What goes round comes round as
the old saying claims. It is only left for those concerned to take the bull and
the course of their regions by the horn, if the nation Nigeria must remain one as
we hypocritically profess. The foundation of the persistence menace popularly
called Boko Haram, was laid in Nigeria long time ago, right from the era of
indirect rule by the British. When a philosophy is championed out of selfish interest
and ignorance, without craving for what is substantial and the consequences
that we may have to live with for the rest of our lives, everyone would
be in danger just as we are experiencing today as a people.
When a man decides to hang on a
high tension cable or the cable accidentally drops on him, I do not think the
resultant effects of the two scenarios would be different from each other. It
is a lesson for the current generation to learn from so that we do not raise
children that will pronounce curses on us in our graves. In one of my recent
general evening discussions with some great minds,
one of them raised a
point, that, “Nigeria is what it is today because of the collapse of our family
system and value”. To buttress his point, he said, " If every family adequately monitores
the growth and development of every child, we will not be where we are today as a
people". That was right! Wasn’t it?
My problem is this. Is it
possible to have a Nigerian society, in which no parent would be found culpable
of this? I think the Norwegian Rambo and the Colorado James Bond in Norway and the United States can stand as witnesses to this.Or how do we explain a scenario in which some children properly trained
and brought up by responsible parents, worshipping in the church and some wrong
set of children popularly referred to as Boko Haram, will go in there and blow them
up? Does that not tell us that focusing on your own kids alone without making
sure your far and close neighbors do same for their own kids, doesn’t guarantee their safety?
Do not let me bore you with philosophies. Let us treat the real issue here.
When Nigeria became a republic in
1963, all leaders and advocates of independence, Chief Obafemi Awolowo for the
Yoruba race, Dr Nnamdi Azikwe and Tafawa Balewa for the Ibo and Hausa
respectively, were leading their own regions with different ideologies even
though they professed to be one Nigeria. So, there was a need to put structures
in places. The issue and format of educating their people were phenomenons that actually
divided the centre. Which balled down to passion, interest and cost? How much
would it cost? Should it be free. Where would the fund come from and to what
level? These were some of the questions
raging in the air especially among the Eastern leaders. Majority of the Eastern
leaders thought they could not really run free education in their region based
on reasons relatively obvious and best known to them all. These reasons were
not too far from the challenges of funding and lack of clear understanding of what the
decision making at that point in time held for their region in future and the nation as a whole. The
conclusion reached then, directly and indirectly has a bearing on the state of
development in their region today. Be it human or infrastructure.
An average Easterner does not go
beyond a primary level of education except if his parents were a bit learned, that
they would encourage him to have a secondary education especially among their
male folks. They had this notch for trade and they encouraged their children
to follow suit as it is quite obvious in their styles today. They were hard
working, egoistic and would never want to beg as it is common among the Northerners
on the street of Lagos. I am not nullifying the fact that some of them could be
too desperate in their quest for wealth to the point of engaging in shady
deals. Mind you, these vice is not peculiar to their tribe alone. The point
here is that, their attitudes towards education have an impact on the well-being
and development of their region today. Even though they may profess to have
gotten the money and resources to make their lives worth living, but the
statistics is obvious for us see. How are their colleges ranked among the
Nigerian schools? How many professors can they boast of? Check the industry
there etc. But I see a great and developed Eastern region in the next few decades
as a result of their desperate quest for education in the last ten years. Their
University Matriculation Examination applications and performance statistics
among the three tribes have proven this beyond every reasonable doubt in both
home and abroad.
Let me access the South Westerners a bit under
the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. It was not that the Yoruba
leaders didn’t have their own challenges at arriving at the consensus of free
education but, a man stood his ground for what he believed with his influence
and charisma. The resultant effects of that decision are what we are seeing
today. It is obvious in their reasoning and general wellbeing. The best
colleges in Nigeria today are in the west. The only Nobel laureate in Nigeria
is from the west. Majority of the private colleges in Nigeria are owned by the
westerners and it goes on like that. They have their own challenges as well
such as lack of unity and one voice, betrayal etc. But the part I am dwelling
is the direct impact of education in their lives today.
But the way of the majority of
the northern leaders was quite different. Everything happening in the north today
was as a result of their decision in the past. Anytime you feed on people's
ignorance for your selfish interest, you will surely pay the price. This
started far back in the era of indirect rule by the British. You could see that
indirect rule succeeded well in the north unlike what happened in other regions
especially among the Ibos, which it was a total failure. This eventually led to
the Aba women riot in 1927. By upbringing and general orientation, an average Mallam is loyal to his superior. I do not have any problem with that. What actually
buttressed this in them was their religion ethics, which some of their children
are professing in wrong ways today in the name of Boko Haram. When their contemporaries
were sending their people/wards to formal schools, they were strictly sending their own kids
to Arabic schools. I am not against the
Arabic knowledge. But any knowledge that is not balanced is dangerous. It will
be better if it is not encouraged in the first place.
Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna (blessed
memory), was conscious of the essence of education in the realization of
northernization policy.
This was mentioned in one of his speeches titled “The Need for Higher Academic Standards and Moral Tone in School", delivered at the Government College, Zaria in 1963, which he was urging the northerners to critically examine their education plight and shape their future destiny. This conceived noble idea was later derailed by the demise of the Sardauna which later left leadership vacuum in the north. The assertiveness of the Sardauna in leading the entire community in the 20th century was never replaced by those generations assumed to lead the northernization vision. Rather, the policy was replaced by selfishness, materialistic northern bureaucrats and ineptitude of top northern military brass without focus and direction of leadership quality, contrary to the Sarudauna's futuristic vision on his northernization policy. Other great minds of the north in the early 60s were Abubakar Imam and Ahmadu Coomassie who masterminded the mass literacy campaign in the north popularly called "War against Ignorance" (Yaki da Jahilci). All these great ideas were never allowed to sail through by some quarters that be.
This was mentioned in one of his speeches titled “The Need for Higher Academic Standards and Moral Tone in School", delivered at the Government College, Zaria in 1963, which he was urging the northerners to critically examine their education plight and shape their future destiny. This conceived noble idea was later derailed by the demise of the Sardauna which later left leadership vacuum in the north. The assertiveness of the Sardauna in leading the entire community in the 20th century was never replaced by those generations assumed to lead the northernization vision. Rather, the policy was replaced by selfishness, materialistic northern bureaucrats and ineptitude of top northern military brass without focus and direction of leadership quality, contrary to the Sarudauna's futuristic vision on his northernization policy. Other great minds of the north in the early 60s were Abubakar Imam and Ahmadu Coomassie who masterminded the mass literacy campaign in the north popularly called "War against Ignorance" (Yaki da Jahilci). All these great ideas were never allowed to sail through by some quarters that be.
Majority of their leaders were
manipulating their wards out of ignorance and selfish reasons hiding under
religion allegiance. They did not balance this ideology among their children.
That is why you find most of their people in the military especially in the
army. It was a safe haven for them to operate after their Arabic knowledge
pursuit. Their wrong attitude towards formal education is the result we are
seeing today. The same Arabic knowledge they were restricting their children to without balancing it with a formal education,
so that they could enrich themselves, is the same knowledge the children have
taken wrongly today to destroy the same people, land, businesses and the little
image they thought they had built in the past in the name of allegiance.
Anytime the Boko Haram’s spokeman is privileged to talk, he usually opened a section of the Quran to justify their atrocities at every point in time. It is disheartening. Check them out today by accessing their development, their colleges ranking and standards, human capital, reasoning, and general wellbeing. How many professors do we have from the north? Their indices prove these beyond every reasonable doubt. They take advantage of their ignorance to carry out their selfish agenda to enrich themselves all in the name of religion. I thought Sokoto, the Caliphate city would be spared in the fiasco until it was grenaded. Then, it became done on me that I had not seen yet.
Anytime the Boko Haram’s spokeman is privileged to talk, he usually opened a section of the Quran to justify their atrocities at every point in time. It is disheartening. Check them out today by accessing their development, their colleges ranking and standards, human capital, reasoning, and general wellbeing. How many professors do we have from the north? Their indices prove these beyond every reasonable doubt. They take advantage of their ignorance to carry out their selfish agenda to enrich themselves all in the name of religion. I thought Sokoto, the Caliphate city would be spared in the fiasco until it was grenaded. Then, it became done on me that I had not seen yet.
The north is gradually eroding into oblivion
and we do not know how it will end. The same education they denied their people
is now being forced indirectly on them now all in the name of Alimanjiri. Will
it work now? How easy do you think it is to bend a dry fish without breaking
it? And how long can they live with this monster? Many questions but a few
answers. A decision is like a dry biscuit, for you do not know where it would
break. I do not know how it will end. But I pray it ends soon. But pending that
time, I am afraid, they will have to live with it. It is a lesson for everyone
who cares to listen.
It seems every region has now
understood the importance of education. But my greatest fear is another
foundation of monster we have been laying about two decades now. It is a
foundation of corruption. If this one is not thoroughly brought under control,
the effect of the poor level of education we are witnessing today in the north will
be a total shadow of what will befall this nation in days to come.
Boko Haram is sectional in the north today, but the impact of corruption will be general as it is thriving already. When you will go to an average pharmaceutical store and over ninety percent of drugs on sale there would be fake drugs. At that time, both the poor and the rich will feel the pressure. Those who stole from the public treasury to send their children and members of their family to the best colleges in the world will find themselves to blame. The same knowledge you think you have exposed them to at the expense of the poor will be of disadvantage in the long run. You do not plant beans and expect yam as harvest. It is what we sow that shall be reaped.
They must not forget that, same children they denied quality education in one form or the other, by sending their own to the best colleges abroad will also be growing in age, stature and orientation as theirs are doing abroad but in a negative way. Some of these denied ones will end up as prostitutes, arm gangs, hoodlums etc to make life unbearable for their children by the time they return from their trips abroad. Then, "what goes round ,comes round" will become a reality to everyone. It is just a matter of time when the poor will have nothing left on the table to eat but the rich especially those who enriched themselves from the general pulse. Thank you for you time
Boko Haram is sectional in the north today, but the impact of corruption will be general as it is thriving already. When you will go to an average pharmaceutical store and over ninety percent of drugs on sale there would be fake drugs. At that time, both the poor and the rich will feel the pressure. Those who stole from the public treasury to send their children and members of their family to the best colleges in the world will find themselves to blame. The same knowledge you think you have exposed them to at the expense of the poor will be of disadvantage in the long run. You do not plant beans and expect yam as harvest. It is what we sow that shall be reaped.
They must not forget that, same children they denied quality education in one form or the other, by sending their own to the best colleges abroad will also be growing in age, stature and orientation as theirs are doing abroad but in a negative way. Some of these denied ones will end up as prostitutes, arm gangs, hoodlums etc to make life unbearable for their children by the time they return from their trips abroad. Then, "what goes round ,comes round" will become a reality to everyone. It is just a matter of time when the poor will have nothing left on the table to eat but the rich especially those who enriched themselves from the general pulse. Thank you for you time
God bless Nigeria. Please share with loved ones.
Tunde Adenuga
wow what an excellent job.keep it up
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