“Upon the subject of education….I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in” – Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the USA.
The importance of education cannot be overemphasized as it is a critical enabler in eliminating poverty. Education is one of the factors that convert labour into human capital. With quality education, you may not be stupendously rich but you cannot be poor. For a very long time, policymakers in Nigeria have been aware that education is good but they have not predicted accurately its relevance to industry and techno-economic development. Unfortunately, policymakers thought that with abundant crude oil and gas, development is automatic. Development does not start with abundant mineral resources, as we have witnessed in Nigeria; it starts with quality people who are educated, organized and disciplined. This writer has also averred in one of his previous articles in this column that “education is a force multiplier in the development calculus of a nation”. It is one of the key factors for improving the quality of people in order to develop new skills, cultural values and behavioural patterns needed in the industry”. According to the late sage and politician, Obafemi Awolowo, “Any system of education which does not help a man to have a healthy and sound body and alert brain, and balanced and disciplined instinctive urges, is both misconceived and dangerous.”
In this column last year, this writer had mentioned, in an article titled “Failure is not an option”, that in 2007 at an Alumni Dinner in Washington DC he met a Ghanaian diplomat who told him that “the whole of Africa is waiting for Nigeria to take leadership of the continent”. Truly, Nigeria is the largest crude oil producing nation in the continent of Africa and the world’s eighth-largest oil producer. Regrettably, Nigeria has either consciously or involuntarily not provided leadership in education. With approximately 10.5 million kids out of school according to UNESCO report in 2013, Nigeria dominates 12 other countries with which it accounts for 47 percent of the global out-of-school population. It was reported that at least one out of every 4 children enrolled stayed in school, and that this figure has not changed since 2000. This unpleasant narrative on education confers no leadership on Nigeria as a nation with the world record of having the highest number of its young people out of school. If the current precarious situation of education in the country is not bothering policymakers such that necessary steps are taken to reverse the ugly trend, then the nation may be heading for a disaster.
As a concerned citizen and responsible parent who has benefitted tremendously and still benefitting from the largesse good education offers, I am perturbed to read that 40 percent of Nigerian children do not attend any primary school, with the Northern region recording the lowest school attendance rate in the country, particularly for girls (unicef.org). The report further states that despite a significant increase in net enrolment rate in recent years, an estimated 4.7 million children of primary school age are still not enrolled in school. Why and where are the children? Poverty of parents could be a factor, and this may be responsible for the low enrolment of Nigerian children for Junior Secondary School. This is confirmed by available data which show that socio-economic status of parents is largely responsible for disparities in educational participation of children in Nigerian schools. For instance, it is reported that among the top 20 percent of families, only about 5 percent of their primary school-aged children are not in school, while it is more than 60 percent among the bottom 20 percent of families. That is the reason why policymakers should not think that an average Nigerian child does not want to be educated. It is poverty of their parents that has extinguished the hope of being educated in most of these children.
The question that some policy analysts and commentators have asked with respect to the almost N1.0 trillion food subsidy for school children under the PMB administration is, why not empower parents through sustainable employment so that they could feed their children and send them to school? After food, what next? Why not inject the N1.0 trillion into agriculture, health and education sectors. Regarding the N5,000 per month, that is, $25 per person/month for 25 million unemployed youth, analysts want to know if this will reduce poverty. They are also interested in knowing what will be the purchasing power of this amount in today ‘s economy. They ask, does this policy make economic sense? I am not an economist but I have been thinking of how the federal government arrived at the figure of 25 million for this proposed monthly welfare. This is because Nigeria has not successfully conducted a population census since independence in 1960. We need to tread with caution in these austere times.
Instead of assisting PMB think through these ideas, some state governors under cover of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum have been threatening civil servants in their territories that they cannot pay the minimum wage of N18,000/ month. They have not told us how much they can pay. They blame low price of crude oil for this hitlerian stance and that civil servants at state levels should be prepared for sack. What a wonderful policy for survival. It is survival of the fittest. I am almost certain that once there is retrenchment of civil servants, many children will not go back to school as their parents will vector them to the streets to hawk “pure water” and other cheap goods. Which type of society are we building in a world that is knowledge-based? We would be building an empire of thugs. I humbly advise our state governors to think of the risks associated with their call for either a reduction in minimum wage or sack of civil servants. They should please save democracy and ultimately save the Nigerian child.
Now that the nation’s economy is weak as a result of low oil price in the international market, can Nigeria return the lost glory of education in an era when the nation is encouraging graduates of tertiary institutions to be entrepreneurs? Investing in education is one of the most effective ways of ensuring that those who have chosen to take the risks and uncertainties associated with entrepreneurship are well equipped. This is because it is only a good idea that will generate wealth. However, an entrepreneur can only have a good idea; make, create and innovate if he or she is well educated. It is education that gives people critical skills and tools necessary to provide for themselves and their children. With education people will work better and in addition, provide opportunities for sustainable economic growth now and in future. Education encourages transparency, good governance, stability, and helps fight against corruption in a society. From the proposed budget of N6.0 trillion, will the federal government be willing to invest 20 percent of the budget in the education sector in 2016? Let us save the Nigerian child.
Akinsola Johnson
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