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uzo201@yahoo.com Leuven, Belgium

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THE EDUCATION QUESTION AND IGBO WAY FORWARD:
RE-EXAMINING THE VIEW OF JUSTICE OPUTA

his essay is inspired by a publication in the Nigerian Vanguard Newspaper (on the internet) of Monday 22nd December 2003 (edited by Richard Maduku). The newspaper publication was a lecture delivered by Justice Oputa on the question of constructing a way forward for the Igbo people. My article is neither a review of the entire lecture nor a rejection of Justice Oputa's position. It is also not meant to attack the person of this very respected Judge and public figure. My essay is focused on only a specific part of his lecture. The critical remarks that are contained in my writing are on the level of ideas and do not by any means intend to be a personal attack. I hope that this essay be appreciated from this perspective.

The point that attracts my attention among other issues raised by Justice Oputa's paper is the question of education. Justice Oputa argued on the relevance of education both for individual enlightenment and for social development. He recalled the contribution of such Igbo figures as Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam and a host of others in the course of Nigeria's First Republic. He recalled the enthusiasm with which the Igbo people though being latecomers in Western education, were able to cover up with the Yoruba who were already ahead of them. He recalled the adventures of such figures like Chike Obi, Pius Okigbo, Alvan Ikoku and others who had to labour privately in their various fields of study and recorded resounding successes. He recalled the role of Igbo Unions in giving scholarships to deserving Igbo children to further their studies and the establishment of private schools by some Igbo citizens. Oputa argued that the Igbo of the present generation ought to emulate these forebears of theirs in embracing education as one of the major tools in constructing the way forward for the Igbo race. The challenge to the younger Igbo generation to embrace education has also been echoed by many other people in the recent years.

This challenge and emphasis on the relevance of education is incontestable. Education opens one's horizons and broadens his or her worldview. Socrates describes knowledge (education) as a virtue, which enables an individual to act properly. Francis Bacon simply states that knowledge (education) is power. Paolo Freire stresses the imperatives of conscientisation (education) in the struggle for liberation. There are innumerable ways to reinforce Oputa's position on the relevance of education for the Igbo quest for a better future. I share this basic premise with Justice Oputa's and many others who have made similar arguments on the relevance of education.

However, I think that Oputa's view on the relevance of education and his inference with the past Igbo generation is more or less simplistic. This is where I differ with him. His analysis indicates his presumption that the flight from education, which has been noted among some Igbo people of the present generation, can be explained strictly from personal craze for money at the cost of learning. It still appears to me that his call for a return to the old enthusiasm for education simply bypasses some very difficult questions concerning education today not just for the Igbo but for some other parts of Nigeria.

The first question, which I would like to raise is, on the type of education which Oputa advocates for constructing the future, which both he and all of us dream of? In his book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paolo Freire distinguishes between the banking system of education and a liberative education. He describes the banking system of education as one, which turns students into objects rather than subjects. The students in this type of learning process assume the postures of receptacles and are termed to be good students depending on how they are able to faithfully reproduce what has been stored into them. This type of learning process gives little or no room for originality, creative imagination or critical thinking. In this type of learning system, reality is simple, one directional and static. The teacher holds the key to this reality and claims to opens it up to the student in as much he or she is docile enough to continue acting as a container. This educational methodology has been used largely in the colonial and missionary enterprise. Those who receive this type of education can hardly contribute meaningfully to social change or the development of thought. They can at best be good managers and maintainers of the status quo. Liberative education stands in opposition to the banking system. It takes off from the living experiences of the students. They are subjects in the learning process not objects. In this case, knowledge is constructed not imparted. Students are encouraged to critically analyse issues and make their own contributions rather than swallowing every information. In this educational methodology, reality is complex and progressive. No one presumes to posses its totality. Liberative education enables students to know who they are and imbues them with the relevant tools to chart the course of where they want to arrive in life either individually or collectively.

It would be necessary to raise the question of what type of education Justice Oputa advocates in the quest for a better tomorrow for the Igbo nation? Certainly, it may appear to me that he will opt for a type of education that could be described as liberative. The next question is, to what extent does he see the education system in Nigeria or in the Igbo states as bearing any feature that comes close to liberative education? To what extent does he see the quality of education in Nigeria as assisting the young Igbo generation in constructing a better future? This is one aspect of the problems of Oputa's challenge. He did not examine the phenomenon of education itself neither did he point out the brand of education he considers relevant.

If by education he meant the possession of certificates, then I can say that the Igbo people have an overflowing number of people with academic certificates. Nevertheless the possession of these various brands of academic certificates do not seem to reflect sufficiently in issues concerning Igbo collective existence. If by embracing education, he meant enrolling in schools, then I can turn his attention to the number of nursery, primary and secondary schools (both those owned by the government, organisations and individuals) scattered all over Igboland. I can also turn his attention to the overflowing number of students in these various institutions. I can turn his attention to the population of young boys and girls of Igbo origin who sit for the School Certificate Examinations, National Examination Council and the Joint Matriculation Examinations every year. Furthermore, I can turn his attention to the high number of university students of Igbo origin in the various tertiary institutions in different parts of Nigeria and overseas. Though I do not posses an accurate statistics to ascertain whether the number of Igbo people who are enrolled in various schools at home and abroad is rising or dropping, I feel confident to say that the problem of education as it pertains to Igbo survival does not consist in the number of people who attend schools or possess academic certificates but in the type of education they receive. If I turn again to the issue of whether the call to embrace education implies attending schools, I would readily like to raise a question concerning the implication of the present situation where the rich send their children to Europe, USA, other African countries or to private (expensive) schools within the country for studies? What does this trend say about education in Nigeria? What type of education can students receive in situations where teachers are not paid properly, where libraries are scarce of relevant and current texts, where schools are closed and opened like NEPA's electricity? Does this challenge to young people to embrace education mean that they ought to keep hanging on to this type of education in Nigeria? Does it mean that they should go to the exclusive schools at home and abroad in order to get better education? How many people are able to afford the high fees charged in these schools both at home and abroad? The onus of engaging in a fight to establish a good educational curriculum for creative thinking and social change for the Igbo nation does not lie with the students but with the Igbo elites like Justice Oputa. The task of making our education system an efficient tool for social change does not lie in challenging young people but in the resolve of the elites to be involved in a hard struggle to create a qualitative and affordable educational system for the average Igbo student.

The second problem is the fate of education in the country today. Education has been used by successive governments as sacrificial lamb. As far back as 1978 teachers in the former Imo state were not paid regular salaries, a situation, which led to strikes, interrupting the education process of students and often leading to mass promotion of all students due to the inability of teachers to conduct examination for the third term. This situation helped to create the image of teaching as a miserable profession and consequently began to deter serious minded people from taking to teaching, which in turn affects the dedication to duty and the quality of students.

Apart from the activities of governments in making the education sector unattractive, the next question is the fate of many people who are unemployed after many years of study. To what extent did Justice Oputa try to find out the number of taxi drivers, traders, or barbers of Igbo origin who are holders of University degrees? To what extent has he inquired why many of them have chosen these paths rather than continuing in the fields of their academic training? He may say that these people are more interested in money than in knowledge. I am sure that the many facts on the ground will prove this presumption false. Did Justice Oputa discover how the children of the powerful in our society get jobs even if they are not qualified, while those who merit to be employed loose out because they are not connected? Did Oputa's encouragement to education, take notice of the effect of the above situations on morale and enthusiasm of the younger Igbo generation to take to education? What is the implication of the electoral successes of some of our public officers with questionable academic history and how do these influence the mentality of the young? What is the effect of a situation where school drop-outs become prosperous and influential in communities to the extent that they control the politics, traditional institutions and the church of their areas and the educated are merely employed by these school drop-outs to act as their secretaries or personal assistants?

It is very easy for Justice Oputa and other people to scold the young Igbo generation for drifting from the academic legacy of the Azikiwes and others. However, they fail to follow a more rigorous intellectual path of reflecting on how our society is being constantly redesigned by forces beyond the control of the young people who are only at the receiving end of these developments.

The point of my essay is to draw attention that the issue about education for the younger Igbo generation involves more questions than Justice Oputa was ready to confront in his paper. I think that it involves more structural than individualistic reconsiderations. Individuals are unique, free and autonomous but individuals are also products of values and trends of a particular age. Human beings act, reason and live within structures of social interaction. These social structures are constantly being redesigned, which ultimately influence personal actions, decisions and preferences. Therefore, it is my view that the question of education as it pertains to Ndi Igbo ought to involve a critical analysis of the social changes that have been taking place between the world of the Azikiwes and our world today. Here lies the hard issue concerning the relevance of education for Ndi Igbo. Oputa's paper, while highlighting the political history of Nigeria, fails to weave the problem of education into this unfolding history.

Anyway it is normal for people who have worked as officials of governments to avoid questions about structure because, it may expose them to criticisms on their roles and inactivities while in service. They may also avoid discussion on structural inefficiency because they think aristocratically that social problems always lie with the subjects rather than with the rulers. They are also inclined to think that government and public institutions are sacrosanct. Justice Oputa spent a good part of his public service as a judge. He is noted as one of finest brains during his time as a Supreme Court Judge. He was often referred to as the philosopher judge. However, in the final analysis, Oputa spent a good part of his public service handing down sentences as they are written in the book of law. Judges simply declare what the law states. They neither question the law nor why the law exists. This background could make it difficult for Oputa to raise questions about structural deficiencies in the country.

Oputa understands that one of the driving forces of Igbo consciousness is achievement, success, excellence and influence. He acknowledged this in his paper by referring to Ndi Igbo as 'goal getters'. Before the advent of the Europeans, the Igbo hunter strives not just to be onye na achu nta (one who hunts) but specifically to be known as Di-nta (master of hunting). In the same way, the wrestler strives to be Di-mgba, the palmwine tapper Di-ochi. The advent of the Europeans led the Igbo to re-define the areas of achievement and influence to consist in taking after the Europeans. This could explain how the Igbo (though late comers in Western education) could match with the Yoruba within a short time and covered up whatever gap that existed earlier and have also overtaken them in the embrace of Christianity. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Michael Okpara, Akanu Ibiam, Pius Okigbo, Chike Obi, etc belonged to a period in Igbo history when education seemed to offer the only path to greatness and fame. Hence communities competed among themselves to train as many of their children as possible. Igbo (Town) Unions awarded as much scholarships as possible to intelligent and deserving students. Oputa and many others will agree with me that the world when education offered the only path to greatness for the Igbo is fast vanishing before us. Professors have no more voices in their communities. Educated people are ridiculed in social gatherings. This is attested to by the joke of asking for the monetary equivalent of a long English grammar at a launching. (By using this example, I do not intend to reduce education to the mere ability to speak long English grammar.) Far from the time of the Azikiwes, the Igbo nation of today lives in a world where the Emeka Offors, Chris Ubas and Orji Uzor Kalus are more famous than the Chinua Achebes and Adiele Afigbos. The Igbo society of today live in a world where the Alex Ekwuemes and Emeka Ojukwus are so politically castrated that they stir almost helplessly at the unfolding drama before them.

There is no doubt that the Igbo spirit of achievement and success is gradually discovering other alternatives to greatness apart from education. This novel path seems to consist in 'carrying portfolios' for an Alhaji or military officer. The number of our present politicians who have attained their heights through this formula is significant. Non-politicians who have also acquired prominence in their localities through this tactics are equally worthy of note. Even if some of them may have questionable academic histories, they may adopt the methodology of acquiring university degrees after attaining prominence. Who says that this new path is not effective?

The fact is that the Nigerian society of today has disempowered authentic education, making a caricature of it and rendering it impotent. Under this circumstance, education as obtained in Nigeria today can hardly hold an attraction for the younger Igbo generation as a path to individual greatness and excellence not to talk of its being a relevant tool for constructing greatness for the Igbo nation. Beyond this, there is also a big discussion as to whether knowledge automatically transforms itself to power? Does my knowledge that something is going wrong imbue me with the capability to change it? One major issue today (not just in Nigerian local politics but also in the international politics) is the issue of exclusion of the weak and poor in decision-making processes and in influencing what happens around them. Education can bring one to this awareness. However, there is no one-to-one relationship between this knowledge and the ability to effect a change. At times, it even becomes very frustrating the more one learns, and the more one realises his or her powerlessness in changing the bitter realities around him or her. This is the dilemma of the Igbo in Nigeria. This is the predicament of the Third World countries in contemporary international politics and economics.

The gradual disempowerment of education in Nigeria may not be completely explained without reference to the Structural Adjustment Programs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. These programs form part of the terms of debt servicing and repayment. In order to make sure that enough money is available to continue servicing the debts, these programs direct the indebted countries to implement austerity measures, which (among other things) involve spending less money on health, education and other social services.

I do not mean that the young Igbo generation should abandon education. I am rather emphasising that there are issues, which Justice Oputa avoided in his discussion. These points ought to be adequately considered in the persistent discussion of how the younger Igbo generation is abandoning education.