ILLITERATE LEADERSHIP

I made a comment lately about Nigerian leadership. I described it as a crowded boathouse of illiterates I was queried as to how I could make such an obviously unsubstantiated statement. Maybe if the individuals understood my thought processes and my worldview they would have caught on. At any rate I shall briefly state my POV– point of view, by defining what education is, isn’t and attempt to relate it to the skill of ‘statecrafting’

The etymology of the word education is educere meaning to draw out hence education really doesn’t give you something new it merely draws out of the individual that which is buried within the soul as potential. Therefore education helps each to maximize his/her inherent potential.

What is generally accepted as education in the modern world, simply, is the acquisition of a degree from a formal place of learning whilst this is a good thing it does spurn a limitation because informal training/education constitutes part of learning which formal training completely ignores. Usually it is thought of as nonsense.

Informal training some call this street sense; sure an essential part of survival in the human world however beyond that is a different type of sense known as   inner knowledge –this is embedded in an individual’s psyche buried in the gene so to speak. It is intrinsically yours and no one can rub you of it. Unfortunately the formal school system basically stifles it during the formative years via the linear, stiff, one-size fits all module of educational system consequently by the time a child becomes a young adult he or she has been molded to fit right into the square of conformity and sure enough this is achieved at the expense of the inner knowing which has been ignored for so long and is now crystalised or calcified, the outcome —a semi educated individual.

Education is pointless even useless if all it will achieve is train you to become a useful and obedient tool in the hands of rulers, look around how many unique individuals do you see. Many are considered educated yet are lacking in critical and independent thinking abilities they fear to be themselves because the education they have received promotes conformity and anything outside the norm– is abnormal, so we are told, the educated lap it up fearing: to be different, to speak up against tyranny and injustice.

If your education didn’t teach you to seek, nurture and harness the power and knowledge within which leads to Selfhood then sorry you are only half baked…….

Before I go totally off tangent let me tie the foregoing to Nigerian government, leadership, governance and the business of statecraft, Firstly there is no leadership here we have instead ‘rulership’ the ruling class or if you like, the political elite are a semi educated bunch of narcissistic individuals who though educated are completely devoid of empathy. Pictures they say speak louder than words, so here.

I think the pictures capture the essence of my gist an educated leadership cares not on paper or by mouth but in deed; caring for its own (citizens) providing them with basic infrastructure, also proffering creative and workable solutions to solve societal challenges

Do the pictures substantiate my statement?
Thank you for reading