Since every one of us was born including I and you, we have been told to be the leaders of tomorrow but hitherto we aren't the leaders yet. Don't you think of it? Regardless of us to be the leaders as proudly we all said in those primary school days, sadly the old same leaders we have known since 1960's are still and would never get tired of ruling us. Do you know why?. Money!
Though it is a good thing to be a leader of a promising nat is not easy to be a leader without having any reasonable means of income for surviving. You can be dreaming to become billionaire, but if you aren't bothered on how and in what way to become a billionaire, certainly you will die poor.
In present Nigeria, we are having today, either you take it or not, we have got to the period of time whereby your Ph.D. and my B.Sc degree certificate is nowhere to be found except in your sweating arms walking around the street searching for jobs to do.
Please at this juncture, I wouldn't want to be misquoted, I'm not saying education is not the best legacy that it remains because it's seen as the weapon of preparing one's self to have a life. I'm not quite disputing that fact, On the other hand, I want you to reason along with me that aside from an education you can still be caught up doing other things that can fetch you billions of naira and pay your bills as well.
When I'm saying you can engage yourself in some other things to fetches you money, I'm not encouraging the youths to involve themselves in any act of fraudulent activities rather be physically empowered and acquired one vital skills acquisition. The fact still remains undisputed that even without a white-collar job we are all dreaming to have, chances to become a billionaire are still open once you have the entrepreneur skills and got one for yourself
Both education and skills acquisition is good, but one can be of greater help to the other. When education seems to be weaker due to present Nigeria we are having today, skills acquisition would help to stands you out among the billionaire and meet your daily living. You can be educated and yet remain idle in your life but you can never be empowered with any skills and remain as a stupid jobless
If you can agree with me you can be educated and still be sweating under a scornful sun to have money, as the same time you might never go through the four corners of class and still be blessed with money in a very cool way since you become an expert in your chosen skills acquisition. They are examples of people like that in our society, those billionaires cruising the expensive cars across the street even with their ineffectiveness to be well sounded in education they are still regarded to be important people who have money and sounded in one skills or the other. So why do you still prefer being idle without any skills acquisition?
No doubt, Nigeria has reached a point where things are falling apart. People keep shouting and searching hopelessly for scare money, over 70 percent of our youths are out their idle on the streets, a millions graduate of our pride universities are a victim of joblessness after serving the schools as well the nation entirely. Mass unemployment no doubt remains one major factor threatening the continued sustenance of our dear nation.
Some months back, I was privileged to stay with my friends in ibeju Lekki Area of Lagos State where my two friends own and manage a computer business center, for my short stay there we run the business together and earn our daily money. But you will never talk of the area without mentioning one of the ongoing biggest Dangote Refinery projects in Nigeria even through in Africa generally.
I really enjoyed my stay back then where I was exposed to numerous memories especially on the ongoing Dangote Refinery project of which I would briskly explain furthermore.
Firstly, out of my sad experience is a story of an old age Ph.D. certified man who seems to be a truck driver for many years to feed his family even at old age. I felt a huge sorry for the man and it was a painful thing to see a Ph.D. holder who ought to be an ambassador of our nation driving and risking his life on a daily trip on the road.
At least ten thousand Nigerians are subjected to over strenuous task as a labor worker for the building progress of the project and just on a peanut amount of money monthly. The Chinese people are not as well educated but can say they are expert on different sections of skills acquisition.
Disdainfully, they treated Nigerians as a slave in outland, Nigerians youths even an old age man with grey hair risk their lives for the continuity of the uncompleted Refinery project yet the lowest Chinese man received times three in a week what Nigerians we work hard to have in a month, talkless of their cigarettes allowances.
If you don't believe me yet, you can take a trip to that place and see how Nigerians especially the youths risk their lives on a daily basis struggling to gain entrance inside the refinery gate.
At some point, just to know more about what is happening inside the refinery site, I had pretended to look for work to do also and I would stroll legs around watching pitifully how Nigerians are sweating profusely under we a scornful afternoon sun and wasting out their talents for the Chinese people.
However, one day I got to a construction company inside the refinery, addressing people was the safety man and I could hear him breaking the sad news that one of their worker's hand was chopped off and got disabled in the process. But the safety man while disseminating the information had blamed the worker who lost his hand for not being cautious enough about safety and saying he would bear the pain alone. I felt sorry for him and I was devastated.
After I got back to Abeokuta, I was paid to come and take Photographs on a four days Vocational programme tagged " What Next I'm Done" which started on the 14th and ended 17th of this month. Indeed it was an Interesting programme even without paying a dime to acquired one skills or the other. I must commend the convener of the vocational programme for well-done Job and I think if we can have more of this programme or training in our country that would really help to solve the problem of unemployment in our country and the youth can depend more on themselves rather than the government.
Finally, it is good to have a distinction in school and also have a distinction in life. In the sense that skills acquisition can help you have a distinction in life if education failed you.
Therefore, I choose to be more successful in my photography career and till next week what do you think to acquire as your skills acquisition?.
Olaifa Tobiloba writes in from Abeokuta.
