Last week, someone commented and wanted to know if I’m encouraging ‘teens to drop out’ from schools. The answer is, NO. I do not encourage anyone to do what they don’t want to do. I’m only retelling my experiences; they might help young people or may not help them. The question is: are Nigerian young people really getting anything out of their university education? No. And I will explain.
Life is more practical. This is what lecturers and teachers refuse to tell us. We are being told to just sit on campuses across the country, reading textbooks, memorising words and waiting after exams to be able to make it in life. I do not think that Passnownow.com would be here if people like Toyosi Akerele had gone to university, gotten a degree and used= one of those family contacts to go and work in a bank, no matter what degree she has. I was appalled by that question, but I decided to totally ignore it.
I once taught a Sandwich class at UNILAG and one of my students, an older person said, “Sir, when are we going to do Remi and Juliet?” In light of this, I am not making mockery of what she said, but I was only taken aback that after so many years of spending lots of money, trying to acquire knowledge, she has really gotten nothing. She has a first degree! Yet, Romeo sounds like Remi to her. We must be able to confront the truth before we can accept where we have erred. For the most part, I am one of the most practical people in the world.
Have you asked why your parents control your life apart from the fact that they are your parents? Have you asked why most people bounce on you to get out once you mention money to them? It is funny, but just sit down and let me tell you what I’ve observed from my own parents.
In University of Nigeria, Nsukka, I was living in the house of a very respected professor. The day I told him I was dropping out, he said in Igbo, “Nna, ihe obula i choro ime, mee ya.” That is to say, “Son, do whatever you want to do.” He said that because then, I had published my first book, The Abyssinian Boy, which had kept me busy. I was travelling from one state to another, talking about the book, meeting Indians of all caliber, dining with Ambassadors and being invited to speak to students, even at Kaduna State University. It was a great thing. But before the book was published, I had paid my dues, I had believed in what I was doing. I had tried things and failed at them, but I wasn’t demoralised. Once you stop being ashamed of your failure, the more you make progress in life, the more you ascertain independence. By the time I called my father on the phone that I wanted to focus on my art, that I will return to university later, he said, “No problem. Just focus.” I officially withdrew.
I focused and life has been very smooth and hard since then, but I have never regretted dropping out, as I see each graduate that is looking for job everyday and whining about the system; unfortunately, students like that mess up the system. If the world can bank on capitalism and acquire wealth massively, then we will have no problems. Some of us are not good at being confined to a fraudulent system, which is why education should not be rigid.
Students should not be made to read textbooks, but to focus on practicalising on what will bring true happiness to them. At once, it will falter, they will fail, it will be hard, but once that phase is over, you will be able to have that power of conviction to get everything that you want.
