A recent Facebook post dated May 20, 2024, claims that students at the University of Maiduguri in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, are forced to study under streetlights at night. The post includes a photo of people sitting on the ground at night, seemingly studying under streetlights, and it reads: “UniMaid students studying under street lights! A terrible reminder of the decay in the tertiary education system! Yet, N90Billion is currently being spent on pilgrimage.”

This claim highlights ongoing criticism of Nigeria’s education sector for poor infrastructure, lack of basic facilities, and a shortage of competent teachers. The post also references a recent announcement by Vice President Kashim Shettima that President Bola Tinubu had released N90 billion to subsidize the 2024 Hajj pilgrimage, a move that has drawn criticism from many Nigerians who argue that the funds could be better spent on improving education and other critical areas.

However, an investigation into the authenticity of the photo suggests that the claim is misleading. A Google reverse image search revealed that the photo has been online since 2016. The image was originally posted by the Nigerian news site Legit on Twitter on September 7, 2016, with the caption: “University students spotted reading with streetlights (photo).” Although the link in the original post is no longer active, the photo was also shared on Facebook and the blog site Flexxzone in September 2016, both attributing it to students from the University of Maiduguri.

While these earlier postings do not conclusively prove that the photo depicts University of Maiduguri students, they do establish that the image is at least eight years old, making it unlikely to be a current depiction of the situation in 2024. This discrepancy undermines the post’s claim about the current state of the university’s infrastructure and the conditions under which students are studying.

In conclusion, while the issues raised about Nigeria’s educational infrastructure are valid and require attention, the photo used in the viral post is outdated and misleading, misrepresenting the current situation at the University of Maiduguri.