When FUOYE, Unilorin VC challenge root of nation’s woes

The global adage “necessity is the mother of invention”, probably remains the first and oldest human intuition and wise thought, challenging generations from the Stone-Age to today’s ICT-run-world, whose long Millennium is ladened with innumerable discoveries and landmark technologies, and has continued to inspire un-ending break-through which from time to time, help to meet human exigencies; making life meaningful and worth-while! To a greater number of countries and nations all over the world today, this age-long stimulant and motivator, has remained the basic vision driving growth, development, revolution and transformation.

Evidences of this abound today not only in other continents but in many countries in Africa. From our ‘immediate’ neighbour Ghana to Senegal, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, to South Africa, traces abound that the wise-saying has been effectively applied in parts of their national life as demonstrated by the efficient ways national institutions, including the economy function in those places.

However in Nigeria, the clay-footed giant of Africa, from all available indices, it is apparent that the reverse is the case, we are the world record holder in consuming what necessities have made others to invent, we have invented and perfected the culture of absolute dependency.

In contemporary Nigerian history, the only exception to this was probably in 1984 when  Major General Muhammadu Buhari, then Military Head of State launched the policy that led to the use of some locally made products and compulsory sourcing of local raw materials for the production of some essential items as against the tradition of importing everything. This was the era Canoe-bar-soap, Soyorgi and a few other locally sourced raw materials, including use of cassava flour to produce bread and corn-beer, were experimented! This proudly held sway until when he was ousted by a vision-less adventurer in power, then Major General Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985.

The above and the fact that Nigeria posseses all natural resources hardly found in some other parts of the world, yet has been unable to turn these to strength and assets even during challenges as did by less endowed countries like China, the Koreans and Norway, has compelled many curious people to conclude that it is either we are jinxed or under a spell!

One of the several millions agitated and challenged Nigerians is Prof. Wahab Oladapo Egbemode (SAN), Vice Chancellor, University of Ilorin, Kwara State, who through research, now appears to have discovered verifiable lead to breaking the jinx of our under-development narratives. A glimpse through the lecture he delivered recently at the Seventh Convocation Ceremony of Federal University Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) Ekiti State, may have provided the road-map, whose efficacy however may depend on discernible, challenged and determined national leadership, stakeholders and end-users.

At the lecture, Prof. Egbewole identified dysfunctional education as the factor why “necessity has continuously failed to be mother of invention” in Nigeria’s contemporary development history and why the trend may continue unless there is a deliberate and radical revolution in the country’s educational system which must provoke instant creative and strategic review of the education curriculum.

Pointedly, he declared that it was the paralysis that has afflicted the education curriculum that has rendered graduands from our school-system incapable of practical application of the knowledge and skills they purportedly acquired from the system.

In his honest opinion, the much needed revolution in the curriculum must be comprehensive and fundamental in such a way that it would totally overhaul the bed-rock of the country’s entire educational system with a view to transforming it to a substance that could truly meet her multi-faceted strategic necessities and aspirations now and for future generations.

The astute scholar who clinically drew apt correlation between the Nigeria’s current poverty index which has earned her the unenviable position of the world’s “poverty capital” and the dysfunctional educational system which consciously places emphasis on certificate of merit in place of practicals, creativity and capacity to deliver after graduation, warned of looming scenario in the nearest future that could be worse than our current poverty-index status, if we failed to urgently and decisively address the missing link, education curriculum at all levels has become.

In his view, what is currently obtainable in Nigeria today is at variance with global best practices, especially in Europe and America where emphases are placed on practical proficiency and productivity as against certificate, admonishing that it is time the country to have a re-think and fall on line, to genuinely earn the title giant of Africa.

While taking a swipe at the Ivory Towers, he lambasted the country’s university education system for lying against itself and for failure to conduct self-interrogation by juxtaposing its products with its much advertised founding visions and mission statements, which in his blunt view are at variance.

Frankly speaking, a deeper and sober reflection on the Vision and Mission of one of the universities he cited and referenced indubitably confirms the veracity of his claim, which of course is the case in all universities across the country, including private ones. This is the Vision of one of the universities he referenced “To be a world-class institution for academic excellence geared towards meeting societal needs” and for the same university, this is her Mission Statement, “To expand the frontiers of knowledge through the provision of excellent conditions for learning and research. To produce graduates who are worthy in character and sound judgment. To contribute to the transformation of society, through creativity and innovation….”

Statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, of the alarming record of -unemployed/unemployable gradients from our school/university system lends incontrovertible credence to this sorrowful failure and disconnect which we have ironically elevated to a yearly celebrated tradition!

The evil curriculum epilepsy is doing the Nigerian’ education-system and by extension, our strategic national necessities was further buttressed by the 2021-2024 Report of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development published in August 2021, which puts the annual admission figure by Nigerian universities and polytechnics at about two million students while every year about 600,000 are released into the un-employment market.

According to the Report, “This year (2022) we launched the 3rd edition of the bi-annual Nigerian Graduate Report to bring awareness to the low rate of graduate employment in Nigeria. It was discovered that 58.9% of HND graduates are unemployed, 49.55% of OND graduates are unemployed and 39.75% of BSc holders are unemployed.”

In the immediate moment leading to the overhaul of the curriculum, the university administrator urges immediate and compulsory introduction in the tertiary education level, ehat he called “schooling-plus/inclusive-education, which would de-emphasise schooling and emphasise learning and creativity.

As if saying to be fore-warned is to be fore-armed, the senior lawyer concluded his clarion call with this words on the marble, “Nigeria is in deep throes today as virtually every aspect of our national life is in crisis and not a few are hopeless that a solution could be found. Experience all over the world shows that education takes the lead in national rebirth…”

Mr Fanoro, a journalist, is a Senior Information Officer at Federal University, Oye Ekiti.