In view of crimes in Nigeria: Another perspective to functional illiteracy

Abstract

Generally speaking, functional illiteracy is a state in which an individual is unable to apply knowledge acquired to solving problems in their immediate environment. This paper deconstructs this definition in view of the rate and dimensions of crimes in Nigeria. It advances the position that functional illiteracy is the choice or failure of an individual to apply skills acquired formally in educational institutions or other training centres to solving problems to the benefits of society but channels or harnesses the capacity accruing from such skills to perpetration of crimes in the society. Currently, Nigeria is experiencing a surge in crimes like drug peddling and trafficking, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, bunkering, cybercrime, etc. Observations and facts from arrests made in connection with some of the crimes in the country reveal that most of the suspects are considerably educated or well educated. In fact, there are records of crime suspects who are university and other tertiary institution graduates. More so, cybercrime, hacking, phishing, data breach, scam calls, and bugging are technically demanding for an illiterate to deal in. In other words, perpetrators of these crimes are skilled but do not direct such skills to the benefit of their society but to hurt it. Here, they are described as ‘literately illiterate’, being the redefinition of functional illiteracy as advanced here. Again, subject to this, a redefinition of functional literacy is posited as the ability to translate acquired skills, reading, writing, and computing for the benefit of oneself and one’s immediate or larger community. That is, literacy with the absence of an ability to translate acquired skills for the benefit of oneself and others qualifies ‘literately illiterate’ with a token of meaning that could facilitate a behavioral change in the response of skilled persons to crimes and thereby curbing them.