Lost Empire

Lost Empire

Lacerating Knowledge and Action

'Action without knowledge is futile,

knowledge without action is waste.'

-Confucius

There is just about one thing education must teach: question anything and everything. Education like the resource curse has done almost nothing impressive to improve the African standards and exertions. The last time I checked, education is meant to simulate the creativity in students, it is meant to arouse the passion in learners which already is domiciled in their minds. Education sharpens intuition and create thought cycles that fuel polemics. The construction of the brain like a car has different components most centred on the creativity and passion of the mind. Just as it is called 'Automobile' in car manufacturing, it is called 'Education' in brain development.

For every innovation, there is a background knowledge. No one has ever given what he does not have or possess. African education ab initio was designed to produce clerks and colonial scribes. Has Africa moved beyond the prepared agenda? Largely, the answer to this will be unanimous among well-meaning Africans. Africa is averse to changes and dynamism. Policies are for men but in Africa, it is role reversal; men for policies. Stagnation. Viewing the world critically; education, if we question anything and everything should be able to inform us that our brains are designed so that the Supreme Being can be fair. That is why airplanes and submarines can be built, operating in remotest places. The only reason why there exist some events that befuddled man is for the constant and consistent realisation that there is a Supreme Designer. Metaphysics.

Back in the days of folklore and folktales, children and learners were made to answer puzzling questions. The answers supplied, the consistency and accuracy coupled with the acumen employed showcased the knowledge and wisdom of every child. Hence, from the word go, leaders were known. Community heads were closely watched from the outset especially from various royal and blue-blooded families. This is perfectly inherent in American democratic system. Talk of the Kennedy's, the Bush's, the Clinton's among others. Fathers were role models. Children were taken to various traditional icons to learn from though these were exceptions as children more often than not mirrored their parents. Emerging leaders were given special trainings and attention. It was not uncommon to trace adults' childhood days when they were suggested for positions. What is learned today?

Just as it is discussed today in the parlance of development, neocolonialism replaced colonialism and modern slavery replaced the heinous slave trade, brain drain replaced the colonial education of production of clerks and scribes. No war is so efficient and effective as the mental war. Once won, it stays forever or so it seems. For a counter-war on mental slavery, every aspect of the society must be on reset. Africans have believed nothing good can come out their educational systems. Can they be blamed? Appreciation in respect of this goes to the leaders, military and civilian who marvel in the enrichment of their pockets and in the luxury of sending their children overseas to study and still come back to take the places already prepared for them at the expense of the youths in the homeland.

When urine is combined, the foam formed forthwith could be as thick as phlegm. This is no exaggeration as the custodians of education have successfully aligned with those who have axed education and continue to chop it off to make it a brittle broom in the society. What does Professors profess? The educational system just like the society has tormentors in lieu of mentors. These ones internally kill the passion to learn. Failure glorifies them as their acts suggest. Almost all pages of newspapers have them castigating leaders day in, day out yet a cursory look at their own 'country', shows they are worst than the political leaders. Publicly blatantly, they corrupt female students. Sadly, they present the 'money-bag' proposal to male students. Certificates not knowledge.

Theories of the 19^th and 20^th centuries are taught and presented as if there are no advance researches. These lecturers and professors gag memories. Nothing kills curiosity like dead theories. It is just as if they only want to make sure the graduates and products dust their certificates at the end of their academic adventure and beg to be drivers. That they go down their kneels for those who in saner climes will rain accolades on them for making the society enlightened. It seems we hear of people like Bill Gates, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie from them. If Bill Gate was to be trained in a school meant for clerks from childhood and live in a society where everything encompassing his brain is survival and nothing but survival because of hunger and extreme societal decadence, I wonder what will simulate the innovative spirit in him. Same goes for others aforementioned.

The education of these ones ensures that even at elementary schools, visions already

exist to trail and missions to accomplish. These are the compasses and maps. Without the university degree, they can exert the inner dynamism and draw from the spring prioritized by the sanity of the society to create an ocean of expertise, innovation, investment, invention, creativity, business, development, uncommon and groundbreaking discoveries. Many of these do not get bored by the compulsory study of civics to teach morality when children learn more by what they see. Teaching morality while embezzling billions. Insanity at its worst. In saner climes, children eat and drink technology from the most tender of ages if such is their passion not outdated theoretical physics, chemistry, civics and economics of the 70s and 80s.

African educational system with particular reference to Nigeria is modeled on bombardment of subjects, mostly highly irrelevant. Little wonder while Africans in Africa are never part of world inventors, innovators or discoverers. It is almost in this part of the world that Institutes of Technology have more students studying Accounting and Business Administration than in Science, Technology and Engineering. Where is the connexion in nomenclature and mission? We compound subjects and courses with disjointed and disconnected results. Learning Institutes not Pressure Cookers. Taking a leaf from the research competition organised by Siemens which brought the duo, Katie Barufka and Neil Davey to limelight, one would realise that our educational system is nothing but an avenue to be maintenance and repair experts not inventors and innovators.

The students contested in areas relevant not only to what they learn in school but also the trend in the society. In other words, education and society must marry. The students proved their mettle in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Bringing same competition to Nigeria for example, English Language will be included, in fact, Chinese language also with the growing trend. Engineering and Technology will definitely find their way out. Theories of old are the exclusive preserve of our education. Then we ask, what goal is our education really geared towards? It is just one; to create graduates seeking jobs and teeming employment beggars. If during research fairs in institutions, professors cannot come out with anything innovative over the long years, what future lies in African education then?

What is the basis of a professor retiring at age 70? So preposterous. Greed. Lack of innovation and foresight. Lost belief in self. Absence of managerial and futuristic plans. The foremost are cowardice, complacency and complicity. The Senate President of Nigeria spoke in support and shame engulfed me. Birds of a feather. They have become so lazy that nothing else can they do than to sit and wait for the cool cash even though many do not go to classes. Lords, alpha and omega they are in their institutions. No one dares challenge them. Extremely powerful. All these to the detriment of academic propulsion. To become a Professor is to be versed in politics and political craftiness. Exemptions exist though minute.

As if this is not enough, students have been silenced with failure threats. Really disturbing. Future leaders become so scared to challenge injustice and the unfolding death of their future. All about good grades anyway. Education for jobs. Innovation, no vacancy. Graduates in Agriculture working in banks. Do they plant crops in ATM machines? Only three sectors remain the dream of most African students and youths if given the privilege of choice; banking, oil and politics. Are the Asian Tigers not of earth? They invested in innovative education. Brasil was at par with Nigeria and many African countries in the last decade. Today, Nigeria and African countries buy airplanes and other manufactured goods from her. What went wrong in Africa? Vision-less leaders, depraved lecturers/professors and above all extremely docile, pliant and complacent students/youths. Conformity is the jailer of freedom; Chinua Achebe is right after-all.