By Ade'Tope Adeniji
It is baffling how we tolerate wrong policies and government actions that reduce us to dependent and immaterial citizens in our own country.
Education is too important to toy with. It must be given real focus because it creates symbolic and lasting impact in the lives of the people.
There is nothing wrong with paying students stipends or encouraging them through initiatives that build interest and zeal to add value to society.
Education is continuous. No matter your age, there is always something new to learn. It keeps us young, informed, and updated in this fast-changing age.
Education is the wheel of transformation. It turns challenges into opportunities.
Education is not just about the four walls of a classroom. It is about adding to your values, competence, insight, and technical know-how through both formal and informal learning.
It is disheartening that the link between formal and informal learning — which should produce real standards and outcomes — is broken.
Apprenticeship, technical schools, polytechnics, and universities are in disarray. Those who should drive development are often treated as inferior due to rivalry and unhealthy competition.
The duty of government is to harmonize these sources of knowledge so they work together for development. Instead, the reverse is the case.
Attention is now placed on teaching the younger generation how to steal, cheat, cut corners, defraud, copy destructive politics, embrace weak morals, and seek wealth without work.
THE NELFUND PROBLEM
The NELFUND idea is a catastrophe to the people, to society, and to our well-being as Nigerians.
Despite its unpopularity and condemnation, some uncultured individuals celebrate it as a great initiative.
Our problem is not just what we experience. It is our failure to define what we want, how to get it, and the standard our leadership should meet.
Parents once paid school fees without government support. At a time, the highest fee was ₦3,000 and families managed.
Schooling should be free or heavily subsidized to give every child opportunity to learn and exhibit talent.
It is painful that those who went to school without paying a penny are now making life unbearable for the present generation through constant fee hikes and uncertainty.
NELFUND has no justification. It offers no real economic assistance. Instead, it brings additional pain, wrong orientation, waste of resources, lack of a plan for the next generation, stalled academic growth, poor management of schools, inequality, political selfishness, economic strain, hopelessness, insecurity, and economic molestation.
The fund is limited to certain degrees, government institutions, and age brackets. It is difficult to access. It promotes moral weakness and laziness.
Africans often create problems through our thinking and lifestyle, then turn those same problems into our major preoccupation while real issues compound.
NELFUND IS UNNECESSARY IF:
1. Institutions are well managed by competent hands
2. Government funds education adequately
3. Education is free or subsidized
4. The population’s welfare is prioritized
5. Schools become hubs for ideas that drive economic reform
6. Parents and students have access to quality part-time jobs
7. Funds are invested in real economic and industrial development
8. Religious institutions and government collaborate to build learning centers
9. Leadership is unbiased and concerned for all
10. Leadership values continuous learning
We rush to package benefits for politicians but neglect what benefits the people.
Spending ₦1.5 billion on weddings while the children from those homes end up as almajiri, bandits, touts, area boys, and hired killers is a failure of priorities.
Most troubling is that citizens applaud decisions that will hurt them.
QUESTIONS WE MUST ASK:
1. How many people have actually accessed the loan?
2. Does it cover private schools?
3. How many people are willing and able to go to school?
4. What provision exists for further studies?
5. Which organizations and industries employ the graduates?
6. How will graduates without jobs repay the loan?
7. How many past graduates are gainfully employed or financially free?
8. What is the audited status of the fund?
9. Does it make sense for a few in school to enjoy the fund while most youths are left behind?
Our reasoning must expand before we adopt policies that should shape our future.
Outdated values will only take us back to the dark age.
NELFUND, as currently designed, is a path to economic collapse, irrational policy, waste of resources, and a scheme to siphon public funds.
Ade'Tope Adeniji
Realist | Political & Public Analyst | Economist
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