I remember vividly in 2009 when a barber friend of mine, Ahmed boldly declared to me, "Iranu ni'we kika. Orun owo l'ogbon wa!" (Education is useless! Wisdom is in your practice).
Well, trust my zeal (or the defence of my own schooling), I told him that that was a stupid statement and his illiteracy was responsible for his stupidity. His reason for that disposition was that common bricklayers know how to mix the right amount of cement, gravels, water, sand ( & what else) to form a good concrete; a feat a Civil Engineering graduate cannot do.
Well, trust my zeal (or the defence of my own schooling), I told him that that was a stupid statement and his illiteracy was responsible for his stupidity. His reason for that disposition was that common bricklayers know how to mix the right amount of cement, gravels, water, sand ( & what else) to form a good concrete; a feat a Civil Engineering graduate cannot do.
After tongue lashing him with all the grammars my brain could scramble within which my fit of irritations would allow, I explained to him that Engineers are not trained to do manual works (that's the job of skilled/unskilled laborers and technicians). Rather, they are trained for conceptual designs e.g. what architectural design can withstand certain weather elements, or what particular road technology can fit a particular terrain? The task of carrying shovels & diggers is designed for technicians. I only halted my vituperative explanations upon seeing the remorseful look on his face.
Fast forward to 2016, almost 7years later, a similar scenario played out on an online forum whereby some supposedly educated folks were condemning President Buhari for appointing a lawyer, Fashola as the minister of Power (specifically), Works & Housing thereby putting a square peg in a round hole. In there esteemed opinions, only an Engineer should have gotten that appointment since BRF being a lawyer cannot understand the technicalities and intricacies of Power production. Simply put: Fashola should have been given the Justice ministry. Again I gave them vitriolic piece of my mind and why I thought such opinions are not only childish but also simplistic, stupid and shallow.
Here is it again; is there only one branch of engineering? Is it only one branch of Engineering that that is involved in Power ministry activities? Can a man be knowledgeable of all engineering fields? I doubt that. Again, is it only engineering/physics aspects that are involved in power production cycle? How about business laws, economics, psychology, security, administrative sagacity, etc? I guess one must be "degreed" in all these feilds to qualify to be a power minister?
Please be informed that Ministers are necessarily experts but coordinators of govt policies and that they have technical consultants in all relevant fields, civil servants (experts) and advisers to help them regarding the much-touted technicalities of their ministries. Their job is to oversee the policy implementation and give feedback to their employers for further reviews. Moreover, the ministry covers Housing and Works in addition to Power; must BRF be a Town Planner, Surveyor, Draughtsman etc too?
Obviously, not everyone who can read/write or happens to buy a cheap techno android phone (that comes with 10MB data) are really EDUCATED which brings me back to what Ahmed said earlier; is Educated really useless? Because some people are really educated illiterates.
<OluSwagger/>
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