Oil wealth in Nigeria since 1956 has ruined the country, the devastation and colossal damage are beyond measure. It has created wealth without work, it has lead us to abandon other source of income like agriculture, which was once the mainstay of our economy. The worst is that it has made us to relegate education and the power of idea to the background, and refuse the power of intellectual rights. What else can one say, with about 60 million adult illiterates and 11 million out of school children, the Nigerian society is certainly one of the most illiterate in the world. In its latest report on the literacy status of various countries of the world, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) classified Nigeria as one of the countries at a serious risk of not attaining the Education for All (EFA) goal by 2015. Therefore, it is very obvious now that after 50 years of producing oil, the gap between development and education is closed for ever -in my opinion. It is time we stop leaders coming to power without any clear programmes in their head, or cannot utilizes the abundant “programmers” in the land; and we cannot keep recycling people who have failed us in the past and expect progress and development? Ghana has had uninterrupted power for 10 years, and Nigeria (the giant of Africa) cannot provide 10% of it's power need, and some people make noise why Obama is flying Airforce-1 over Nigeria to Ghana. The simple answer is obvious. Nobody wans to associate with 100% failure.

From the foregoing, it is better we don't get carried away by all false propaganda of (mis)branding. Education is Nigeria's problem! It baffles one that our leaders fail to see this? Today, even if the whole money in world is brought to Nigeria, the money cannot transform the country for the better; apart from corruption, the people lack intellectual capacity and capability to utilize the money. Education and not corruption is our problem, because there is a statistical correlation between corruption and education (in Nigeria). If I am educated and unlikely to be easily mislead (as most population are made to), you will less likely to greedily take all that suppose to belong to me and you. My campaign therefore, is that we surely need (before it's too late), new strategies, new plans, and new approach to locally solve our problem, all based on truth and nothing but the truth. Only truth can, and will set us free from self-bondage and enslavement. Nigeria needs to be educated, because the elites that have ruled for the past 40 years have failed us, they controlled the oil-boom era and yet nothing to show that you could call development in Nigeria. It's a shame! With education, Nigeria will discover the truth, because , in todays world, oil money is not comparable to what educations and power of idea can do. For example, Japan and Singapore has no oil, yet they are among first-world countries. The was achieved by education. Education, though not necessarily a man with chains of University degree, delivers one from the evil forces of ignorance and from poverty. If poor men cannot sleep because of hunger, the rich will not also sleep, because the poor are awake.

Nigeria should stop leaving in the world of the Spartans of age, who believe in military power in preference to academics, or like the English, who believe the man with nobility and good character is the educated man. We need real education, education that will guide us abut what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Education that will influences our attitude and feeling abut our environment and how to make it better. The challenge is to encourage education of academics and of the mind, the need arises now more than ever, to over emphasize academic excellence. Down to our Nigerian philosophy of education, an integration of the individual into a perceived unfavorable environment, where moral and spiritual values in interpersonal and human relations are the most important. This philosophy is illaudable and detrimental to the development of the country. Africa have lost is place in Education, and have lost civilization by this process, until we regain and reform education, we have forever lost development. In 1900, Africa was where the world look to for education, reverse is the case in present times.

I am more likely to be convinced of a better future for Nigeria?

Robot  # 1 | 24.05.2009 07:41

Today, even if the whole money in world is brought to Nigeria, the money cannot transform the country for the better; apart from corruption, the people lack intellectual capacity and capability to utilize the money. Education and not corruption is our problem, because there is a statistical correlation between corruption and education (in Nigeria)....Read the full article.

Sergeant Bele  # 2 | 26.05.2009 20:45

Nice piece, I totally agree with you. I kept telling my friends during the past elections that a person like Pat Utomi will find it difficult to win simply because there are too many illiterates and cannot envision the work of leader with such status of simplicity. If only we can further close the gap by providing better education, creativity will be on the increase and corruption on the decrease.