by Fola Adekeye
(photo credit: Pinterest)
Selfishness has levels in Nigeria and we are suffering from it. The one that is most obvious is the selfishness of those in power.
They are helping themselves with funds meant for education and relocating their children abroad. Their children are in great schools and universities in Europe and America. Quite often, without any qualm of conscience, they do show us colourful pictures when their children graduate with good grades.
That is one level of selfishness. Those in power hardly consider it necessary to make quality education available and accessible to the children of the poor. And it is deliberate. If children of the poor attend good schools and obtain good grades, where would they recruit ready-to-die thugs and lickspittle praise-singers?
Another level of selfishness is the selfishness of all privileged people born and brought up in rural communities but who are now flourishing in big cities. They are quite happy. Their children are attending good private schools and obtaining excellent grades.
I am equally guilty. Thirty of us took far-reaching steps recently and four community schools saw our helping hands.
Let me ask you. Do you still remember the name of your primary school? Do you still remember the name of your secondary school in the village?
Accepted. You do see your former schools any time you are driving into your village. When last have you driven into those schools to say hello to the head teachers or principals?
Let me tell you. Most of the hostels, laboratories and libraries you left have collapsed. Most teachers in community schools are frustrated and helpless.
In protest against progressive decay of useful infrastructure, students are dropping out everyday. Village school children are now ready recruits for yahoo-yahoo exploits which include abominable rituals and sacrifices. We are fighting crime in cities. Meanwhile, they have opened potential terror camps in the villages.
Those boys r@ping both young and old up and down, are under the influence of “paraga” and “si kosi.” Those boys performing abominable rituals to make money are going through the worst form of depression. If nothing is done to revive village schools, motivate their teachers and inspire village children for educational development, most village boys may grow up and join bandits in our forbidden forests.
I am hereby begging big churches and big mosques in our cities to lend helping hands to rural schools across Nigeria.
As a Christian, I am calling on my fathers in the Lord to help us rebuild and renovate primary and secondary schools in rural communities.
That is the only far-reaching way to fight potential crime across the country.
Fola Adekeye, a writer, playwright, journalist, motivational speaker, educationist and human development expert writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
