened many to reject and thereby expose themselves to hazards.

· Since state and federal governments are grappling with the basic educational issues, they have not commenced sponsorship and promotion of sustainable development education. Civil societies and private concerns under their corporate social responsibility efforts have been more active in this regard than the government. However, Government has played a big and significant role in the education to prevent Corona Virus pandemic.

· There is massive water and air pollution as a result of oil exploration in the Niger Delta and there are no educational efforts to mitigate these and other problems.

· There have been no concerted educational efforts to mitigate the desert encroachment threats in the north most parts of Nigeria.

· There are no efforts to sponsor, promote and educate the communities on sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, peaceful coexistence, etc. as efforts towards improving the quality of lives of the people of Nigeria.