Introduction
In the early 1980s, Nigeria’s
children encountered a small but powerful book in their secondary school
curriculum: Eze Goes to School, written by Onuora Nzekwu and Michael
Crowder. It was more than a story; it was a mirror of a nation’s aspirations.
Education was a treasure: rare, dignified, and transformative. To be a student
was to be a prince or princess in your own right. Teachers commanded respect.
Boarding schools felt like foreign missions. Every child yearned to move from
primary to secondary school, and then to the university. Education was the
ladder out of poverty, the passport to dignity, and the promise of a better
tomorrow.
Today, that ladder is broken.
The promise has been betrayed. And the shame is not hidden; it is exported.
Eze’s World: Hope, Hunger, and Honour
To say the least, the authors of
Eze goes to School presented Eze’s worldview. Eze Adi is a brilliant, curious
boy from a poor rural family. His parents, though struggling farmers, believe
deeply in education. Eze walks long distances to school, often barefoot, often
hungry. He faces poverty, bullying, and a corrupt, inefficient school system.
Yet he remains determined, honest, and hopeful. Education is his dream, his
pride, and his path to a better life.
Eze’s struggles were real, but
they were dignified. His suffering had meaning because the society around him
believed in the value of education. Teachers encouraged him. His community
respected learning. His father sacrificed for him. The school system, though
imperfect, still held the promise of upward mobility. Eze’s world was hard, but
hopeful.
Nigeria Today: A Landscape of Shame and Embarrassment
Fast‑forward to the present.
Nigeria, once the beacon of education in West Africa, now exports its shame
across the continent. The same country that once attracted students from Ghana,
Sierra Leone, Kenya, and beyond now sends its own children to other African
countries, often without adequate funding, planning, or dignity.
The Realities of Today’s State‑Funded Scholarships
- Students are sent to African countries
with little or no remittance to sustain them.
- Some are expelled because the federal
government or their home state stops paying tuition.
- Some become homeless when landlords evict
them for unpaid rent.
- Others wander capital cities: stateless,
stranded, and humiliated.
- Many are unable to return home because
they cannot afford transport.
- Their governments ignore their cries,
deny responsibility, or blame “bureaucratic delays.”
This is not just mismanagement.
It is national disgrace.
From Eze’s Pride to Today’s Pain
Below is a structured comparison
of how Eze felt about school versus how many Nigeria’s children feel today.
|
Theme |
Eze’s Experience (1980s Nigeria) |
Nigeria’s Students Today |
|
Value of Education |
Education seen as
salvation; a noble pursuit |
Education seen as
uncertain, unstable, and often pointless due to unemployment and strikes |
|
Support System |
Parents, teachers, and community encourage
learning |
Students face neglect, underfunded schools,
and indifferent leadership |
|
School Environment |
Challenging but inspiring;
teachers respected |
Fraught with strikes,
dilapidated buildings, and demoralized lecturers |
|
Government Role |
Minimal but not destructive |
Actively undermines education through
corruption, underfunding, and failed scholarships |
|
Emotional Landscape |
Hope, determination, pride |
Anxiety, frustration,
shame, and disillusionment |
|
Outcome |
Eze rises through hardship to succeed |
Many students drop out, flee abroad, or
remain stranded in foreign countries |
What Students of the 80s Say Today!
The conscientious students of
the 80s do not recognise the Nigeria they once dreamed in.
They ask:
- Why must a Nigeria’s child go to Benin
Republic, Morocco or Togo to study basic courses?
- Why must a student beg for remittances
from a government that promised a scholarship?
- Why must a child sleep under a bridge in
a foreign land because their state governor or the federal government
stopped paying rent?
- Why must the “Giant of Africa” outsource
its education to smaller nations?
Eze, who once walked barefoot to
school with pride, is now walking with shame: not because of poverty, but
because of leadership failure.
The Giant of Africa? Or the Giant of Excuses?
Nigeria still calls itself the
“Giant of Africa,” yet:
- Ghanaian universities are filled with
Nigeria’s students.
- Benin Republic thrives on Nigeria’s
tuition fees.
- Ugandan and Kenyan institutions host
stranded Nigeria’s scholars.
- South African universities reject Nigeria’s
applicants due to unpaid fees from state governments.
- Moroccan landlords evict Nigeria’s
students from their properties.
This is not giant behaviour.
This is national embarrassment.
Conclusion
Eze Goes to School was a story of hope. Today’s Nigeria’s educational
reality is a story of humiliation. The contrast is painful, but necessary. Eze’s
generation believed in education because the system, though imperfect, believed
in them. Today’s generation is abandoned: sent abroad without support, stranded
without dignity, and forgotten without remorse.
If Nigeria wishes to reclaim its
pride, it must rebuild its educational system from the ground up; fund it,
respect it, and protect it. Until then, the nation will continue exporting not
excellence, but embarrassment.
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