A study examined the educational orientation of Nigerian adult learners to test the assumptions that there would be no difference in their reasons for engaging in educational activities and that there would be no difference between male and female Nigerian adult learners as to their educational orientations. Six hundred male and female adults engaged in different educational activities in both basic and advanced education institutions were randomly selected from a population of l,000 and were administered the "Reason for Educational Participation Scale Questionnaire" developed by Burges in l97l. Usable responses were received from 265 males and 248 females. The Spearman Rank Order Correlation was used to analyze the data to identify statistical differences. The findings from the study suggest that Nigerian adult learners engage in educational activities mainly for economic needs, self-development needs, social needs, and acquisition of credentials. Males and females had similar educational orientations. (Brief mention is made of the use of the data in program development. Sixteen references are listed.) (NLL)