Liberia's President Weah asks Buhari for 6,000 teachers as part of ambitious literacy programme

LIBERIA'S President George Weah has asked Nigeria to provide him with 6,000 teachers under a technical assistance programme as part of an aggressive educational policy initiative designed to boost literacy across the country.

Former world footballer of the year Weah, was sworn-in as Liberia's president on January 22 and is visiting Nigeria for the first time since assuming office. Speaking after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the presidential villa in Abuja, President Weah said his government inherited many problems which can only be tackled with assistance from countries like Nigeria.

He identified some of the urgent problems facing his country as youth unemployment and the need to revive the education, agriculture, mining and health sectors. Nigeria currently has an adult literacy rate of 59.6%, while in Liberia it is only 47.6%.

By far the leading power in the region socially and economically, Nigeria has 99 accredited universities compared with just a mere 13 in Liberia. Historically, Nigeria has always had to assist her West African neighbours when it comes to manpower training and other countries send their soldiers to the Nigerian Defence Academy and to Nigeria's numerous police colleges.

President Weah said: “Your sustained technical assistance for capacity building in these sectors is most welcome. For example, Nigerian teachers and medical volunteers to Liberia, under the Technical Assistance Corps Agreement with Liberia, have been very crucial in boosting capacity development.

"It is my hope that this assistance can be considerably increased to address with urgency our most pressing socio-economic needs at this time. More specifically, under the Bilateral Teacher Exchange programme, we are seeking 6,000 plus teachers to make up for the shortage of good teachers in our educational system."

He thanked President Buhari for the invitation extended to him and said his delegation was on a mission of gratitude and respect for the extraordinary and exceptional role Nigeria has  played and continue to play in maintaining peace and stability in the West African sub-region, and more particularly, in Liberia. President Weah said although Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa, with the most powerful army in the sub-region, she has never used her wealth and military prowess to expand territory, threaten neighbours, or destabilise any sovereign nation.