The funny thing about education

Just think about it, education its not exactly compulsory but necessary, the funny thing is I don't even believe it for everyone. You will agree with me that there are a lot of Nigerians who go through school and end up not needing their certificate or end up in the labour market without employment. I saw a picture the other day, of a first class graduate with "juju" broomstick on his neck, trekking with his cv, looking for job.

When am talking about education I mean the formal education. Not everybody is meant to have a formal education. Sure the basics are needed, i:e the basic knowledge to read and write after that, formal education is not quite necessary. From a very young age, it is normal for everyone to grow up exhibiting either the potential for so. Thinbor the love of something. And depending on the talents, parents should know the way to go with the child. Wether formal education is for him or otherwise.

What Nigerian parents do, usually is to disregard this potential for future talent and try to tailor the child to their own taste. Earlier times, there were three professions every child was expected to be. Either a lawyer, doctor or an engineer. If everybody becomes just these three, who will manufacture goods, who will invest or account for money, who will grow food, who will manage the government, Who will do the other jobs?

For instance, when parents notice their child to have a potential for art, let's say the child has been drawing from age two, you would think the parents would encourage it. But instead, they'd beat the potential out of him or discourage him and try to force something else on him. What's wrong with wanting to dance, sing or paint life or marvel the world with poetry or invent something new?

I think to myself everyday that if I had been trained in the ways of business, investing and entrepreneurship from the age of two, I'd be a billionaire now. So instead of spending sixteen years to acquire a certificate I would never use or need only to end up starting a business I would have started sixteen years ago or end up in a job I won't be happy with and be terrible at. Considering these facts, my lot would have been better if I didn't go to school at all.

Nearly everybody who has a talent for arts is familiar with this. You tell your parents about what you like or what you are good at like for instance you meet your dad and tell him I wanna dance that's what I want to do. As a girl, you parents will go "are you crazy, is something wrong with you? Don't you know it's only prostitute that's dance? You want to waste your life Shey? You want to be one of those girls that expose themselves in all those music videos Shey" They say this not understand there are so many forms of dance and if it makes u happy and if you're good at it they should let u. As a guy you look your dad straight in the eye and tell him you want to go into music and he tells you this "is something wrong with you, you most have started smoking, you want to waste your life Shey? You want to be doing nigga, yo, yo on television Shey? Don't you know it's only drop out that do music? You need deliverance." or if you were much younger, your parents would try to beat the talent out of you.

It a good thing, times are changing gradually but the mentality still exist. How many doctors, lawyers and engineers are out there without anything to do, in Nigeria it doesn't matter what you study, the fact still remains if you're not extraordinary, you'd just be like the rest of us. It's different if you have the passion for one of these and you really want to not do for yourself and not because of parental pressure. Passion makes all the differences because passion makes one extraordinary while without passion you'd just be empty, terrible at your job chosen by your parents and living a miserable, unfulfilled life.

Most Nigerians have limited dreams because of the kind of society and family we grew up in or with. A typical Nigerian has very little ambition in life. We are born, we grow up, we go to school, we finish well, we get a good job, we get married, build family, and then we die what's the point? Where's the fulfilment in that? It's like we live to continue the family tree and nothing more, living without making any real impact on society. I grew up in a home were talent especially artistic talent was not encouraged, I had to hide these things I was actually good at and develop them in secret. And when I tried to express them, I would be told I was only thinking like a child. I was expected to read and read only. Half of those times my parents thought I was reading I was actually drawing. After a while, I kinda gave up on been my own individual and tried to flow with the stream of society but deep down, I knew it wasn't my way. Today if I had a child and I discovered that he's good in let's say music, after the basic learning how to read and write, he would do not but music. I'd gt him enrolled into a music school instead of a conventional school.

Now people are finally beginning to understand that it's not just enough to go to school and come out with first class because in the country we live in now, there's no job waiting for anyone, instead onku those with creative, innovative minds are surviving with ease. Now people are trying to go into entrepreneurship after wasting time in school acquiring a certificate useless to them or rendered useless by society. They now try to acquire skills to be self-employed and universities are also encouraging the study of entrepreneurship and adding it to their curriculum.

The most successful people in the world, without mentioning names are either school dropouts or didn't even bother to go in the first and instead used theymir time for better things. Doesn't that tell that though education is good and quite important expecially the basics, it limits ones potential and does not allow them to reach their maximum heights. How many first class do you see today making an impart on society. They are out there with the rest of us looking for jobs from those who didn't bother to either go or complete school.

Parents need to learn to allow their children to grow God giving potentials and creativity rather than force formal education on them. I think the more creativity is encouraged in society, the better the society would be in future and the less we would have bitter, frustrated Nigerians login unfulfilled lives. God bless 9ga o.