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 19th and 20th 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.
