Noting that reading development is a crucial factor in breaking down social, intellectual, and political barriers, this paper uses Nigeria as an example of a developing multilingual country in order to examine the problems and challenges that learners and educators in multilingual societies face. The discussion is focused on children at the primary school level who use one or two languages at home and in the community and have to learn and use another at school. Information is provided on (1) multilingualism in Sub-Sahara Africa, (2) reading development and multilingualism, (3) practice and problems in reading development in Nigeria, and (4) implications for global development. The paper notes the need for more printed material in all languages of the region--the indigenous languages as well as the official language. (MKM)