Last year, Victor AD released a song titled “Wetin I Gain”. The lyric has it, “if I no get money na wetin I gain?” With this, he dangerously extols money to the essence of being. In the song, AD endorses acquisition of wealth by all means. As a philosopher, I find it as a vocation to challenge such an erroneous sophistry. If such a message should be accepted in Nigeria with a number of poor people and unemployed youth, we might be heading to total topsy-turvy. This intervention, however, should not be misconstrued as an exaltation of poverty either. Every human should be able to aspire to prosperity, including the material goods. However, the means is important.
Another video clip has also been trending of late on the social media. This time around, it is the school and education which is the victim. “Las las school na scam.”, some young undergraduates chorus. “Your first class fetches you neither money nor connection”. They argue that those who make money and are well connected are those who never cross the four walls of the university: the school dropouts; while graduates are wallowing in abject poverty and remain unemployed.
Though their claim is not supported by any statistics, I would not be quick to condemn them. The frustration is well intended. As a matter of fact, it is an indictment on Nigerian education system. But then, even in its inadequacies, illiteracy is not an option.
First of all, saying that school is a scam is a mismatch, a misconception, and a misnomer. School here is meant to be a formal and organized system of learning. Hence, saying that school is a scam is equally saying that education is a scam. Education simply means leading out of ignorance. According to James Lee, education is a broad process whereby a person learns something. Chiemeka Nwaogugu sees it as a dynamic process that brings about growth and development. Hence, education has a purpose; the growth and development of both the person and the society. Little wonder when one graduates from school, the school has to certify him to have been trained both in character and learning. Education builds a man.
Authentic development is the actualization of the potentials and fulfilment of the desires of the human person in four dimensions. In the intellectual dimension, the human person desires to know the truth and has the potential to know the truth. Intellectual development is therefore the fulfilment of the human desire to know the truth in the actualization of the human potential to know the truth. In the moral dimension, the human person is encountered as a being who desires goodness and who can be agent of goodness to himself and others. Here, the moral development is the fulfilment of the natural desire for goodness in the actualization of the human capacity to do good. In the technical dimension, the human person manifests himself as a being who desires fulfilment in working and who can find fulfilment in working. Here, the technical development or what we call today scientific and technological development is the fulfilment of the human person in the actualization of his capacity to work. And in the spiritual dimension of human existence, the human being shows himself as a being who desires God and who is capable of knowing God. Here, the spiritual development is the fulfilment of the natural desire for God in the actualization of the human capacity to know God and love God.
Education helps in the authentic development of man hence these four dimensions for authentic development can be perfectly achieved by an educated person.
Therefore, education is sublime. I think the mismatch, misconception and misnomer we have about education is partly our fault. The Nigerian leadership has decimated the essence of education (school) in Nigeria, and now we are blaming the school for the failure. I do not think school is a scam. It is the bad elements who have made mess of our school that are the scammers. They have scammed school- Those who engage in exam malpractices, the sorters, the lecturers who force students to buy textbooks because they have a commission to gain. Anyone who is unable to think critically is scamming education.
An educated person should not be obsessed with getting employment. S/he should create employment. An educated person cannot live in abject poverty. S/he does not amass wealth. An educated country shuns disunity, incompetency, tribal and religious conflicts. They promote the standard of the living of the citizens and practice the politics of good judgement. The problem is not with school but with teachers and students who have scammed and monetized schooling. And until we become educated, our country will continue to grovel in political darkness, economic instability and religious syncretism and hypocrisy.
II
For some days, the story of a little girl named Success who was sent away from school in Delta State because of the inability of her parents’ to pay her school fees has been trending online. Many people have reacted to this. Some have promised to sponsor her and support her and to send her back to school. If school really is a scam, who would care to do such? Those helping Success know the indisputable gain in education. Do not be deceived! If you think school is a scam, try ignorance.
School no be scam. Let us work together (teachers and students) to make education regain its value in Nigeria because it is with only education that we can be liberated from our present horde of leadership. Thus I end with Francis Bacon’s quote; “scientia est potestas” knowledge is power!
CIP, Nekede/ geraldikachi22@gmail.com
1 comment
Great intervention!