Growing up to hear that education is the key to success, was a tonic to hard work, hard work and more hard work. I could still remember waking up arround 4:00am to go and clean the school compound while in primary school, meeting up with shadows in the school compound that will make us sometimes scream ghost, ghost, ghost and run away, yet will repeat the early morning routine again the next day so as to remain in the good books of our class teachers and be seen as good pupil, just because we were told that education is the key. I could still remember my class teacher making boards printed on it "Education is the key" for we brilliant students to read during every children's day on 27th May and Independence Day on 1st October. We use to be so happy reading it, "Education is the Key".
The trekking far killometres away to attend junior secondary school happily was to secure a future that will be seen as a successful one and toiling to pass through the senior secondary and higher institution was to pursue a brighter future since education was the only key.
The warning from our parents that If you want to become anything in life, go to school, was one of those warnings you dare not ignore. In my own case, even when my primary school was very close to my house, you dare not come home during the break periods because to my father, coming home will make you miss out on what is going on in school even when it was break period, this to him was because, education is the key .
I know my story, is same story of average Nigerian children that have laboured so much to attain certain level of education but yet on the street looking for what to do for years. It is the story of Nigerian parents who have laboured so hard to send their wards to school but yet are dying in penury because out of school, this children are unable to secure any job and the pains of watching your adult children come back home to depend on you again after sending them to school is slowly killing the parents.
Education is still the key to success in many parts of the world but on how it became a Paddlock in Nigeria is what beats my imagination. Nigeria as a country is still ruled by our forefathers who actually benefited from education being the key to success. This same people have turned education in Nigeria to Paddlock where you can no more get job after school except for their children, relatives, thugs and others who can afford to buy the jobs. To make our certificates look worthless, they now send their children overseas to go and study while our schools are left with no teaching tools. Our teachers are owed salaries for months to make them run away from classrooms to give their children they have sent abroad to study edge over us.
The recent ministerial list release by President Muhammadu Buhari that saw no good thing in the youths of this country except our ancestors, has confirmed that education in Nigeria is actually padlock and not Key and a sign that Nigerian youths are doomed forever except God intervenes.
Who will make Education key to success again in Nigeria?
Ekpenyong Isaiah,
Commander, Infantry Pen Battallion
isacool4good@yahoo.com
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