*My observations, my suggestions: In search of greater Nenwe* .
_*By
Dr. Dike Felix Okechukwu*_
Good evening umulem.
I bring with this message, compliments of the season, best wishes and heartily felicitations.
I write to buttress a few point of which I am convinced that proper attention is not being paid to, in our home town at present. While We neglect these issues however, consequenses from our actions and inactions on these issues will definately greet our community and children some few years to come.
Before I proceed, I will like to abinitio cleave your indulgence to read, albeit from, a perspective that seeks to critically analize goings-on in our Community, from a mindset that beams tourchlight on some kind of reviewing our journey as a community of related brothers in a big family, from the perspective of simply taking stock of our collective Journey, perharps, so far.
It may be pertinent to ask ourselves some fundamental questions such as: What are we doing collectively as members of Nenwe community with respect to our rapidly increasing restive youth?, where are we headed?, what are our priorities?, what had so far been the outcomes of our collective actions and inactions both: now, in the middle term, in the long run, and in the very long run when our generation must have given way to our children in answer to the natural call, and more importantly, what takes the bulk of our collective resources (such as time, money, energy) as a Community.
I will begin my points with a butress on the quintessential components of a society that any progressive leadership of such community must pay attention to. They include:
Security which ensures preservation of lives and properties, Infrastructure which is necessary for the welfare of members of the society, quality education which helps to propagate and preserve values, knowledge and innovations in the Society, good health care which will ensure maintainance of human bodies in the society and lastly strong institutions which will guarantee stable and livable environment as well as provide viable rules and mechanisms for living (legislative & executive government) and for seeking redress for offenses commited in the society (Judiciary).
Despite these clear demacations in the importance and functions of the various sectors of a progressive society, education seems to play more important but subtle role; apart from the fact that the level of education available to a society determines the level of progress that can be recorded in the other sectors of the society, education also is critical in taking care of intangible but important aspects of the society such as preserving good values of the society and ensuring that existing knowledge as well as innovative ideas and skills needed to keep advancing the society in a way of progress are always available and progressively exploited.
This perharps explains why it is said that every society does not grow beyound the knowledge treshold of the society.
It is pertinent to note that when I speak of education, I do not refer to only the body of knowledge taught in classrooms. Nop, I speak to various mediums, platforms, opportunities and environments where learning experiences take place. Our fore fathers used their 'Obi' as classrooms where important information about family and societal values are carefully passed on to the younger ones in our society. And so, I am using the meaning of education in Its broadest sense.
We learnt of the early exploits of our Southern brothers from Yoruba tribe in education, thanks to the policy of free Education declared by the then premier of western region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Up until today, the Yoruba Nation still benefit from that policy which made it possible for many Yorubas to access good education without paying much. This ensured that the level of literacy among our grand fathers had been relatively higher for Yorubas compared to other regions in Nigeria. Exposure and development have been found to have direct relationship with literacy level of societies and an Investment in education always trigger developmental strands for the society as human capacity development always impacts the econony in reciprocal level. If you invest more in educating your people, you reap more from the higher capacity and skills of the people trained in contributing to the progress of such society, and vice versa.
Moving forward, while the then eastern region did not declear total free education from primary to tertiary level, some privilaged members of various towns in Igbo land keyed into the free education project by ensuring that indigent students who score high in jamb and got requirement for entering various Institutions of higher learning in Nigeria are not denied access to entering Universities because of money.
I remember vividly when I was a Masters degree student at the University of Nigeria, one of my classmates from Anambra State told me that Its not possible that any child Who passes jamb and weac in his Community would not proceed to study choice course he/she gets admission into because of money. He proudly brags about this and on close inspection, I discovered that this was not only true, It actually also was a motivating factor for business tycoons in their Community as they jottle for bragging rights in announcing highest conbtributor in this or that Academic session.
A common slogan among them is 'mmadu o ne Ka izulu' (How many persons Did you train).
To ensure scrutiny and transparency in handling affairs in this system, reverend fathers and other persons of varifiable intergrity are coopted into the screening process to ensure that correct candidates benefit from that help scheme.
I gave this example not to undermine efforts made by some of our notable brothers nor to trade comparism, the example was only to point out that this kind of Community Service can work even in Igbo land especially when the will is there.
Back to our story in interrogating our priorities and in defining our intended future as a Community. I believe first and foremost that some of Nenwe noble sons and daughters deserve commendation in their various contributions either on individual or on a collective basis, and in full measure, I doff my cap for them.
However, it seems to me that no collective and substantial effort to Improve education in our Community has defiled the vail of public reservations and has been able to sail through public disagreements (our inability to agree against odds) usually steming from personal interests, So that collective efforts to improving education in Nenwe-land with Its concomitant multiplier effects will be felt by our teeming youth with hungry ambitions.
That brings us to the aformentioned questions in redefining our current state, efforts and intentions. Are We really putting our resources ; both energy, time, money and skills in the best places we ought to put them as far as Nenwe is Concerned?.
A wise man said 'these Children We produce in our Community but fail to provide some Kind of education for, be it skills or craft, with which they can effectively integrate into the society in future, will only turn on us in search of means for their survival. Albeit, some will move towards 'upping their game for survival' through social vices Instead of upping their skills.
Unless another Community is created for these Children/youth and we have them transported to such Community where they Could not reach home, until such a time, If It is possible, We must prepare to meet these 'Children/youth' from time to time especially anytime we would want to visit home in our Community.
My point is, as We would normally plan for every member of our families both the Child we love most and the Child we love less, the future of the aggregate Children born into our Community should give us some sense of concern especially with respect to what they recieve as education; be it skill, craft or professional courses.
That it doesn't concern me/us is already a decision. If all of us says it doesn't concern us, it only means We have taken unanimous decision. Our actions and inactions will only greet us tomorrow.
I have not made a case for laziness on the part of parents 'breeding' Children that they could not train in our Community, I have only raised points that worry my imagination whenever I remember the growing number of restive youth in our hometown.
I was in my home at Emudo last week and the barrage of young adults with close to no functional education or skills with which to earn a living or craft to produce what they can sell to feed their families is becoming alarming.
In one of our platforms, I have suggested Educational intervention projects which I am convinced will go a long way in ameliorating the need gap in education. These projects were thought out to require prudent support but will surely give great return especially in the future. For Example, If We find a way of ensuring that Nenwe supports at least 50 first Class indigent students over 10 years in engineering, medicine, nursing, Economics, Agriculture and law, I believe that a greater network of those will help to bring back Values from their various desciplnes as they advance in those disciplines. Many of them will have many reasons to further multiply such gestures in the future for their younger ones. At least a few will think home having benefitted from home.
With all due respect, I seek not to make little of other important sectors and needs in our Community such as Infrastructure, I however, speak of areas I have expertise in and I am confident I can contribute in effectively.
With the rate of Idle hands We are producing back home, We may be sitting on time bomb of which mirage of pockets of social vices recorded recently may only be tips of the iceberg in stock.
I encourage various platforms and our distinguished to prioritize Education in our Community. We will reap from this as a Community in future.
Thank you for reading.
Dr. Dike Felix Okechukwu is a Research Fellow and Lecturer at the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
