What goes round
comes round as the old
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 monitors 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 about two years ago 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. This 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 wards 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 among the easterners 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 assess
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
one 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, the
GDP of Lagos alone can take care of about ten states in the North put together 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 well beings 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, culture and religion, 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.\
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 anything 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 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.
God bless Nigeria.
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