The first Western-educated Nigerians were slaves. Many of them returned after they had been set free.
They gleefully encouraged an ignition of desire for more western education from the general populace of uneducated Nigerians they met at home.
They gleefully encouraged an ignition of desire for more western education from the general populace of uneducated Nigerians they met at home.
Parents strived to send their kids to school.
Even when the schools were free, they were so few and far between that competition for the few available spaces was fierce, and only the most talented got an opportunity to get an education
Even when the schools were free, they were so few and far between that competition for the few available spaces was fierce, and only the most talented got an opportunity to get an education
Sometimes, entire communities pitched in to help a brilliant child afford the cost of uniforms & other necessities to attend the institution
From generation to generation more schools sprouted, & a policy that every former student herself was compelled to teach for a few years
From generation to generation more schools sprouted, & a policy that every former student herself was compelled to teach for a few years
Meant that there was a geometric progression of children being educated.
And then came Obafemi Awolowo who drove an aggressive campaign to educate each and every child in the Western region.
What dividends that action brought to the west!
And then came Obafemi Awolowo who drove an aggressive campaign to educate each and every child in the Western region.
What dividends that action brought to the west!
Many Nigerians still testify today that Yorubas hold a clear advantage in technical expertise in several sectors of the Nigerian economy.
But something else happened just few years after Awo declared free education in the West.
The regions were abolished and the country was
But something else happened just few years after Awo declared free education in the West.
The regions were abolished and the country was
tightly brought under strict governance from the center
Free education was abolished, and the spark of homegrown development was extinguished! Alas!
The problem with all I've described above is that the payoffs & repercussions for every single act taken did not become apparent
Free education was abolished, and the spark of homegrown development was extinguished! Alas!
The problem with all I've described above is that the payoffs & repercussions for every single act taken did not become apparent
until at least 2 decades after the acts were done
Some took even longer to become obvious
That is the character of education. It is a tree that takes a long time to grow, & alternately it takes many years to wither away after being chopped down with the axe of short-sightedness
Some took even longer to become obvious
That is the character of education. It is a tree that takes a long time to grow, & alternately it takes many years to wither away after being chopped down with the axe of short-sightedness
Today Nigeria is deeply afflicted with a dead tree of education.
Her economy can't grow without it, and her lack of it keeps sinking her more and more into intractable debt.
Nigeria needs education, but she doesn't even know it!
Her elite is blissfully ignorant about it
Her economy can't grow without it, and her lack of it keeps sinking her more and more into intractable debt.
Nigeria needs education, but she doesn't even know it!
Her elite is blissfully ignorant about it
It think it can insulate itself from any fallout by building expensive private schools for its progeny (or the option of foreign study), while the masses wallow in ignorance and poverty.
Unfortunately no state can develop on the intellect and education of just its elite.
Unfortunately no state can develop on the intellect and education of just its elite.
There is a great treasure locked up in the brains of Nigeria's masses. Only education can unearth it.
The problem of overpopulation is also tied to this malady. For an ignorant and economically useless population is a disproportionately fertile one.
The problem of overpopulation is also tied to this malady. For an ignorant and economically useless population is a disproportionately fertile one.
Without education the ignorance will multiply geometrically too!
Terrorism, drugs, crime, name it! They all stem from our ignorance about the importance of education.
Terrorism, drugs, crime, name it! They all stem from our ignorance about the importance of education.
