25-11–2024.

Let me start this article with a confession that I do not own the copyright to the thrust of the headline. In other words, it is not original, but copied from several  ‘lamenters’ on the social media. There are many people who think that going to school to do a lot of reading bereft of any skill is tantamount to staying at home doing nothing but wasting the time away.

The opinion is entertained by many people ranging from the very educated, the educated, and the merely educated, like yours sincerely. But all agree that one does not necessarily need to obtain fantastic degrees to ‘succeed’ in Nigeria, especially at this material time.

Although not dignified things to do by any standards, one of them was in fact explicitly forbidden by all the scriptures, they are TODAY the things to do if one wants to get ahead in life in Nigeria. Praise singing and pretence to being a knowledgeable cleric(419), whatever the religious faith one professes, are fabulously paying well in Nigeria. The situation of existence in the country IS that bad.

Not that the two are new phenomena that began with the present fumbling regime of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, but at no time in the past were they an option for Western education than they are made to be by the present self serving regime. It is a known fact that the knowledge of Western education, no matter the extent, was not a guarantee to an employment to a future-guaranteeing job in the immediate past, but it IS more so NOW.

A first degree, or even a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), may struggle to find employment, while many a prominent singers and pretending clerics, live and lead a life of luxury in a country where majority of the Western educated population struggle to survive, and most of the poor just exits for the day, with no hope of seeing tomorrow.

Nigeria has been led into becoming an exclusive society in which ,WHO sent you (to this interview) is more important than WHAT the qualification one possesses. If you went on the basis of being the proud possessor of high a high flying qualification without a god father’s backing, one is as good as wasting his time.

A professor of mechanical engineering, who retired as a lecturer from one of the first generation universities in the country, bitterly complained that going to school these days has been rendered of little use by “the same people who enjoyed free everything when they studied”. A ‘retired’ medical doctor also made more or less the same lamentations, comparing the ease of studying then, and the difficulty of doing same these days. He also compared the low money earned and the recognition a hard working graduate gets, and what people of unenvious calling acquire in the society, especially from government and individuals who ‘made’ their wealth from the Commonwealth.

A Nigerian woman living abroad cited many of the supposed lawmakers in the country (Nigeria) who hardly pass secondary school level, but are smiling to the bank every month with millions of naira. Speaking in good English and pidgin English languages, she rued “wasting my time to study, when all I have to do to make money in millions is to become a Nigerian lawmaker after my secondary school education”.

She is, in fact, not alone thinking that way, because of the confession of some of the lawmakers as to the amount of money they get paid as salary and allowances every month, in addition to the equally huge oversight assignment they ‘undertake’.

Indeed, one does not need to read up to a degree level to become a lawmaker in Nigeria, all what one needs is a godfather, whose name would open many doors to either the Assembly, jobs at blue-chips government organisations or study at good government schools, in return for services to them now and then. Otherwise, the options as stated earlier, are to become the ‘dregs’ of the elite in the society.

But the  ‘dregs’ often get handsomely rewarded in cash and in kind by those who engaged their service. They get fantastic houses, plots (and the money) in choice addresses to build the house of their dream. 

For degrees, it may be easily obtained from many institutions in a number of countries, eg, Chicago in the US, and Niamey in the neighbouring Niger Republic, if the right amount money or sufficient reasons, are made available, of course.

Many God save us from pretending to be what we are not, and give us the courage to admit our position, no matter how lowly it may appear to be.

Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.