WAEC for governors and presidents, Bachelor's degree for citizens: The true state of education in Nigeria

Education


It saddens my heart whenever I think about the deplorable state of education in Nigeria. How did we find ourselves in this mess? We look up to countries that are doing fine in technology, infrastructure, economy, and still we do not seem to know the secrets of their successes and breakthroughs. Without wasting much time, I will like to open our eyes to some things that we most times ignore.

UNESCO (United National, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), few years ago encouraged countries to put 26% of their budget in education every year. Who wouldn’t know it is an avenue to deliver most of these countries from backwardness that have plagued them. Unfortunately, many of these backward countries who still look at advanced countries as paradise are yet to fulfill such obligation. One of these countries is Nigeria who spends not more than a 10% of their budget on education every year. Who did we offend?
I have been searching for opportunities online for some days now, and I discovered a particular trend that is very worrying. The popular developed countries that we know, like China, Japan, US, UK, Singapore, Germany and many more spend a lot on education, most especially researches. I tried to relate this with their level of development and I discovered that their technological advancement may not be outside their resolution to fund education and researches.



Also, these countries dish out a lot of scholarships every year in order to cart away the best of other countries which we may identify as “Brain Drain”, and these researchers are also happy to leave their countries. (Who wouldn’t anyway). However, the undeveloped and developing countries hardly care about education, researches and mostly care about politics.
This made me remember “GIGO” – “Garbage in, Garbage Out”, whereby whatever you sow you reap or whatever you spend on, you get result. One of these is the current launch by Tesla to study the surface of the Sun (Corona), where they spent close to $1.5 billion. How could they have spent such kind of money on studying what is not on earth here while my country could only spend that kind of money on politics and elections?

Whatever you put your strength in, that is where you get result”

What saddens me most is the minimum requirement to get a good job in Nigeria which is not even certain, and the minimum requirement to be a governor or a president. Do I need to remind you that all you need to become a governor or president in Nigeria is a WAEC certificate and you will be expected to rule over millions of Nigerians, while you need a first degree with strong grade to get a good job in a reputable company if at all.

Do you think it will be difficult to manipulate a president or governor with a WAEC certificate in the 21st century just to steal public funds? Funny enough, most of these politicians don’t even have this WAEC certificate or the certificates are forged. How do you expect such a person to lead engineers, lawyers, doctors, professors effectively? Does that not indicate the level of importance we put in our education that is lying in shambles. 
What injustice do we have when it is possible that a president we employed and are to pay for four years didn’t partake in NYSC while the law says all government employees must take part in NYSC? Is law actually blind? I believe laws are made for men and men are not made for laws. Why should a Bachelor Holder, Masters Holder or Doctor who took part in NYSC have the same salary with a WAEC holder who didn’t serve and became president? Is such law fair? Is a president no more an employee of the government and is to serve the people while his salary comes from these same people that took part in NYSC.
How could a president or governor with WAEC cope in the comity of nations where some country leaders even have more than three degrees? How do you want to bring in ideas or coin intelligent words? While certificate doesn’t make one intelligent in real sense, education does. Even those that dropped out of colleges to be successful are educated but not with certificates. Education is far different from what you are taught in the four walls of a classroom, however, school still remains a good medium to being educated. Education opens your eyes wide and makes you reasonable. It shows how intelligent you are and how flexible you can be to proffer solutions to problems.



My dear Nigeria, this foundation you lay your education on is very weak and shallow, it is a time bomb waiting to explode; it has a limit to which it can contain your servitude, it will soon erode like a house built on sand, and it will soon wash away like a road without drainage. Make education your priority, spend on it, value it, make it need-based, and make sure it suits your current needs.

Check this: Why I cannot die trying

I am of the opinion of the need for professional institutions where people can learn directly what they love; where they can practice what they want, what of Federal University of Automobile engineering, Institute of Baking, School of Oceanography, University of Computer Programming; this will address the noise of Nigerian graduates being unemployable. It is either we do it now or never. We must make the right priorities. Let us restructure education.

Finally, it’s high time the constitution is reviewed to address the insult of WAEC to be a minimum requirement to be a governor or president when you can’t use that to work in a good company with a good pay. Nations tend to laugh at us and take us to be unserious. While I know those that made the constitution did it to suit themselves because they don’t have more than that, this has therefore made them have no life outside politics. Should they be sent out of politics, they remain nothing. They have no establishment of their own; all they ever lived on is politics and her money. Even when you demand for these certificates, they rather go to court to defend themselves and ask the court not to allow you ask for their certificate. 

What a Shame!!!!!!!!
There is the need for an outcry on this. We can’t continue like this.

 No Bachelor, no Governorship no Presidency

Remember to leave a comment and also share. Everyone should be aware of the injustice going on in the society. If education isn't valuable, they should stop it. According to Nelson Mandela, education is the only way to eradicate poverty.





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4 Comments

  1. Nice writeup; though provoking

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the best Nigeria could do concerning our education is to privatize our university education system. That's what happens in the developed countries mentioned above. People there pay for what they get. But in Nigeria, we protest every increase in school fees. How do I expect to get the best of education when the total cost of my entire 5 years in school is less than a million Naira? Where else would you get that in the world unless you are on scholarship? And that's why the private universities in Nigeria are gradually taking the lead. Because they pay for what they get.
    It becomes difficult for the government to give us the best if we expect them to subsidize every thing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think the best Nigeria could do concerning our education is to privatize our university education system. That's what happens in the developed countries mentioned above. People there pay for what they get. But in Nigeria, we protest every increase in school fees. How do I expect to get the best of education when the total cost of my entire 5 years in school is less than a million Naira? Where else would you get that in the world unless you are on scholarship? And that's why the private universities in Nigeria are gradually taking the lead. Because they pay for what they get.
    It becomes difficult for the government to give us the best if we expect them to subsidize every thing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the best Nigeria could do concerning our education is to privatize our university education system. That's what happens in the developed countries mentioned above. People there pay for what they get. But in Nigeria, we protest every increase in school fees. How do I expect to get the best of education when the total cost of my entire 5 years in school is less than a million Naira? Where else would you get that in the world unless you are on scholarship? And that's why the private universities in Nigeria are gradually taking the lead. Because they pay for what they get.
    It becomes difficult for the government to give us the best if we expect them to subsidize every thing.

    ReplyDelete