EDUCATION AS A GREAT LEGACY

EDUCATION AS A GREAT LEGACY

It's no longer news that EDUCATION is the single most important sector that if the governments, leaderships, and stakeholders in the North (obviously because the North is educationally backward compared to the Southern part) can tackle headlong and sincerely, almost 90%-plus of the challenges and problems of the region will automatically vanish. Priority must be given to education especially primary and secondary education. Unless this is done, no amount of "poverty eradication" programmes or other developmental programmes can singly solve or change the unfortunate status quo. If the governments and stakeholders in the North can put in place a viable framework for the next fifteen years, then the status quo will be history.

For instance, the three most ravaging factors affecting the North are the "Almajiri" scourge (I'm not referring to the organized "Tsangaya system), unemployment, and poverty. These three hydra-headed problems can easily dissolve in a population that is educated. An organized system of education for those who cannot send their children to Western oriented schools due to one reason or the other can solve the problem of the so called Almajiri system. These organized "orthodox" educational system can be in boarding or day school system. Unemployment cannot exists in an educated population because education has proven to enable an individual to be absorbed into the public or private sector, or at most be self-employed. Poverty is often the scion of illiteracy and/or unemployment and once illiteracy and unemployment are taken care of through proper education, poverty will become a thing of the past.

The EDUCATION I'm talking about is that where the teachers are motivated to teach and the teaching environment is enabling. When this kind of EDUCATION is dispensed within the population over a period of, at least, fifteen years, then the challenges and problems facing the North would have been a history. The following years and generations would be consolidated and well grounded to face the challenges of the future.

This EDUCATION will be the greatest LEGACY any government or stakeholder can bequeath to its people especially when there are obvious indices that warrant such needs.

I hope this "reminder post" gets to the governments, leaderships, and stakeholders.

Dr. M. S. Ahmadu
Maiduguri
03/03/2017

HARNESSING THE GIFTS OF TALENTED NIGERIANS

HARNESSING THE GIFTS OF TALENTED NIGERIANS

Nigeria is undoubtedly blessed with human and natural resources. It has, perhaps, only dwelled more on the natural resources (may be even just on the crude oil aspect). It has failed to harness the human resource aspect allowing many talented Nigerians to either "pass unnoticed" or allowed other nations to voraciously tap from these talented citizens, ultimately contributing to the development of such nations. The United States and UK are typical examples of developed nations that continue to gain from talented Nigerians.

Nigeria will get it right when it truly realizes and begins to fully harness and tap from its vast talented human resources. It's the "neglected" talented Nigerians that can put the image of the country to shine in the face of other developed nations. No other country or nation can do that for Nigeria. The good news is that most of these talented Nigerians in diaspora are willing to come back home to develop their beloved country. Unfortunately, the environment isn't enabling for them to come back and do the needful. Those that sacrificed and came back under the present state of the country have mostly lost their skills due to "disuse atrophy" from lack of enabling environment.

Every time I travel out of Nigeria my thoughts always go back to my dear country and on how we can make it right. Each time I travel out I meet many Nigerians out there that are immensely talented and are willing to come come back home, except for the fear of losing their talents when they come back home where things aren't working the way they are supposed to. My attempts at persuading some of them to come back home and "manage" the way we are "managing" have always been futile.

What the government needs to do with all sense of truthfulness and patriotism is to create the enabling environment that will truly last the test of time. The government should do that and all other things will follow by the grace of God Almighty. Some bad elements may be feeding on the inability of Nigeria to harness the gifts and talents of talented Nigerians but their unwholesome actions will not last forever as long as there's that singular will power to get it right.

We should be serious and things will fall in place.

My thoughts as I return to my dear country Nigeria from the United States through Dubai (UAE).

Dr. M. S. Ahmadu.
Maiduguri, Nigeria.
December 4th, 2016.Top of Form