Kola Adesina and the faults and failings of ivy league university graduates
Augustine Togonu-Bickersteth
IThe Nigerian Academics need to be challenged to show us convincingly that education should be taken as an investment and not seen as a cost
it appears successive Nigerian federal government see Education as a cost not as an investment. It's now for the academics to prove convincingly that Education is a good investment
I want to embarrass some people today some of them were my course mates and classmates at the university of ife 40 plus years ago
Perhaps It's time for my course mates of 40 plus teas back to mete to discuss what we found at the end of the rainbow when we got there. we are for the most part have been like the characters in Achebe's things fall apart siitting round pounded yam, fofo so high that those who sat on one side could not see those on the othr side, it was only after they had finished the pounded yam ,they exchange greetings and shook hands. that pounded yam fofo tome is a metaphor for the success we are all chasing... everyone for himself ,God, google. government and Bill Gates for us all. we are operating in "silos" that is the word used by Kola Adesina to explain the energy lock jam in Nigeria
Kola Adesina is the managing DIRECTOR of Sahara group an energy conglomerate
recently he said in spite of the preponderance of graduates from the ivy league and Russel group universes we are just too far behind in Nigeria this does not constitute a good Advertisement for Education, particularly tertiary Education so you may not blame the federal government in the attitude or neglect of tertiary education if those from Harvard ,Cambridge ,oxford, even MIT .Imperial college they are just dignified traders they all indulge in clearing goods from the port whereas if you go through an MBA textbook they are talking Technolgy, and productions in a large portion of these texts They do Research innovation ,and development towards production. in Nigeria we kid ourselves that we are manufacturing whereas e do not hae a research, innovation and development base so how can we be manufacturers or industrialists. by importing machines, raw materials and spare parts. This is self-deictic not self-defeating.so the 400 CEOS of MAN and also CEOs of the Telecommuncations company should be research and development oriented not a cash and carry telecommunications company The manufacturers association of Nigeria should go back to the drawing board. Do research, innovation and development towards uncovering or creating new products or processes. What they are doing presently is a dignified form of trading its not manufacturing. #education #highereducation