By Chinelo Ezigbo
An employer once told me she had let a member of staff go years ago. There were mistakes, difficulty with written tasks, and concerns about performance.
Years later, after attending the launch of the Joe Ezigbo Foundation for Dyslexia in Nigeria, she called me. “Did I get it wrong?” she asked.
For the first time, she wondered if what she had seen as poor performance was actually an undiagnosed learning difficulty. She wondered if the signs had been there all along. She wondered if things might have turned out differently with more awareness.
That conversation stayed with me. Because it led to a bigger question: How many adults across Nigeria are struggling in workplaces, universities and businesses because no one ever recognised what they needed?
From Classroom to Workplace
Much of the conversation on dyslexia in Nigeria has focused on children, and rightly so. Early identification can change a child’s education and future.
But children do not remain children forever.
The child who struggles in school becomes the university student who feels lost in a lecture theatre. The student becomes the employee struggling with reports, emails, written instructions and administrative tasks.
The struggle does not disappear. It only changes shape.
I know because I lived it.
I enrolled at university to study law. I spent much of my time avoiding classes, not because I did not want to learn, but because I often could not understand what was being taught. I accumulated carryovers, lost interest and drifted through much of my university experience.
Eventually, my father came to the university and helped me change course from law to humanities. We hoped a new course would help. It did not. The problem was never the course. My dyslexia had never been recognised.
I often think I may not have been the only one. Across Nigeria, there are students sitting in lecture halls feeling exactly as I did. Many later enter the workforce carrying those same struggles.
A Workforce and Economic Issue
Over the years, I have spoken to Nigerians in the United Kingdom who were diagnosed later in life. Our lives were different, but our stories were similar: growing up without answers, being misunderstood, being told to “try harder,” believing we were the problem.
Many of us had to leave Nigeria before we understood what was happening.
When I was diagnosed in the UK in my early thirties, I finally understood how I learned. The support I received did not change who I was. It gave me a fair opportunity to use the abilities I already had.
I went on to become a mental health nurse and social worker in the NHS, completed a double degree, and built a career helping others. I often wonder what would have happened if I had not been diagnosed.
Support does not lower standards. It removes unnecessary barriers so people can contribute.
Imagine an employee receiving support instead of criticism. Imagine a manager who understands why a staff member struggles with written reports but excels at problem-solving, leadership, communication or creative thinking.
Small adjustments make a difference: clearer instructions, assistive technology, alternative ways to demonstrate competence, workplaces that focus on strengths as well as challenges.
Research shows that many people with dyslexia have strengths in creativity, innovation, resilience, entrepreneurial thinking and big-picture problem-solving when given the right opportunities.
Nigeria talks about innovation, entrepreneurship and a globally competitive workforce. But innovation depends on diversity of thought. A truly inclusive workforce includes people who think differently.
When adults with dyslexia are unsupported, we do not just lose individual potential. We lose ideas. We lose creativity. We lose entrepreneurs. We lose leaders.
Policy, Awareness and What Comes Next
Nigeria does not have enough data on how many adults with dyslexia are struggling in education, employment or business. But we know this: countries grow when people can develop and use their talents.
When adults with dyslexia are overlooked or underemployed because their learning difference was never identified, everyone loses. The individual loses opportunities. Employers lose skills. The nation loses part of its human capital.
The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act 2018 was a step forward. But awareness of learning differences like dyslexia remains limited, especially in workplaces.
Many employers are not deliberately excluding people with dyslexia. They simply lack the awareness and resources to recognise it and respond appropriately.
Without workplace policies that allow employees to safely disclose learning differences and access support, awareness alone is not enough. Without that understanding, a learning difference can easily be mistaken for poor performance.
I often think about the employee my friend let go. Not because anyone meant to be unfair, but because no one knew what they were looking at.
How many more people are we losing for the same reason?
Dyslexia cannot remain only a childhood conversation. We must keep pushing for early identification and support. But we must also remember the adults who were missed.
Because children with undiagnosed dyslexia become adults with undiagnosed dyslexia.
Until we recognise that, we are not only failing individuals. We are losing talent Nigeria can no longer afford to lose. We are failing our economy. And we are wasting human potential.
Different is not less.
Chinelo Ezigbo is a mental health nurse, social worker and advocate for dyslexia awareness in Nigeria.