Pillars of Progress
Before Nigeria, there were Lagos, Aba and Kano. These cities were centers of commerce and trade. Kano was the epicenter of the silk road from Kumasi to Sudan. Lagos was and remains the commercial capital of West Africa.
But Aba saved Southern Nigeria through WOMEN. When British (Nigerian) colonial governor, Lord Lugard imposed indirect rule in Jan 1914 using warrant chiefs to control subjects, men liked it. Why not? The chiefs were exclusively men.
The warrants chiefs like some state politicians of today seized property, imposed draconian local regulations, and imprisoned people that criticized them. They were powerful [Did you watch Lomaji Ugorji of Ichoku]
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Aba Women called the oppressors to change. They refused. Britain did not pay attention. It went ahead to introduce a special tax on food items.
The women took action and demanded changes. That was the Aba Riot. Britain reversed the tax and curbed the powers of the chiefs. That was the first challenge to Britain which crystallized to independence. Yes, women actually took action and saved some parts of Nigeria from using one person to control everyone.
In Southern Nigeria, individual rights are treasured. If you check many statistics, you can see a clear trajectory. From UNESCO to World Bank using many indicators like Multidimensional Poverty Index, the top ten states with lowest level of poverty are in south. The poorest are all in the North.
The lower the percentage, the better; essentially, lower number of people are poor.
No one says Nigeria is easy to manage but there are things which are working. When you liberate the people, they tend to make better choices. How do you make that happen? Education [formal and informal]! The most educated states in Nigeria typically outperform. Yet, we do not want to educate the kids. Education comes via many means but there is always one outcome: awareness through the liberation of the mind.
The top States are still the ones who don't need 'homegrown school meal' programme, or any form of persuasion/inducement to get the kids to the classrooms. Interestingly, these states aren't doing well because of special support from central government, but down to the people, who want a better a life for everyone among them. People make things happen, government doesn't know how to do a thing!
Freedom and liberty are two of the most important things humans need, and for you to enjoy them, the minds must be liberated; education guarantees such.
It's a common saying that "history is a great teacher", just like experience; but in Nigeria, history doesn't seem to have taught the creatures here any meaningful lesson.
Slavery remains a thriving business here, even after decades of its perceived abolishment. Some people still want to exercise maximum control over the life of others, and to do that successfully, simply deny them quality education.
