Page 44 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 7

AFRIKA IS GOD'S
REFORMING
EDUCATION IN AFRIKA
Thinking Outside of The Box
Anselm Adodo
ave you heard our
young men dis-
cussing football
recently? They
Hknow all the latest
news on the English Premier
League. They can tell you
when Manchester United is
playing Chelsea and can even
predict who wins and by how
many goals. Thanks to cable,
internet and satellite TV, our
young people also know how
many soldiers are killed in war
zones daily, how many suicide
bombings take place and how
many people are kidnapped
by militants. They know which
countries have the most relaxed
immigration rules. However, ask
them about the health benefits
of banana, or how bush burning
affects soil productivity, or what
a balanced diet is, and you will
be surprised at their level of
ignorance.
Young Nigerians and Africans
44 | heal . restore . rebirth . Afrika
are readily acquiring information
about other lands, while rapidly
losing knowledge of their land,
their environment, their cul-
ture and their people. This is a
problem because no nation can
genuinely develop until it has
a deposit of local knowledge
which it preserves and nurtures.
Real and lasting development is
not imported from other coun-
tries – it is home-grown. The
art of development is the abil-
ity to convert and exploit local
knowledge to create relevant,
sustainable and affordable
technology. The best solutions
to a nation’s problems are those
who come from within. Howev-
er, because this is not recog-
nized, indigenous knowledge is
not adequately valued – and is
being lost at an alarming rate.
In many indigenous societies,
when a knowledge-bearer dies,
his knowledge dies with him.
With every older adult who dies
in our villages, the equivalent
of a library is lost. Today, we
speak of protecting the environ-
ment and our rare species of
plants and animals. However,
equally important is the need for
national and international efforts
to protect and preserve indige-
nous knowledge.
At the national level, our coun-
try’s education system has a
vital role to play in ensuring
that indigenous knowledge is
shared, preserved and used
for our country’s development.
However, today, education
in many parts of Africa is too
preoccupied with other interests
and goals. Most students in Afri-
ca are brainwashed to think that
the reason they go to school
is to acquire paper certificates
in order to get a career. Our
society prides acquisition of de-
grees over holistic and integral
personal development. What
misconception! It is no wonder
that our education system in Ni-
HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY