By Amiru Halilu
“The essence of education is not to get a job but, to be a holistically developed person who can positively impact the society.” – Ifeanyi Enoch Onoaha
“A salary is a bribe for one to forget his ambition.” – Mr. Eric Wireko (Educationist, Teacher)
Welcome to the world of a country deeply gratified and thrilled by its indolents certificate and monthly salary reliant people. Where it left for me to search for individuals whom were befuddled by certificate, ones whose certificates have developed into a nightmarish vision of their future, folks whose certificates have eventually be a total disaster in the side of them, people whose certificates have reduced to a cursed rather than a blessing on them, persons who actually think certificate is knowledge, that one who certainly went to school for the sole aim of obtaining certificate to get a job but, not acquiring knowledge, others who consistently build castles in the air, those who have been acting like a pie in the sky lefties, and those who think certificate is the-be-end and end-it-all-of-life, and without it one can’t survive; I will not pile on pressure root about into the world searching for them. I have around me, containers of them.
Can you kindly come to terms with reality? If yes, here is what educational certificate is all about: It is a stamp of approval and testimony that the bearer had acquired knowledge in certain area labeled competent to practice in that specific area. While knowledge brings around visual perception, ideas, vision, critical thinking, skills, rendering a clear sense of belonging and turn a reasonable human being into a self-reliant person. Today, certificate no longer fit purpose in our own society. Once upon a time, in our higher institutions of learning, there had been an exponential explosion of creative genius. Unfortunately, our tertiary institutions nowadays equip students with a look of effortless languor; breeding psychologically and mentally inferior graduates who are more of a great burden to the nation than an asset.
Lecturers — the essayists or perhaps authors of books, bearers of good tidings, conveyance, transmitters and vehicles that transport knowledge to people, regrettably, most of them have transmogrified into subject to a storm of rape, sexual controversy and bribe takers in our tertiary institutions. Taking advantage of girls who placed certificate above their creature; who really believed that certificate will grow into their sustainer after graduation. These desperates young girls have turned themselves into a sex object; offering their body to unscrupulous lecturers just to graduate with a job attractive grade.
The nightmare always continues after graduation where they surrender their bodies in return for a job. While in service, the tragedy still goes on, where they totally submit their bodies to their superiors in exchange for promotion. Whereas young men are bribing lecturers with the little resources at their disposal. It’s unimaginable and has not comes to anyone’s mind not even a daredevil that our society will degenerated into such ludicrous.
It is sad that instead of being a good fortune, however certificate metamorphosis into a source of misery for many Nigerian young graduates; it blocked their view of the world, they completely loss sight, and totally blind to the fortune around them, thereby unable to utilised the prolific opportunities knocking on their doors. Creativity is gone; skills are dissipating; vision is blurry, confidence is eroding; ideas and reasoning are disappearing, and inventiveness is lost in the brain of most of these graduates. It is disturbing and even pity watching these contemporary graduates wasting their precious time looking for a job whose take home pay can’t afford to put a decent meal on their table. Preparing a terribly bad curriculum vitae which is not good enough to enticed a kindergartner much less an earnest employer.
It’s painful and pitiful to see a young graduates of electrical and mechanical engineering applying for the post of waiter in a restaurant; business administration and entrepreneurship graduates have been busy looking for job in a construction company; a graduate of accountancy can’t open and operate his own accounting firm; a graduate of Mass Communication is not good enough to be a freelancer rather, desperately looking for a receptionist job in hotel; agriculture and agricultural economics graduates are working so hard to secure a job at the ministry of justice; while a graduate of political science can’t be hired to aptly analyze political issues or organise and manage a successful political campaign that will influence certain group of people, and a graduate of education and mathematics needs a job at the ministry of tourism.
This is how young graduates of ours blurred out of focus; obviously lacking the quality of producing a clear visual definition, and totally lost in the world of opportunities. Why is this sad and unfortunate events happening in a country of two hundred million people while population is a blessing? How comes ours appeared to be a curse on us? And where there is population there is investment; where there is investment there is creativity; where there is creativity there is productivity; where there is productivity there is market; where there is market there must be wealth. This days Nigerian young graduates proclaiming higher value with empty brain — feeling too biggity to undergo skills acquisition program which will definitely lead them to grace.
A well functional brain thinks of how to create jobs and pay others monthly salary whilst a dead brain thinks of how to be employed and receive a monthly salary. Despite the fact that the pharaohs we have been pushing forward to occupy leadership position in this country have been doing terribly bad in coming up with adverse and unpropitious policies which made Nigeria a business unfriendly nation — a capital killing country, we should not allow ourselves to be victims of their devilish and heartless economic policies. Have you been to Kofar Wambai Kano State and Ariaria market Aba, Abia state? If no, you need to pay a visit and see how skilful young men have been performing wonders. These young men are not university graduates yet, they are earning more than what some directors in our ministries are earning.
It was Mr. Eric Wireko, I believe who said that: “Research has it that the poorest group of people in the world are salary earner’s group which is practically next to beggars. They live in a vicious cycle of poverty, manage on a 30-day duration while their freedom and opinion gone. For them salary is continuously being awaited every month, and any slight delay brings heartbreaking anxiety, pressure and disappointment. That’s the reason many steal to survive.
Salary is a short term solution to a life time problem; salary alone can’t solve your money problems; you need multiple sources of income to balance. The tax return form contains 11 income stream, of which salary is just one. Don’t live life fishing with just one hook; there are many fishes in the ocean. Salary is the medicine for managing poverty, not curing it. Only your business or investment cures poverty. Most investors are not salary earners.”
I suppose the only antidote to relying on certificate and monthly salary is that theory should be taught concurrently with skills acquisition in our tertiary institutions.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily
