As a growing child, I had developed a very keen interest in flight; no aircraft passed my hometown without getting a wave from me and other children in the neighborhoods. I still sustain that interest to date. This was what motivated me to attend the Boeing Aircraft exhibition in Seattle Washington State, USA in October 2015 as part of my holiday fun.
Boeing, the world largest aerospace company and a leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners needs no introduction to any urban dweller that has travelled at least 3 times by air, chances of flying in a Boeing aircraft are very high.
To maintain its leading position in the business and to meet the stringent regulatory standard designed for Aircrafts, the company recruits and retains the best hands across the production and distribution chains
My joy was full when I was privileged to have a Nigerian young Engineer as my tour guide at the Boeing Museum, not only for the national pride of having a Nigerian Engineer in the respected world class institution but also because I would not have to strain my ears so much to decode the often complex American accent. While I got fulfilled with the fun and ambience of the exhibition, I also got thinking and wished we got it right in Nigeria. I engaged the young man before the tour and he confirmed to me that he attended St. Gregory College, Obalende when it was a public school under Lagos State Government before he moved to Embry Ridle Aeronautical University in Florida, the No. 1 Aeronautics University in the world, to study Aeronautical Engineering.
While the young Engineer was busy explaining the principles of aerodynamics and evolution of wing technology from 1911 to date, my mind was busy and wandering where we, as a nation, got it wrong. The young mind obviously noticed the periodic loss of attention and took pains to go back to the basis on each occasion, simplifying what he thought could have been my problem of understanding. Little did he know that I am sufficiently groomed to understand basic Engineering principles. You could not have graduated from great Ife Agric faculty without passing through basic foundations of engineering back then. You also needed to take courses in Agricultural Engineering up till fourth year of the five years requisite for graduating in Agriculture. Although I am not an engineer, great Ife groomed me well to understand the basics.
Then what were my problems? They were of many folds. First, I marveled at the opportunity this young guy had to study a course of his dream in America and the fact that he got admitted to a first class aeronautics university to study his dream course. He did not need to know the VC of the school and neither did he need to know the professors to secure admission. He studied hard and got recruited by a first class airplane manufacturer without any connection or bribe. As a matter of fact, he was recruited by Boeing in his 3rd year in college ahead of graduation. Such is the practice of corporate institutions in USA to catch them young.
I asked myself where and what the contemporaries of this young man will be doing in Nigeria. In proper context, I tried to calculate where a 21 year old would be in Nigeria of today after leaving high school. In 2010 for instance, some would have been lucky to gain admission to university and of course this young engineer would have been compelled to change his course from his dream aerospace engineering to Mechanical or Electrical engineering. Not too bad anyway but with ASSU and NASSU strikes, graduation would possibly be in 2016. Then he will have to contend with the compulsory 1 year national service before he is ripe for the labour market. I need not over flog the constraints in the labour market. His father will require a note from Aviation Minister or the Presidency for him to work in Nigerian Airspace Management Agency
My mind also went to alternative job opportunities in the Aviation industry in Nigeria and I realized that this guy would have been waiting on the wings in Nigeria if he must practice his chosen career.
I reflected on the fact that there is no national carrier in the country and it is noted with sadness that smaller countries are taking advantage of our inefficient aviation industry to make a kill. Ethiopian Airlines is one example of a well develop aviation business contributing significantly to the national income of Ethiopia. Togo is upcoming with a good grasp of the regional business. Kenyan Airways is another notable Airline. All feeding fat on Nigerian Passengers. Perhaps this young Engineer would have been lucky to be engaged by any of these airlines but that will be in the unlikely event that they cannot recruit their staff from their home countries.
So where did we get it wrong? In providing answers to this question, I reflected on my own education system and the opportunities available at my own schooling time. I finished high school in the late 70s and was admitted to study Agriculture in Ife a year after my graduation. Unlike most school leavers now, students at my time only focused on academic excellence in chosen subjects and little attention was placed on career plans. Guidance and counseling was virtually unavailable. My first Choice of course was Biochemistry just because it sounded good and I was offering Chemistry and Biology in school. I later opted for Agriculture because my father was an Agricultural Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture. In spite of my interest in flight, I did not know anything about Aerospace Engineering.
Although my parents were not rich, quite honestly, paying for my University education was not difficult. I often hear that the reason some of our contemporaries did not go to University was due to lack of funds, I find it difficult to rationalize. At that time, tuition fees was N90 and accommodation in the hostel was 45 naira per year. You also get food (good and adequate) for N1.50 everyday. Aside from these, you get free laundry for your bed coverings and pillow cases all year round. All annual cost was under N500, which could be obtained from bursary awards to students by some states. Some states were paying N1000 per year and all students in the Faculty of Education were getting additional sums. Most students ended up squandering the money. An average student like I, would go to Ibadan (Dugbe) for shopping, loud electronics silk shirts and cordon pants. The affluent students were going to London for holidays (no entry visa was needed from Nigerians at that time). All entry procedures are concluded at the point of entry. The alternative to going to tertiary institutions then was to go and work as a level 4 officer and earn N94 per month (Net). I therefore do not think funding could be a good reason not to go to University at my time, the late 1970s till the 1980s.
Now coming back to the issue of where we got it wrong, we started losing focus when Government stopped paying attention to our tertiary educational system. Little attention were paid to the welfare of lecturers and non-academic staff. Strikes became the order of the day and students started spending 7 years for 4-year programs. Teaching facilities started decaying and teachers had to compromise on the quality of teaching. Hostel facilities became thin for the number of students and most importantly, the food subsidy to students was withdrawn.
I still recollect very well that in the entire five years that I spent in the university, I never encountered any cult activity and there were no incidents of lecturer strikes. The only reasons we skipped lectures were due to the students’ youthful exuberance as dictated by the often unreasonable student congresses.
This young engineer knew his graduation date from date of admission and it did not change. However, it is important to know the cost of obtaining this training. My young engineer paid an average of $55,000 every year aside from other auxiliary costs such as travelings and medicals. Overall, about $250,000 was spent to acquire this valued education, at today’s rate of N260 per dollar, that is clear N65 million. This takes me to the complaint of our foreign reserves depletion.
Statistics has shown that aside from importation of non-essential commodities into the country, a sizable proportion of our foreign exchange spending is on Education for students abroad. While the Central Bank is making efforts to control this by deliberate foreign exchange management including exclusion of some goods items form forex eligibility, they do not have the moral courage to exclude school fees because there are no government alternatives and the private alternatives are equally expensive
It is no news that Nigerian Students excel well in various schools abroad and here we complain of brain drain and lack of capacity and quality of our university graduates. I asked my young guide if he will not mind coming to work in Nigeria. He replied me with a grin and I got the answer. How many first class industries do we have in Nigeria not to talk of sophisticated airplane manufacturing companies? How much will he earn per year to make the N65 million spent on his education? What career plan will be in place for him other than sycophancy and bootlicking? Remember the frustrations of Okonkwo when he returned from the Whiteman’s land. (No longer at Ease – Chinua Achebe).
It is evident that there is no alternative to revamping the National Educational system of the country. The overhaul should be comprehensive and take the interest of all stakeholders into consideration. There is the need to rationalize the volume of university graduates in tune with the labour market requirement. The current level of unemployment arose from the misalignment. The new system should re-create the middle Technical Education with focus on practical works (woodworks, civil works, plumbing, Electrical, etc.) as was the case in the 70s and 80s. Not everyone necessarily has to attend the University.
Deliberate attempts should be made to engage the teaming unemployed youths of the country. At the short and medium run, the fastest way to tackle this is through Agriculture, Government should be encouraged to put farm settlement schemes in place to engage these young graduates. This should be modeled along the Israeli Kibbutz land settlement scheme. There is need for provision of basic infrastructure, supervision by extension officers and guaranteed market for the produce.
Aside from employment provision, these young farmers will also help in the provision of food for the teaming masses of this country and may also help in the production of raw materials for industries. If well planned around production of commercial crops, they could also serve as good sources of foreign exchange, which the economy desperately needs.
In the final analysis, a revamped education system of the country aligned with the development of the vital sectors of the Economy may be the magic wand for the country.
Segun Awofiranye, a Lagos based Banker/Risk Manager, can be reached via Email: [email protected]
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
It is the policy of NewsWireNGR not to endorse or oppose any opinion expressed by a User or Content provided by a User, Contributor, or other independent party. Opinion pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of NewsWireNGR.
