So, you all have probably heard the popular saying that has been floating around for some years now here in Nigeria. And that is the “school na scam” slang. There was a time that it became a sort of mantra or even an anthem to young boys and girls that were of school age, many of them were using it as an excuse not to take their academic life seriously. And there are some reasons why.
First of all, let me explain what the slang means to my friends that are not Nigerians. School na scam basically means that going to school is pointless because nothing worthwhile ever comes from it. Now, what are my thoughts on it? You would have to hold on a bit while I give you a little back story.
As it is well known, for every rumor that is passed around, there will be an iota of truth in it. One way or another.
Growing up as a kid in Nigeria, one of our most important duties back then was to go to school and study hard so that we could become the leaders of tomorrow. The plan looked so simple really, if you were a good student and made your grades, companies, and industries would be falling over each other as they lobbied to employ you.
Back then, even the most basic jobs were held to high standards. Like the cashier at the bank, the secretary to some big man in one big organization, the assistant to a politician. With jobs like these, you could be seen as a messiah by your family because with your salary you could turn the family around if you are someone that is serious about life.
This was the mentality we were groomed with, right from the time we started going to school. Everything we were taught was geared toward us becoming the perfect employees. From primary to secondary school, we were taught a bunch of things we did not need. Not then and definitely not now.
But then, as we began to get older and take cognizance of the affairs going on around us, we began to realize that the fantasy of the perfect adulthood that our parents and teachers had used to urge us through school could just as well be that. A fantasy.
We began to see the unemployment rate drop as more and more students graduated from higher institutions but there were no jobs waiting for them. Companies no longer ran after the students, the students(now graduates) were the ones falling over themselves(and I mean this literally) just to secure an interview for a job that they would probably not end up getting. And if they do get it, the pay will just be abysmal you would want to weep.
We were seeing all these happen year after year. We were supposed to be the leaders of tomorrow but the leaders of yesterday before we had been born were refusing to step down and hand over power. Our political offices are just filled up with old men who care only about their pockets and not a thing about the well-being of the people they are charged with.
And to make matters worse, upon getting to higher institutions, we meet people the same age bracket as ours that engage in all sorts of immoral activities just to get money. Students will be living flashy lifestyles, making innocent people like us depressed and feel unnecessarily sad. But that is not all.
The school itself seems to be designed to frustrate students. From corrupt and immoral lecturers to hungry and greedy administrators that will extort money from students.
If you are a student, everyone is out to get your money. From the school to the landlords, to the traders… they will milk you for all you are worth.
And through this, you would have to go through hours and hours of lectures that you might never find applicable in your entire life and write exams that will grade you not on your intelligence, but on how well you can remember.
So, when you see these kinds of things happening all around you and you realize that the major people who are making the money are not making it based on the merit of the education that they received but through other means. People that are less qualified for a job will get it instead of those that are better equipped just because they have connections.
Things like these will definitely make you shake your head and say, “las las, school na scam.”
But then, every year people flock in their thousands to school. Packing loads of money to go and throw at them, begging to be admitted so they can be frustrated as well.
Yeah, even I am one of them.
So why do we still go to school even when there are these obvious signs that it could be pointless?
Because we know that going to school is not pointless, and it can never be pointless.
Especially in a country like ours, if you do not have a degree you are more or less subjecting yourself to a lifetime of want and poverty. Although thanks to crypto, we have more options.
The truth is that if not for school, a lot of us would not have made it. And by the school, I mean the higher institution. If not for that, many of us would never have known what it felt like to be adults and living on our own with only limited funds to cater to our needs.
You are solely in charge of yourself and responsible for all decisions that need to be made. So you have to be careful in all you do because you could regret it in the long run.
And it was this kind of life that made many of us into what we are today. The hustlers. If many of us had not gone hungry, we would never have found the motivation to go out in search of money. We had needs to be met, and there was no one that was going to meet them for us. So we had to rise up to the occasion. And this was not by choice. It was a must!
And then, there were many of us that took school seriously as well. I am one of them. I believe that if I am doing it anyway, then I can at least do it the right way. No one knows tomorrow, especially in this Nigeria, so I will try my best to come out with the best result I can.
There are a lot of people that came to school and lost themselves, they had no direction and got carried away by the immoralities that happen there. And there were those that came and focused on what they wanted. Many people became businessmen and women in school; many learned skills and started making good money even before they graduated.
That is the thing about Nigerian higher institutions, it will always change you. You can’t avoid that. You just have to be strong enough so that the change you get will be positive.
So, do I think that school is a scam? I believe I made my answer known already. School is not a scam to me. After all, it was in the school I met the friend that introduced me to Hive. And now, look at where I am. The school is far from perfect, and a lot of changes and adjustments need to be made, but it also has a hand in making me who I am today.
So, for those of you that are still students like me, please just keep on trying your best. Do not let what you see distract you from your main goal which is to pass out with flying colors. It does not matter that you might not need the degree seeing as you already have something that is making you money, but the fact that you are actually doing it is what matters and so you have to do it to the best of your ability.
So the next time you hear someone saying that slang, just shake your head as you ignore them. It is not a scam to you.
Image by Vasily Koloda
Thank you for reading, till we meet in the next post.
