I am not against any brilliant very young chap getting admission into our university system from either rich or poor backgrounds, if he or she deserves it.
We should not forget that there is no age limit or requirements to getting wisdom or talents as Michael Jackson started his dance and music career at five while still schooling. The problem of our educational system goes beyond this. What our leaders need to be concerned more about should be how to address poor out-of-school children. If not addressed, they remain potential future terrorists, bandits and kidnappers. Imagine being afraid to move around or to continue your journey when it becomes very dark just because we have growing jobless citizens with no social security as our leaders continue to get more for themselves through constituency projects and jumbo pay.
Secondly, our leaders should make our educational standard count, from primary to universities, technical and polytechnic, essentially to help create opportunities for self-employment to address the rising rate of idleness and rising youth unemployment, which are adding up to insecurity in the country. This has made more youths embrace internet scams and be recruited by unknown gunmen, terrorists, bandits and prostitutes.
For God’s sake? Can our society not start helping gifted and talented people to become more productive like in other climes and to check people “japaing” (migration)? I think parents have a role to play aside from our leaders.
Accepted, you want your children to become well-read getting a degree or diploma or any certificate for that matter but try to look out for their talents as they are growing up and help to nurture them to become great just as MJ’s parents did making him become King of Pop.
Parents should stop forcing their children to study what they are not prepared for. Instance, you cannot force any child to study medicine when he or she is an art or commercial student. Allow God to do His work in their lives.
And after all, we have seen some that studied medicine law and others but ended up doing something else like music and other stuff they never even studied. Mind you, whatever you can survive with, remain your God’s given talents.
Our youths will have no excuse to indulge in crime if we begin to encourage talented and gifted people, especially the youths and insecurity will eventually reduce.
- Emeka Anozie is an ex-private secretary to the former Federal Minister of Information, Otunba T. O. S. Benson. He is a writer, political analyst in mass media for good governance and human rights activist. He writes from Lagos. [email protected]