The importance attached to paper qualification in Nigeria and other developing African countries has been the basis of our socio-economic woes bedeviling us.
The paper qualification is a sign of having satisfied the requirements of being able to distinguish one from the others. It is a sign of going advance educationally wise. It is an indication that one has fulfilled some or part of his worldly achievements.
Are we contented with the paper qualification? Are we satisfied with the number of Degrees, Masters or PhDs in our midst? Are we in a position to provide for our needs, wants, etc as a society? Can we fully accommodate for the unemployed graduate?
We should not forget that in an attempt to secure paper qualification, water has been passing under the bridge. We are all witnesses to what has happened or happening! We have many elderly people, politicians; business moguls, etc caught making forgery and perjury on official documents like certificates, passports, age declarations, etc. with a view to getting what they want at all cost.
How many students caught cheating during exams either in tertiary institutions or at recruitment levels? The case of fraud reporting daily has reached an alarming rate where the culprits are not allowed to face the wrath of the law.
Anything the government bows to fight will always fight back for itself. For example, Smuggling has been identified to be a crime for crippling the nation’s economy. Yet, the crime is ongoing with little or no prosecutions for the evil doers. Bribery and Corruption has been in the bones and flesh of some Nigerians, thus, abusing the privileges and opportunities given to them to serve the nation.
The act of patriotism and being a true nationalist or Nigerian is no more there. Nigeria has never experienced the rampant crimes it is currently facing like kidnappings, cattle rustlings, insurgency, etc. Surprisingly, many of the people committing those crimes range from the ages of 17 – 45 for the best reasons enumerated above.
Majority of Nigerian youth of today come from the lower cadre or less privileges of the society. They could not sit or pass the WAEC/NECO exams because nobody cared for them or their family. They could not score the JAMB’s cut-off marks because they are poor. They could not be assisted to get jobs as the leaders have spread the propaganda of “government cannot give everybody a job” but they have ways and means of squandering, misusing and stolen from the Treasury.
This government of PMB disbursed bail outs, loans and series of Paris Club refunds to the state governments, yet little or none is displayed to assess the whereabouts of projects or services rendered.
Pensioners have been crying without solution. Salary of workers has been outstanding for months without being paid. There is no employment centre established where the graduates or school leavers could be gainfully employed.
Wallahi! If not, the PMB has introduced the NPower scheme; our youth would have started committing suicide!
We suggest to the EFCC as well as the National INEC that unless clean bill of leadership is provided, nobody should be allowed to contest the next general elections in 2019.
Have a tour and go to every local government in Nigeria, you will be surprised and not satisfied with what is happening at the grass root level. All is not well with the progress and achievements purported to be executed at those levels.
We are adherents of local governments’ autonomy in the country. Each and every local government must be made independent and supreme in like manner to the three tiers of government.
Abbati Dankanti Gumel,
Kano
