Ben Talks

EDUCATION, EDUCATED AND THE GOVERNANCE

Malcom X in his time state that ‘Education is the passport to the future; for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today’. It is however quite sad that the attitude and approach given to education in Nigeria speaks of the expected future of the nation. The government refused for properly fund education and these has resulted into the degeneration of the country.
Getting a quality education in the country cannot even be access by money and many believed that the basic and best way to get a sound and quality education is out of the country. This has resulted into many of young minds of the country to have left the country, and most of the country’s glory are celebrated outside the country. Brilliant minds that ought to work with the motive to develop the country are now assets in the hands of the foreigners with the aim of building their country while providing a convenient environment for them.

Even as a country we do not believe in our education. One would have expect the government to employ graduates in engineering for engineering jobs in the country, graduate of economics and accounting for auditing job and related jobs, graduates of computer science, medicine, nursing, geography for their respective related jobs but we delight ourselves in getting most of our jobs done by the foreigners. Most of our roads are constructed by foreign contractors, internet facilities are done by foreign computer scientists, medical facilities are preferably done by foreigners – not just the rich are guilty of this but the relatively poor people are also guilty of this as many gofundme links are now many on the internet with the desire to generate money to get medical treatment outside the country. As citizens, we have no hope in our graduates any more compared to the graduates in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s when Nigeria education is still most valued. Even the best human resources are migrating outside the country to where they know the environment is convenient for them to strive.

The Nigerian education has grown to the position where graduates are considered as half-baked graduates due to the lack of facilities like library resources, electricity, convenience accommodation, balance economy, for adequate studying, enough study time, practical laboratory equipment to enhance studying and so on. Different unions on campus such as ASUU, NASU, SSANU, NAAT, ASUP, COASU, NASUP among others will also engage in incessant strike action which delays the study programme of the student from gaining adequate education for the future of the country. It is quite reasonable the claims of these unions to always go on strike on the basis of no salary payment, underpaid salaries, underfunding of education, unavailability of research facilities, lack of laboratory equipment among other problems face by education. These problems are not limited higher institutions alone but are viruses that have eaten deep to the primary education of the country.

The primary education of the country is not encouraging, though the largest part of the population of the country send their children to the public schools but it only takes the few of these population that can afford extra lessons for their children were only to pass the WAEC and JAMB exams while others roam the street and became the result of the imbalance of the country – theft, kidnapping, thuggery, terrorists and so on. The incompetency in our educational structure makes it compulsory that our graduates still have to do extra courses, extra exams and pass through another set of rigorous tests before being employed oversea, one which a same graduate of such country would not pass through. The most disheartening part is that despite the difficulties faced by our education which included the underfunding of education, unavailability of research facilities, lack of laboratory equipment among others, as Professor Ogunmola would put it, ‘yet different institutions produces 1st class at every convocation’. With which equipment were these 1st class graduates produced? Where did they carry out the necessary practical needed to qualify them as professionals with no instrument in the laboratories? It is quite obvious that the word of ‘half-baked graduate’ is justified.

The government has failed in her responsibility to fund education, one which ought to be the priority of the government. It is sad how the President of the nation could not recognize the role and importance education would play on the in the development of the country. The basic growth and development of any nation lies basically in the strength of education of such nation. It is not a missed word to say ‘education is power’. No matter how well infrastructure can be built in country, without the right education, such infrastructures would be brought down in no time. It quite not disappointing that the Minister of Education cannot even fight for the adequate funding of education when the president does not even have any plan to build it. The minister of education would rather claim that other ministries need to be taken care as well but the most prioritized is ultimately neglected.

It is important to note that the moment the country is would definite witness another mass protest by the government in the education sector. Increase in fees is now the dance of all higher institutions. The management of different higher institutions have begging to increase both the accommodation and school fees. A decision that inconveniencing the populace of the students. This is a decision that would bring many Nigerian youth back to the street. The hardship in country sprouting from the inflation, scarcity of legal tender, increase in fuel pump price and scarcity of fuel cm unemployment in the country would deny a lot of students to afford these increase in fees. It has happened in Polytechnic of Ibadan, Federal University of Technology Akure, National Open University Nigeria and many others. This is still coming down to every other higher institutions in the country.

It is therefore important that the students, unions on campus and parents in across the country start getting ready for a struggle that is looming to breakout. The government that would be sworn-in obviously has no plan for education. He has said during his campaign that he would approve student loan for education with no plan to show how it would be paid. No work plan, no job creation plan and others that would ensure that such loans are paid with ease. Of which there is no need for the loan itself. The loan itself can be used for the funding of education with assurance of getting a large return for the country as an investment. Nigeria a member of UNESCO which recommend a minimum of 23% budgetary allocation to education in the country’s budget, which Nigeria has never done ever since the recommendation was made. The highest Nigeria has allocated to education is 11%. Instead of increase, the budget kept decreasing with no significant change in the education sector of the country.

It is therefore important that the stakeholders in education – students, unions on campus, parents – start preparing their minds towards the upcoming struggle to face them which will add more hardship to the living status of all Nigerians. All Nigerians should get themselves ready to fight against all oppression of which this government would weigh towards the populace.

BenTalks🎤

One popular response to the paradox of voting is to posit that voters are not trying to determine who wins. Instead, trying to change the “mandate” the elected candidate receives. The Osun state gubernatorial election has proven that beyond reasonable doubt the power to elect or re-elect a candidate still resides with the electorate.

However, beyond the election is the responsibility of the electorate to hold in contempt the elected politicians in power!

The public should also be ready to repel any attack the elected candidate might want to release on the citizens in the coming years. We need not doubt it, they are birds of feather who flock together. We should not be surprised if the APC in Osun starts defecting to PDP against the national election in 2023.

Nigerians lets be ready for anything!

Ben Talks Ben Talks gives update on social discourse of matters arising in Nigeria. We do live interviews with prominent persons in the society. For more details like our page to get updated