Petroleum expert tasks youths on learning, re-learning for relevance

To be relevant in this dynamic age, an expert has tasked youths not only to learn, but also be prepared to unlearn and re-learn what is known.The Chief Executive Officer of CITA Petroleum Limited, Dr. Thomas Ogungbangbe, said great innovations worldwide were products of endless search for new knowledge and improvement on old ones, and Nigerian youths cannot afford to be left behind.
 
Ogungbangbe, who was the guest speaker at the first departmental personality lecture of the Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, said advanced countries today are those that prioritised learning and relearning, with innovative products like IPhones, automobiles, skyscrapers, and aircraft among others to show for it.
 
Ogungbangbe, in a lecture titled: ‘Journey to Stardom’, explained that learning, a continuous process from cradle to grave, is the practice of acquiring new, or modifying existing knowledge, behaviours, skills, values, or preferences.
 
Unlearning, on the other hand, is the process of realising that something, which we learnt earlier is incorrect, ineffective, or obsolete, admitting it and deciding to erase such bad conditioning and misconceptions from our mind for good.    

“Unlearning is about moving away from something – letting go – rather than acquiring it. The most difficult phase is to unlearn; where you are attached to some previous experiences and it becomes difficult to forget about your past, your capabilities, your experience to start afresh and new thoughts to relearn something new.
 
“If you are learning skills that a robot can learn, for instance, Pinhole Surgery in medicine, SIRI learning to be a robot, then you are at a great risk of obsolescence. If you must continue to lead, you must continue to learn – better be updated so you won’t be out-dated,” he said.
 
Ogungbangbe advised the elderly to show willingness to learn from the younger ones and vice versa.He added: “We need to cultivate a culture where human beings are encouraged to continually learn and develop themselves, not only to stay relevant but to also keep themselves engaged and to continually grow.”