Reality Check: Is education in Nigeria a scam? 

Ab initio, the value and future of education in Nigeria has been topical among the country’s intellectuals and has been the focus of a protracted debate. Some people think going to school is a pointless mental exercise, while others think it is necessary for knowledge advancements and the development of both personal and professional potentials in the pursuit of success.  Many young people are required to attend school despite their apathy and conviction that education adds little or no value to their future goals and ambition, particularly given the high unemployment rate among the youth in Nigeria. Graduates are becoming almost the opposite of outstanding in society and the lack of jobs has led many young people to believe that education does not deliver on the promise of a better life. Nigerian leaders don’t really care about workers, let alone students or graduates, the quality of every good thing is reducing, while immoralities are now gaining recognition. Many who pass through Nigeria’s school system experience little of the liberating impact that education is expected to provide its beneficiaries with. This makes the promise that education is a passport to a better tomorrow appear deceptive.  Today, many believe that education in Nigeria has changed from providing salvation to  enslaving  intellects.  

First off, given the realities of our status quo, Nigeria’s school system is backward and unprogressive. According to Benjamin Franklin; “an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” Nigerian students create interest in education and see it as an investment but unfortunately, education in Nigeria is not living up to this expectation while the government and some irresponsible teachers or lecturers are gaining by extorting students and passing themselves off as the real representatives of change agents through education. Education ought to be  be a money-making machine for the students, that is, students should leave school equipped to fend for themselves. This is often not the case. In addition, those who dedicate their lives to education receive little to no compensation in comparision to others who engage in corrupt practices. To illustrate this point, consider the scandalous scene created by the University of Nigeria (UNN), which awarded N1,000 ($2) to their institution’s top graduating students as prize during the 49th Convocation.  Parents and guests were upset and outraged that the first-generation university could give out such “stupid rewards” to its brightest students at a public event, SaharaReporters said on June 14, 2021. The awards and award night programme booklet for the top graduating students were obtained by SaharaReporters, confirming that the university gave its top students beggarly prizes. 

Tellingly, this is sadly nothing compared to the prizes offered Big Brother Naija winners, a yearly reality TV show in Nigeria. Should we draw comparisons between Big Brother Naija, a public show of what many have called indecent behaviour  a television programme devoid of academic rigour, where the winner receives rewards worth millions of naira, and the university’s display of shame at its prize and award night? Even Big Brother Naija’s runners-up still smile home with gorgeous prizes like sports utility vehicles. Recall that in 2020, the BBNaija winner went home with prizes totalling N85 million, in 2021; N100 million, in 2022; 100 million whilst in line with the current development, the way immorality is being compensated is serious.  

According to Punch Newspaper; “The highly anticipated special ‘Big Brother Titans’ TV reality show that will feature housemates from Nigeria and South Africa which  debuted on January 15, 2023, and the victor will get $100,000 (over N50,000 million). There are also many  TV programmes with little educational value where some people who only engage in evident foolishness instantly get wealthy, while those who are diligent and educated now see themselves as people who lack the necessary skills. This blatantly institutionalises impunity in a conspicuous way and invariably tears the hearts of right-thinking students who are of sound mind. These circumstances prompted the inquiry, “Is Education in Nigeria: Scam or Real?” Many people incorrectly think that school and the educational system are interchangeable. No! They are distinct; education is a continuous learning process that never ends; when applying to a school, you must be aware that there is a deadline. 

However, if truth be told, the Nigerian school system is a scam but education produced out of the schooling system is not a scam, that’s why Theodor Seuss says; “The more that you read, the more things you will know, the more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”Nevertheless, Jeff Rich says; “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.” If we shun education and embrace ignorance because of the status quo, things will become worst. As the philosopher, Karl Popper observed:“True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.”  Martin Luther King, Jr. held the stronger view that “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” It means being happy about one’s lack of knowledge is dangerous, that’s why Socrates’ dictum says; “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Also, the more you read the more you realise you have to keep reading. Let us also think back to the comical situation when a Ladoke Akintola University of Technology graduate was seen with his results demanding a complete refund of all the money he had spent to obtain that degree, claiming he was unable to find employment with the certificate despite the money he had spent and the effort he had put in. Although it may have seemed amusing, it is not! That joke is so unfunny. In all honesty, only extreme dissatisfaction and difficult circumstances could have driven a grown man to commit such heartbreaking things.

Every year, Nigeria produces hundreds of thousands of graduates who swell the number of unemployed youths.  Even if we protest, our demonstration always proves fruitless just like the whiny, sulky kids. Look at what’s happening in Nigeria, where each year thousands of graduates from various academic institutions continue to increase the number of unemployed people. 

Today, excellence in education is buyable. The educational system in Nigeria will fail if this situation continues. The prospect of a graduate working as a carpenter, fashion designer, baker, bricklayer, sachet water seller, et cetera after four years of education is also scornfully degrading.

Although, the impact and input of education on some people isn’t anything to write home about, many people attend school purely to earn degrees and brag to others that they are in school; “they passed through school, but school did not pass through them.” Dear students, you should have visualised yourself before now. It is so pitiful that at the conclusion of all these scholastic hardships, days spent starving, sobbing, and studying like there is no tomorrow, there will be no one to pay you for the worth you have to provide. Rather than focus only book knowledge, students need to learn different vocational and entrepreneurial skills which will open the path to financial freedom.  The students or graduates should not be job takers or job seekers, but job innovators, creators as well as job givers.  According to Myles Horton, in his book ‘The Long Haul: An Autobiography,’ “Nothing will change until we change – until we throw off our dependence and act for ourselves.” That’s why we must keep learning to change positively and achieve great accomplishments. 

In conclusion, Nigerians should be fully informed about the difference between education and schools, as well as how to redefine their potential and become employable and financially capable by studying entrepreneurial and vocational skills such as modern-day farming, sewing, phone technology, plumbing, clothes manufacturing, and soap making, and many more. The government should also take a fresh approach by rewarding education rather than celebrating immorality, taking these measures into consideration, the Nigerian educational system will deliver on its promise of a better future.