A Chunk on Anything - To Go To School Or Nay?

A couple of months ago, the trend "School na Scam" was really trending online. One might have even thought about dropping out off school with the popularity that the trend got online and offline.

Sometimes when people take on to following some certain trends, one can not help but understand why and where they got such from. Nigeria is a country where it's basically survival of the fittest. That is both in literal and in the figurative sense. It's not easy to climb to the top, not only is it not easy, several other factors still drag someone deeper into failure.

The state of the country leaves people competing for a particular position starting from the academic level to every other sector of the society. With that, one pays attention to how important academics actually is in shaping the future of a young adult in the Society. How important is academics?

It is not all the time that a person succeeds academically, the sad reality is that succeeding academically in Nigeria and finding a career in what one studied, is like trying to find a thread in a straw. At this century and age, the situation that is evident in a country like Nigeria is one in which the citizens practically do not develop a career part on what they are studying.

Even the experts at each field will always tell people to develop a talent, before graduation. Gone are those days when a person who graduated seeks to find a job in the sphere of their study. Unless, one has what is generally known as "Connection". Connection is the link for basically everything that happens in the contemporary Society.

What about the majority who don't, have said connection. The success rate in Nigeria is an impossible feat in which only a few can attain. If one wants to embark on the mission, what is the plan for s/he?

About few weeks ago, the Corps passed out of the compulsory year service to the country. What is their future? Which employment sector are they going to be employed? Or further their education up to the masters?

If one decides not to further his/her academics, what then does s/he engage in? Is it manual jobs, Tech, fashion. What exactly are the barriers and obstruction to succeeding?

Over the years, motivational speakers and veterans in various fields have spoken extensively on academics. The end result have always been, "Go to school but learn a skill". It's like a mantra that is more or less a joke because of the low level of results that comes of the whole Society.

What then is the advice for the upcoming Society? To venture into academia or nay? What is the hope for this generation in a country like Nigeria?

Or mayhaps, the question could be focused on what Academic actually entails. Especially in this part of the world. Dr. Uche Okonkwo, a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka emphasizes that "The kind of education we have now is not the intention of those that laid the foundation of education in Nigeria". Where did things go wrong? He further mentions that "the inherent Philosophy to do what is proper is not there anymore".

What are we to tell the upcoming generation? That academics, especially at the tertiary level is such in which one is subjected to an inhumane situation. Probably the reason Nigeria, as a country is in deep poverty.

Therefore, what happens when a person decides not to follow the path of academia, how does one not seem ignorant. The way forward is education, excessive education. An education which is not confined to the four walls of the classroom or the rigorous training required for academics. After all, some who claim to have been academically sound do not have education.

Education, filling oneself with knowledge, knowing a bit or piece of anything and everything. Having an open mind and not restricting oneself to a particular situation. So, while there is no specific answer to academic or nay, the vital thing each person must inculcate is education, the ability to learn. It's the only way out of poverty.