By Tony Okafor
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) conducts the same standardized exams each year across five member countries — Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia. The rules are meant to be identical. Yet, somehow, it is only in Nigeria that the process repeatedly descends into chaos.
The disgrace of June 2025 was one of the worst yet. On the day of one of the English Language Paper, thousands of Nigerian candidates sat in classrooms for hours, waiting for their scripts. In some centres, the exam did not start until 11 p.m.
WAEC officials in Nigeria called it a “glitch.” But perhaps that word no longer convinces anyone after the 2023 general elections.
A glitch is a rare, accidental hiccup. In Nigeria, such disruptions have become predictable — a symptom of a broken system, not a random malfunction.
Then came the August results scandal. WAEC Nigeria first announced a shocking average pass rate of just 38 percent. Within days, the results were withdrawn, with “system glitches” again blamed. A new set of results was issued, this time with a 62 percent pass rate. Which are we supposed to believe? What happened in between? And why is this brand of confusion unique to Nigeria?
The other WAEC countries do not suffer these humiliations. They release results once, and those results stand. They do not revise their statistics days later. They do not plunge millions of students and parents into panic, only to emerge with a quiet “correction.” The credibility gap is ours alone.
Some blame Nigeria’s size — more candidates, more centres, more logistics. True, but size is not an excuse for incompetence. Large systems can be run efficiently when there is discipline and good and quality planning. What we have is a culture of laxity and a tolerance for failure.
Others whisper about corruption — a thriving underground market for leaked questions, compromised staff, and manipulated schedules. In Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia, penalties for malpractice are swift and severe. In Nigeria, punishment is inconsistent — and often negotiable.
WAEC’s credibility is on the line. This is not a minor inconvenience; it is an assault on the future of millions of Nigerian youths. Parents make sacrifices to register their children. Teachers prepare students for months. All of it is undermined by shoddy planning and possible foul play.
It is time for WAEC Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Education to face the public with honest answers. Why was that English Language paper delayed to midnight? What truly caused the result reversal? And why is it that among all WAEC member states — Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia — only Nigeria suffers this brand of chaos?
Until these questions are answered with transparency and action, Nigerians will be justified in believing that the “glitch” is not in WAEC’s computers, but in WAEC Nigeria’s will to run examinations with integrity. And if that will is not restored, WAEC in Nigeria will remain a byword for scandal rather than scholarship.
