In 2022, I wrote on “Nigeria’s Innocent children with uncertain Future”. Looking back in review to see how far we have felt of progress, it’s just not much to celebrate. Another circle of events are here to mark the Children’s Day set aside by the United Nations to remember every Child around us; within our home, in our school and neighborhood and community at large. The 2025 UN Theme for celebration is’ “Our Future, Our Responsibility”. This is quite a huge and deep phrase with much reflections and pointer to how we have fared. please permit me to ask that as a nation on a standstill today, we focus on GUIDING OUR STRENGTH TO A WORTHY FUTURE.
The recent outcome of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) result has come as a table shocker to so many. For pundits in the Education anal circle, this result has long been in the shadow of so much ramshackle in our push for educational excellence. There has been a gradual decline in Nigeria’s approach to affective, strategic and affordable learning. Opinions may differ and apologies will pour out as been done by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board Executive.
The truth will remain though and stick to memories of many lovers of knowledge, our failure to raise the bar for intentional educational build up for our children has been a gradual flip and crack in the frame of policy and curriculum development. How soon we have forgotten the enviable status of our educational sector in our national life. I have always known that any time leaders abandon their inspiring structures, an entire kingdom suffers in the long run, so it is with Nigeria’s Educational sector today, her decay, is leading to national disaster everywhere.
Am pained by how we waste potentials recklessly. Dr. Myles Muroen of blessed memories said “The wealthiest place in the world is not the gold mines of South America or the oil fields of Iraq or Iran. They are not the diamond mines of South Africa or the banks of the world. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery. There lie buried companies that were never started, inventions that were never made, bestselling books that were never written, and masterpieces that were never painted. In the cemetery is buried the greatest treasure of untapped potential.”
A bit of retrospect into Nigeria’s Educational system will give a glimpse of the cry of neglect in
the hearts of pragmatic Educationists. Before the colonial era, various tribes and tongues that
make up the ethnic groups today, developed a system of educating their people, mostly in order of traditional/cultural enlightenments. A system that created a firm belief in the values and respect of the land. It carved out and embodied approach to life and its worth. The Trado-cultural system gave a deep sense of value to the people and beam a mirror of satisfaction for everyone in the community.
Also, for anybody that carries her trade mark of excellence. The system strictly orders stiff penalties for every offender of the law of the land, the consequences of violating these laws These ordinances help to strengthen bonds of their culture and tribes then. It also helps to bind communities together. From these laws, treaties were made and cemented, also transactions were consummated, as well as nations framed along tribal and cultural lines. Their differing and uniqueness were their languages, fashion/dress patterns and festival orations.
Nigeria has gradually faded into an any how nation, where lawlessness is the language of the day, people violate laws and get away with it, even commissioned law enforcement agents abuse the law they swore to protect often many times. The emergence of IKPOTOKINS (the white man), upturn the beautiful heritages of our nation, changing their norms/values.
The craftiness of European invasion of the 17th and 18th centuries, were more of ideological and cultural disruptions one hand, and infusion of mind imperialism on the other hand. This stripped the people of Aikebulams of the pride, products and potentials. The conquests were what brought about the strange ways of life, we mostly have around us today. Yes, many traits can be adjudged good for imitation and replications. The new way of life coined into civilization, can be seen very much in our educational system, social growth and structural development.
The aspect that brings destruction to human values, also cultural interpretation, it greatly dehumanizes the tides that binds the various people in culture or trades and philosophy, If you fuse colonial era and post-independence period till date, it’s clear that Nigeria, with so many ethnic and tribal nations (250 and more), still struggling to adapt to the enforced European system of life and education. At a certain period; from early 1960s to early 1980s, the prospect and relevance of raising new leaders who have acquire knowledge overseas, was that they return to transform every aspect of Nigeria.
It was huge fun fair, as early Nigerians graduates from overseas school, return with great hopes and ideals for transformations, but as time progresses, the euphoria died and corruption, nepotism and other dangerous social vices became the norms and lexicon for our young vulnerable youths. Today, corruption and evil tendencies has deeply rotten the fabrics of Nigeria national life, then the depth of searching crude oil. It was like child’s play year back; talking about cultism, as one of the evils imported from Europe alongside Educational successes, but today, no one can breathe anymore or even take a nap, with both eyes closed.
The introduction of this evil into our Educational and social life has resulted in massive bloodletting and deaths. Go and learn and come back to build our land well, instead sons returned with increase knowledge, much more for satanic ventures. Do I remind us of the viral video in circulation of female cult initiation in secondary school, a worrisome alarm for our society?
Where do we go from here? What’s the collective plan to deliberately educate our children, OUR STRENGTH, OUR FUTURE and arrows in our quivers? What’s the possibility of creating A WORTHY FUTURE, we hope to be proud of? What intentional responsibility are we strategically drafting to meet the goals set for the future? Whatever our thoughts are, its far beyond our ethnic or religious focus/ideology (the scheme that has separated us from our destined progress).
According to PLAN INTERNATIONAL in her recent report “with the alarming rate of educational crisis in Nigeria with over 10.5 million children out of school children. The need for flexible, inclusive educational models has never been as urgent”. The educational sector like many other sectors has been washed with religious affiliates ideal; making the Nigeria struggle in the space of knowledge transfer. Leaders and caregivers in the educational circle need to sit and take deep breath to undertake an aggressive recovery drive that will save this nation from both Character destruction and transformational decay, kindly read Dr Martins Atanda’s book on ‘THE LEADER THAT LEADS’.
The task before us; especially our Religious and Traditional leaders first (non-formal education custodians) and also the Private, Political and Government stakeholders (formal educational custodians), that a very urgent step need to be taken to rescue Nigeria from total decay, intentional proper education is the only way out. The void of distrust already created has to be sealed or erased now, to bring fresh ideal of wholistic changes. PLO Lumumba said time and time again. “The day Nigeria gets it right; is the day Africa wakes up” With over 18 million children out of school in Nigeria as of 2022 report by UNICEF, Our major responsibility is on how well to prepare our children for an honorable future, it begins with what kind of ideal or value we bring to them for the future. Question; does Nigeria have a national CULTURE OR VALUE SHE STANDS FOR? Every family anchor their development on family values. It is what defines the family and give it an identity.
These values are what the child receive at an early age, that builds him/her into a great and worthy future. The values of self-worth and service to mother land begins with early development of the child. Ibukun Awosika (former Chairman of First Bank), describe the size of your dream to the extent of “The courage of your conviction and the confidence of knowing that nothing shall be impossible to you”, success often come. We as a nation must dear to do all we need to do to make education work in Nigeria. In primary school year back, we are often asked what we want to become in future. Many of those spoken thoughts has transformed into realities today.
Teach these innocent children, what you would like to see in their adult lives. A video of a very young boy circulated last year, of the boy being asked what he would like to become in future. He said he would want to grow up and be a ‘YAHOO BOY’. At this point, who do we blame? The little boy, his parent/family or the society? Looking around his environment, the most sellable and respected trade/professions per se today is either yahoo or kidnapping/ritual killings. What then happened to the very revered professions like; Lecturing, banking, medical field, Armed forces etc.? it’s heart breaking, according to online journalist- Tahir Ahmad that; “The recent recruitment into the 89th regular course of the Nigeria Army, saw a sharp decline in applications from South-East, South-South and South-West of the country.
Coincidentally, these regions are characterized by high level of cults and occultic operations, and also ritual killings, organ harvesting and advance free fraud (419). Dear parents, guidance and school administrators/other care givers, there is no other time to fix these mess than now. We either make up our mind to Raise to Restore and Rebuild or we loose and leak the wounds of failure forever. Time of blame game as in the case of JAMB is totally not it now, let it be set aside. The realization of journeying in the wrong lane, will help make U-turn for necessary recovery. The seed we plant into our children all around us today, will be the harvests we look up to tomorrow and future. Let’s be confident to Teach, Train and Tame our worth/ future strengths. Never hold back the words of hope and truth as you teach them; that it’s more worthy to fail than gain success through the back door.
In failure, we learn from mistakes, but success from the rare, is preparation for bigger shame ahead. Every stage in life has a test/exam for everyone. Exams waived off today awaits anyone in future. Tell them as they grow in classrooms, as they play or any other time, that studying hard is good, but building purposeful relationship helps you develop ability for critical thinking in problem solving, it strengthens your analytical mind to work as team, irrespective of your background and parental status. Let them know that life evolves continually, there is a stage where everyone will reconverge again, where the A grades of yesterday will meet the E grades of yesterday.
By then their VALUES become distinguishing factors of decision-making processes. Values greatly determine their market placement in life. I encourage you to get from Amazon, the book; THE SEED by Prof. John Olabode. The time to teach is now, the time to bend is now, the time to scold is now, the time to build community values and mantra of unity/togetherness. The MDAs od the Education sector, need to recast workable curriculum, developed with realistic goals to uphold the standards of educational growth in Nigeria. In the periods of emergence of Private Universities, as National University Commission (NUC) started shifting grounds for JAMB scores limits for admission into private tertiary institutions, I knew that our decline has reached the point of no mercy.
It’s not to say that private Universities are not producing worthy materials. Nigeria government should not take the position of Cheapskate when it comes to educational funding that will translate into effective educational development. The drive for proper funding will bring lasting impact. Suffice to say that recent bold transformation going on in Burkina Faso, by President Ibrahim Traore, is seriously putting Nigeria political leaders into fire fighters’ test. If Captain Ibrahim was in Nigeria, the leaders would say he should wait for his time as a future leader.
To attain the desired future, we want as a nation for our children, we need to pay commensurate price in responsibility, to properly shape the children of today. It means a deliberate action in recruitment process for Teachers, school administrators etc., from primary, through secondary to tertiary institutions. Nothing sets better than having square pegs in square holes. Guiding our ‘STRENGHT’, to a worthy future, It’s a huge task of conscious effort to nurture and raise great minds.
We need teachers that will raise;
Instead of next yahoo star, raise the next Allen Onyema,
Instead of next ritualist, raise next Jelani Aliyu,
Instead of next cultist, raise next Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Instead of next ballot box snatcher, raise next Abubakar Falalu
Instead of next terrorist, raise next Tobi Amosun
Instead of next bandit, raise next Victor Osimhen
Instead of next 419, raise next Amina Mohammed
Instead of next armed robber, raise next Ibrahim Traore
Instead of next club stripper, raise next Funke Akindele
Instead of next pick pockets, raise Christ Musa
Instead of next hookup girl, raise next Sandra Aguebor
Instead of next organ harvester, raise next Ahmed Musa
Instead of next baby factory mama, raise next Ibukun Awosika
Instead of next oil thief, raise next Chimamanda Adichie
Instead of next drug pusher, raise next Princess Opeyemi Bright
The earlier we teach to be creators, not imitators, the best ours and their future will unfold. Teach them to become more of creative producers, not bullying consumers, infuse in them that Family VALUES and self-worth will save them in seasons of dare need. They should be thought that though times will come, and often times Loyalty disappears under intense pressure, especially when money is at stake.
Young Useful Generations Initiative (YUGi), wishes all our children, HAPPY CHILDREN’S DAY. Any man that has his quiver filled with them, is ever happy. Children; you are Nigeria’s dream of greater tomorrow. The possibility of a great NIGERIA FUTURE, begins with our Responsibility to guide. Young & Useful Generations Initiative (YUGi)- “Reaching out to create a productive new generation in class & style”
EDAYI EDISON E. is the Executive Director; Young Useful Generations Initiative (YUGi) and he can be reach via ednie35@gmail.com
