Education and training should be the main issues for the 2015 elections January 27, 2015 By Francis Ogbimi: Education is poorly funded in Nigeria because Nigerian leaders do not know its value. Nigeria needs education complemented by adequate and appropriate training to promote rapid technological development. A robust educational system without a complementary training framework co-exists with mass unemployment and poverty. Sadly, no one is talking of appropriate training in Nigerian governments yet in the absence of the will to fund education well. In the proposed 2015 federal government budget, whereas debt servicing is allocated 22 per cent, education is allocated only 8 per cent. Why is debt servicing allocated 22 per cent? It is because Nigeria’s planning lacks growth elements, so Nigeria carries out projects that do not promote sustainable growth and industrialization. Federal and state governments therefore have high propensity for accumulating debts. Unfortunately, those planning for Nigeria are naively rejoicing over high trivial growth or growth without development (GWD). This is a more serious problem than the corruption that Nigerians talk about frequently. This is why I have been trying to explain that ignorance is doing more harm than corruption in Nigeria. Nigerians believe that they do not have to think, reason or do anything to build a nation. Nigerians believe that all Nigeria needs to do is to award inflated contracts and erect structures and attract Direct Foreign Investments (DFIs) with a view to achieving overnight development. This article is written to demonstrate, using historical and logico-mathematical evidence that education and training are the issues that should be in focus in the 2015 elections, to bring hope to Nigerians, not corruption, not insurgence. It is obvious that European, American and some Asian nations are industrialized whereas African nations are pre-industrialized. If Nigerian leaders were wise, they would try to find out how the non-African nations became industrialized. No! That is not for the Nigerian leader. Nigerian leaders are assuming that knowledge about what other nations did in the past is not important. Also, Nigerian leaders think that Nigeria does not need to understand the industrialization process before embarking on it. They believe that national development is about doing just anything, including seeking FDIs in a most ridiculous manner and awarding inflated contracts for erecting roads, bridges, electricity generating plants and transmission lines. This is all federal and state governments have been doing since independence. Dear compatriots, stop wasting your time crying about the absence of the great leader (Mr. GL), because he or she does not exist. The English Revolution, the French Revolution and the Russian Revolution occurred due to the failure of leadership over centuries in those societies. Ignorance is doing more harm than corruption in Nigeria. Nigerian Presidents and State governors know that Nigeria is not progressing with the programmes and projects they have been implementing. However, awarding many inflated contracts makes those in govern rich overnight. That is probably why they have been implementing programmes and projects they know do not promote national development since independence. Millions of Nigerian youths including university graduates have been unemployed for decades while Nigerian presidents and their men and women, the governors and their men and women award inflated contracts, create increasing speculative economy, increase corruption every year and tell ignorant Nigerians that they have been fighting corruption or that they are going to rid the Nigerian society of corruption tomorrow. Federal and state government are promoting overnight riches for politicians (corruption) while the nation stagnates. Stagnation brought poverty. Poverty brought insurgence. Oh foolish youths, why do you think that corruption and insurgence are the issues Nigerians need to focus on today? Is it because you do not know the relationships among emphasis on erection of infrastructure by our governments, corruption, stagnation, poverty and insurgence? Wake up and tell our leaders that all Nigeria needs is education and training. Education and training are the means for promoting rapid national development. Nations do not achieve sustainable economic growth and industrialization (SEGI) through building roads and bridges, telecommunication networks, electricity generating plants and distribution networks. Let the educated youths be trained to acquire adequate skills and challenged to build the infrastructure Nigeria needs. It is a shame that while educated Nigerian youths are unemployed, federal and state governments during the past decades award inflated contracts to greedy Nigerians and foreigners to erect poorly designed and poorly built infrastructure. GSM: 08037062056; e-mail: fogbimi@yahoo
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 12:45:21 +0000
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