Ngozi to the rescue!!!

"To confirm to all and sundry that there was hardly a teacher in sight, the pupils would excitedly rush to their windows (which had no louvers by the way!) On sighting passers-by and whistle loudly or make catcalls as if they were characters from Walt Disney’s “Jungle Book”. And at such moments I would say to myself, “Thank God for the privilege He has provided for our children to attend private schools up to the University level”. Iyabo Ladipo (Genevieve Magazine, May/June '06)
The quote above was Genevieve Magazine columnist Iyabo Ladipo's take on the public school system in Nigeria. What got me in her debatably sensible piece was the last sentence of the quote above. Privilege indeed, what privilege? What a stupid woman I thought. These amongst other things are the root causes of the problems surrounding the Nigerian question. This idea of being removed, dissociated from the rabble and grime of society informs the battered image we suffer in this globalized world we find ourselves nowadays. That silly notion of being able to flee any future difficulties solely on the basis of either owning a British passport, or a house on Sloane square, or both! What makes her different from the arrogant baboon of a vice-president Atiku; who so condescendingly declared that "he wasn't fighting for democracy for himself, after all he had enough to provide for generations of his family” or some other stupidity? Perhaps I am being unfair comparing her to such an extreme case. It is after all common to most societies, this distance between class as can be seen in contemporary affairs here in the UK where most believe that the ruling class; too far removed from society are not listening to their concerns on immigration. Of course they (the masses of the UK) may be right about that, but that doesn't hide or excuse the prevalence of xenophobia in the society. That said my opinion here is one of disgust and annoyance. Disgust at how many Nigerians have lost the plot with reference to the intricacies of the Nigerian question and annoyance at their seeming arrogance towards this problem.
I finished my exams yesterday to my delight and celebrated well with my friends, staying in the student's union den for as long as we could (a record twelve hours we proudly declare); and a well deserved celebration it was considering the amount of work we put into our exams. Waking up this morning to sober reflections, I did feel thankful that I had the opportunity of a proper education and exposure. However, I realised at that point in time that education meant more than just digesting the theories sold to the world by Fukuyama and co. During conversation, one of the girls, slightly drunk decided to go into a monologue about what she had suffered in the hands of a "black” girl in a husband snatching incident; insisting that she meant me and the other black member of the group no offence as we were not like "that". So what were we like, I was tempted to ask. Were we not black? This, I realised is where education comes in. It isn't just about sitting in a class and getting top marks but about being able to decipher what is wrong from right, being able to function in society as a valuable member. Perhaps the girl didn't think all black people were like the girl from her experience but did her words mean anything else?
In 2004, TIME magazine named Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala one of the world's hero's; and rightly so. Not only is she doing the right thing with reference to the country's finances and economic mechanics, she has proved herself a true reformer by extending her influence to other part of the society's mechanics. Recently, Okonjo-Iweala made known her dissatisfaction of the aid process originally agreed at Gleneagles last year. She focused her attention on core factors for development she believes is most important. Education and the image of Nigeria in it's entirety. Unlike some other Nigerians who might look unto state school children with relief at their own luck (Iyabo Ladipo), this woman wants' to do something. As I have always ranted on about, education and youth empowerment is the key to Africa and indeed Nigeria's many issues. Discussing the future with a long lost friend who I’ve just discovered is also here in the UK for university, I declared my future ambition for Nigeria. Perhaps I like Okonjo- Iweala would be a hero to the rescue!!!