In this division, the North, at the time of independence in 1960, was by far the most underdeveloped area in Nigeria, with a literacy rate of 2% as compared to 19.2% in the East (literacy in Arabic script, learned in connection with religious education, was higher).
В результате Север, к моменту провозглашения независимости в 1960 году, был безусловно самой слаборазвитой областью Нигерии, с нормой грамотности 2 % по сравнению с 19,2 % на Востоке.