Total Students’ Conference: Is School A Scam?

       School is a scam for he who is a                        scammer – Frank Donga 

The conference was organized by the faculty of social science, University of Ibadan. It started with a rendition of the Nigerian national anthem sung by the audience. A speech was given by the Dean of social sciences, he introduced the guest speakers which include: Dr Macaulay Babajide Milton a common wealth scholar and lecturer FUTA, Kenneth Okwor Esq. a Harvard scholar and lecturer, Nigerian law school, Adetunji J Lamidi, Vice President FCMB, and Kunle Idowu aka Frank Donga actor and comedian.. A citation was read on Dr. Macaulay Babajide Milton. Dr Macaulay began his lecture by asking the following intruguing questions which are normally asked by complacent students to justify their lackadaisical attitude towards education:

 • Who first class epp?

 • No be third class graduate dey employ first class graduate?

 • The koko na to sabi perosn, I no fit kill myself.

 • No be by CGPA na to dey street smart

 • Las, las, school na scam! 

       These attitudes have been encouraged by society. Generally, there aren’t too many encouraging rewards for academic excellence in our society. Instead, reality television stars are rewarded with millions of naira, and are almost worshipped in society. It is widey believed in society that education isn’t lucrative, has very low  rate of financial returns. This could have resulted from that fact that there are some educated people who still live in penury. In fact, this It is important to note that a misconception is popular and generally believed to be true doesn’t make it true. The problem is with society, a value misappropriation and not the school itself. Society places value on material acquistion, money and other superfluous things over education which in turn causes apathy for education.

Dr Macaulay during his lecture

 What is a school? – a school is anywhere you learn a particular skill. What is education? It is the process of acquiring knowledge. There is an unspoken expectation that education is supposed to make one rich especially in Nigeria. It is important that we note that the fruits of education, not education per sa makes one rich.

 Here are some of the benefits of schooling:

 • Boosts self confidence and self reliance

 • Higher tolerance ratio (emotional stability)

 • Critical assessment 

• Analytical thinking (sound judgement/decision) 

• Creative/innovative mindset ie original thoughts

 • Problem solving potential that is solution provider

 • Knowledge driven that is curiosity

 • Organized skillset in a particular discipline

 • Character building: ethical values Bottom line: education is meant to empower you to take charge of your life 

Formal vs informal education 

Formal –is  education got at school Informal –is  education got through self study or through non school method.

For a wholesome personality, there should be a combination of both formal and informal education. Some common misleading information about education in the Nigerian public space 

• Bill gates dropped out of Harvard College and co launched miscroft. 

• Steve Jobs dropped out of Reeds College and co founded Apple.

• Mark Zukerberg dropped out of Harvard college and co founded facebook.

 These information are true but not complete. Bill Gates is a genuis and had to leave school to develop his passion. Steve Jobs left school out of poverty. Mark Zukerberg is a genuis. 

What they fail to tell you: 

• Larry Paige and Sergey Brin completed their education and built Google 

• Elon Musk completed his education and built PayPal which he eventually sold and later founded SpaceX, Telsa inc. etc (Today, Elon Musk is the richest man on earth!)

 • A global class sytem is determined by education, politics, wealth, religion or royalty. 

• In Nigeria, higher degrees count a lot in getting your dream job. 

Mr Adetunji with the President of the faculty of social sciences, University of Ibadan.

 A moment beautifully captured during the conference.

The discussion moved on to a question and answer session. The members of the audience sent in their questions and the panel made up of the invited guests answered them.

  Question: How can one polish one’s passion? 

Frank Donga: It is important to voluteer at the beginning of your career. You have to note that your skill set aren’t fully polished it’s very unlikely that anyone would want to pay for your services, so, the smart thing to do is to voluteer in the field which you intend to work in later in life. As a student, I voluteered in my school’s radio station, this helped me brush up my skills as an on the air personality and gave me voice training which I use in my career as an actor. Asides voluteering, it is important that one stay around experts in one’s desired field. Question: What do you look out for when seeking new employees? Banker Tunji – it is important to know what the propective employee do with his/ her spare time because this helps in determining their values. The knowledge the prospective employees have about a company helps too. They should have made research about the company that they are applying for, its history, vision, goals etc. Self confidence is a skill that is appreciated during interviews. While job hunting, don’t engage yourself with your friends through complaining rather look for opportunities and develop a positive attitude. 

Question: what is mentorship? 

Frank Donga – Mentorship should involve some form of contact between a mentor and a mentee. It is absurd when people claim mentorship of people that they have never seen and might never see till they die. For example, some young people find it fashionable to claim that Bill Gates is their mentor. What direct impact has Bill Gates made in such a person’s life? None. It is also important to look at the intention on why you need a mentor. This is to avoid unrealistic expectations. Mentorship doesn’t translate to sponsorship! Your expectations should be communicated properly to the mentor. When people say school is a scam, they have placed unrealistic expectations from education, they most likely want to gain more than they have invested in education, hence, school is a scam for he who is a scammer. 

Question: How can one create a system? 

Banker Tunji - start by creating a business or skill that is saleable. Identify with the buyers Get a team of people that you can work with. Make more money than you spend. Question: what should one do when he/she is not studying his/her desired course?

 Dr Macaulay: try your best to scale through. Get a study partner. After school, create a path for yourself. Question: Is success a product of luck? 

Dr Macaulay: success has no universal definition. There is an element of luck that is grace. There should be diligence. Positioning matters a lot. Being at the right place at the right time helps. 

Closing Remarks .

Donga- solve a problem, keep learning, improve your confidence level, create a positive mindset, cherish your circle of influence, belong to a club or society, don’t be an idle chatter box, be a word miser.