According to Henry Ford, ‘Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young’. Clearly, learning takes the form of education.
Education entails the imparting of knowledge, skills and character for societal development. Thus, we have mainly formal and informal education. While formal education takes place in a well structured institution, having curriculum as a guide, the informal education has unstructured mode of learning. There is a continuum. They include; childhood education, primary education, secondary education, as well as tertiary education.
A Greek philosopher, Aristotle in his work; ‘De Anima’ (On the Soul), described human mind at infancy as a blank tablet on which nothing is written. Basically, some ancient philosophers thought of blank-slate as a representation of early purity of human mind at birth.
Stressing further, a theory of knowledge by John Locke entails that a child in infancy is born ‘tabula rasa’ (a clean-slate). When he grows up, he begins to understand the world based on the knowledge his parents inculcated in him. Some may even counter it by saying afterall, the child cries out after birth, showing that he has little knowledge of the world he has come to live in. Even when the child does not cry out, people do say, there is a problem. Medical practitioners know better.
At some point, the child begins to learn informal education; how to talk, how to behave, including greetings, from his parents or the guidance, as the case may be.
Before Independence in 1960, the Igbos were not striving to be educated for negative dominance. They were creative, structural, entrepreneural and productive in every ramification.
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in November 1937, founded the West African Pilot. The newspaper which championed nationalistic ideology has its motto as; ‘Show the Light and the People will Find the Way’. West African Pilot served majorly as the mouthpiece of nationalists where they fought against colonialism. It carried basic news, such as political, social, entertainment, financial, sports, et cetera. However, its publication ended, following the outbeak of civil war in 1967. Certainly, Zik brought enormous changes to journalism in particular, and education in general. Based on this, Great Zik became one of the topmost celebrated nationalists in Africa. Zik, in 1937, wrote a book: ‘Renascent Africa’. According to him, ‘There is no better means to arouse African people than that of the power of the pen and tongue’.
More universities were established in the 1970s, mainly by State Governments. Be that as it may, in 1975, they were all taken over by the Federal Government, which, at that time, was so rich from the oil boom that the then Head of State could pronounce with confidence: ‘Money is not our problem, but how to spend it’.
Ekesiobi et al (2020), buttressed that ‘Overtime, it is believed that the Igbos are more industrious, economically-inclined and business-oriented compared to other tribes in Nigeria, which has also been proved by the Igbo-Apprenticeship, Entrepreneural system which is an important component of the informal sector contributing significantly to the GDP of Nigeria’s economy’.
Since education is not free in the Nigeria society, the Igbos inculcated on the minds of their children through the folklore, folktale and philosophy of it that education was for the rich. Hence, the belief and industrious attitude of the common Igbo man, who is ardent in investing resources and engaging in diverse productive businesses, to get and save money for the education of his children.
To continue being on the right-track, our people, especially the wealthy should endeavour to sponsor without hesitation, by awarding scholarships to our students who are exceptionally brilliant, and supports given to persons who have acquired meaningful skills, so as to afford equipment, tools, or instruments, for work. That is the culture of a typical Igbo-man; rendering a helping-hand, and by extension, building the society.
Comr. Samuel Ejike Arum (Ojemba)
Journalist
Political Scientist
