My dear friend, it may not go
down well with you, but
sometimes, I need to tell you the
truth, no matter how unpleasant
it may seem. I know this is
something nobody likes to hear;
I do not like to discuss it either.
When I’m done with what I
have to explain, you may see me
tomorrow and choose not to
greet me, or you may see me
tomorrow and sincerely thank
me for disclosing to you what
others hate to admit. Whatever
your decision is, I would have
played my part. Because of how
critical this matter is, I will make
this piece of writing very
simple. I want to carry everyone
along. And to make it somewhat
enjoyable, I plead to sound a bit
colloquial.
Look, you may end up as a
servant. Hian! Yes, I said so.
Honestly, I am almost as sure as
death about this, but because I
want to give room for some
uncertainties, I have opted to
use the word “may”, which is
milder. Otherwise, I would have
written: “You will end up as a
servant”. Now, you may wonder
what has come over me all of a
sudden. Before it crosses your
mind, let me quickly inform you
that I haven’t taken palm wine
today. So, it is not what you are
thinking. Lol.
I am willing to bet my left arm
on the fact that a good
percentage of people reading
this are Nigerians under the age
of 35. That makes my work
easier. The Yorubas wisely
maintain that when someone
tells you fire is burning on top
of water, you should simply ask
them to go and bring the ashes
as a proof. Therefore, I would
like to state clearly that my
standpoint in this article is not
spurious or speculative, as I
have my facts to back up
whatever assertions I make.
In recent years, Nigerians seem
to be embracing education more
excitedly than ever. Majority of
Nigerian youths might be
presently studying in tertiary
institutions, or might have even
graduated, or might still be
seeking admissions, or might still
be in secondary school. As at
2013, Nigeria had 430 tertiary
institutions, of which 128 were
universities. For a couple of
years now, over 1.5 million
youths keep applying for UTME
annually, even though barely
30% of them get admitted.
According to a research made by
National Bureau of Statistics
recently, it was reported that
about 1.8 million people in the
country enter the job market
yearly. I would like to also
inform you that on April 1,
2014, during a meeting with
delegates of the Arewa Youth
Forum, the Minister for Finance,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
admitted that a pool of 5.3
million unemployed graduates
have accumulated over the
years in Nigeria.
I have taken pains to highlight
the above statistics in order to
make you realise that Nigerians
are seriously going for
education. All over the world,
education is placed in high
esteem. It is a major tool of
civilisation and transformation,
as well as an effective weapon
against ignorance. My dear,
education is a thing to be
desired, a thing every man must
get. Matter-of-factly, education
is still one of the most valuable
assets of mankind, even though
along the line, something went
wrong. Man began to choose
subjects to educate himself on
and subjects he would rather
neglect. Subsequently, in all
institutions of learning, certain
subjects began to get
emphasized and dwelt upon,
while some others were
ignored. This became the
undoing of man.
However, some men were quick
enough to pinpoint these
loopholes in education. They
figured out that if they wanted
to enjoy an optimum life, they
needed to explore these aspects
left out by education. So they
did, and that has made all the
difference between them and
every other man. Now, most of
them keep these secrets to their
hearts and would not divulge
them to anybody else.
Whenever they are asked what
has made them so distinct from
the others, they simply wave it
aside by saying they took their
education very seriously. But
the truth is education is never
enough! As a youth in Nigeria
(or any country in the world), if
you think all you need is
education, then you will end up
as a servant, even if you are
more intelligent than Albert
Einstein.
Okay, let me give you a true life
illustration. A very intelligent
student in Nigeria, “all things
being equal”, is likely to
graduate from university with a
first class honours. If he does,
he may be retained as a lecturer
in the university, while he
pursues his master’s degree. At
that tempo, he may finally
become a professor after many
years of study and teaching,
whose salary may be running
into million(s) of naira. However,
if the intelligent student does
not have interest in teaching, he
may seek and gain employment
to an oil and gas or
telecommunication company,
where he would earn a 6-digit
salary for a start and maybe
millions when he later gets to
the peak of that career. Now, let
me shock you. Of the two stated
above, whichever way the
intelligent student chooses to
go, he is a servant. It doesn’t
matter whether he earns
millions or not. A servant is a
servant, whether millionaire or
not. And that’s not good
enough, especially when there is
something better.
Perhaps you are also examining
yourself presently, frank
enough to admit that you are
not so intelligent to graduate
with a first class. Your own
concern is just to get an average
result and get employed by the
Federal Government. Well, there
is no much debate about that.
You have a post already- “civil
servant”! Lol. It is so
straightforward. A servant is
still a servant, whether civil or
not. In fact, let’s get this thing
right. Whoever is employed by
another and receives “regular”
income from them is a servant
(to them). Take it or leave it.
So do you see why I maintain
you may end up as a servant?
Most people end up being
servants because that’s what
the society thinks to be ideal,
and because it’s what the
universities train them to be.
Like I said, that’s not good
enough, especially when there is
something better. Why can’t you
be in a position to employ
others too? The very moment
you determine you do not want
to be a servant, you must
understand education will never
be enough to achieve that feat.
For a start, you may be riding on
the horseback of your
certificate(s) to gain your foot
and save some money. As soon
as you’ve saved enough, you
should resign and invest your
money. Become your own
master; cease being a servant.
This is one of the secrets those
successes of life would never
disclose to you, lest you should
become like them.
Now when I say invest, don’t be
narrow-minded. One can invest
in a lot of things, including
oneself. If you’ve got talent,
great! Invest in your talent. If
you love business, go for it!
There are awful lots of lucrative
businesses. Find whichever suits
you and become the best in it. If
you studied/are studying a
professional course in school,
begin to think and work
towards setting up your private
establishment soon. Develop
your crafts and improve your
skills. In the long run, with
diligence, discipline, passion and
perseverance, you may end up
even employing first class
graduates. This is one of the
loopholes in education. Will you
explore it? Or are you willing to
become/continue as a servant?
