This study explores the historical background to policy changes, constraints and the path-dependent nature of the universal basic education (UBE) scheme in Nigeria. The dynamics and challenges of policy re-configuration, continuities and discontinuities, shifts, implementation, and impact, are also analyzed. While the focus is essentially on the current UBE program launched in 1999 by Nigeria’s current president, Olusegun Obasanjo, this study underscores the country’s educational experiments and experiences during and after colonial rule. It is argued that the present UBE program, like similar initiatives before it, suffers from poor planning and a lack of government commitment all of which account for the limited success that characterizes the UBE scheme.