Oxford and Cambridge Club of Nigeria held its 2016 Spring Lecture in Lagos yesterday themed “Education: Reach for the Stars; Ensuring Access for All.” Delivering the lecture, Diane Abbott, member of the British Parliament and the first black woman elected to the British Parliament, said every social problem could be traced to a dysfunctional education system.
“Access to high quality education is life transforming. I know this from personal experience. My studies at Cambridge made me. It was more than the technical knowledge you acquire. Cambridge gave me confidence. Sure, I already had some confidence which propelled me to desire Cambridge in the first place but Cambridge crystallised this initial formless confidence into power,” Abbott said.
Amy Jadesimi, managing director, LADOL, a logistics company who chaired the event, asserted that Nigeria was at crossroads, “which provides a unique opportunity to influence the direction the country goes.
“The kind of education needed at this point is one that emphasis the ability to reason, analyse and draw credible, valid conclusions applicable to everyday life. The kind of education that would help redress the balance and lead Nigeria towards the path of greater prosperity.”
John Osemeikhian, an alumnus of Cambridge and professor of Geophysics at the Ambrose Alli University, in an interaction with BusinessDay during the event, said the state of education in Nigeria was lamentable, saying merit and excellence were not factored into our education calculus.
“Those days at Cambridge (1960s), students committed suicide when their grade points where below average. However, Nigeria tends to promote mediocrity. It is a systemic failure and our social values need an overhaul,” he said.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
