Is Education The Key?

There’s this common saying that goes thus “education is the key”. And if I may ask what that “key” itself unlocks, the answer I’d get is that it is the “key to success”. Does that imply that without education one can’t be successful?. I’ve seen people waste away their years writing JAMB and watching JAMB jam them countless times without making any forward move. I don’t know whoever created this insight of “if you don’t get into the university, you can’t make it” or "if you graduated with a 2:2 (second class lower or 3rd class), you ain't there yet"..

Does it imply that every one who goes to the tertiary institution and graduates would be “successful?”, does it mean that graduating with a 2:2 means  that's the end of the world. The worst of it all is that, people have now rated university in high esteem than other tertiary institutions.

We all choose to be a success story in whatever we get ourselves involved in, for instance, being a student of an institution, you’d definitely aim to be top. Not everybody would be at the top, and that doesn’t also mean that those leading would end well. Now, get this point clear, “your position in life is not by your grade, its only on how well or how early you discover yourself”, the earlier the best.

Let me give you this brief story of a man I knew all my life, he loved education so much that he really wanted to further after secondary school back then, his father refused sponsoring his education, thereby, hindering him from furthering to the higher institution, but instead gave him out as an apprentice to learn bricklaying. This man still had this passion for education despite the fact that he was under his boss, he came to lagos, still worked but got himself books, he read them, he didn’t lose hope. He worked with a big construction company in lagos (name withheld). Due to his passion and love for education and the fact that he didn’t have time and enough finance to further, he enrolled for Grade 11 certificate, that’s the only certificate I can attest to you that this man has, but presently, this man is into big contract jobs. He trains interns from building department in universities or polytechnics. That aside, he’s a proficient reader, eloquent speaker and teacher. This is a person with Grade 11 certificate and I’m very sure NCE is even higher than that certificate.Who even uses a Grade 11 certificate in this 21st century.

My point is there’s no difference between “a non-literate man who is smart and an educated person who isn’t smart”. Not all educated people are smart. 

You’d see a random Ibo man tell you he’s a business man and he doesn’t even have a formal certificate related to business, not even a diploma certificate. Education helps us to think, widens our horizons, education is far beyond exams, tests and the certificate. Education helps you to get prepared for the outer world, helps you to discover yourself, meet people. Its up to you as an individual to know what you want and where you want to be.

The mistake most of us make is that we rely so much on the certificate, we can’t do anything without the certificate. We feel that’s our world and we have to do it all only through the certificate, we don’t make good use of that powerful word called ‘empowerment”. If all organization employs their workers based on skills, would you fit in?.
Just as the Yoruba saying goes thus” ona kan o wo oja”(you can make money from more than one source). This is applicable to success, education alone can’t get you thereget yourself involved in different activities that would make you cool financially. Most civil servants I know have something else they get involved in, this is because the government have taught them to be smart. Its either the salary is delayed or something comes up and stuffs like that. They can’t go hungry because their salary is delayed, that’s when you realize this person is good in this or that, that’s when they put their skills to practice. The best way to save yourself is by getting yourself involved.

There are people who have studied professional courses and end up doing something contrast from what they studied in school. You need to discover yourself, own a skill, do something apart from school, set up a business while your mates are dropping CVs.
Being Smart and Persistent is the only key to success. know your onions, discover that thing in you, everybody was gifted with a talent, its up to you to discover it. Move with people that would bring out the best in you, not those who'd weigh you down by listing your faults. Believe in yourself, either with a 2:1 , 3rd class i'm getting there. No matter the certificate, HND or ND or SSCE, i'm a success story.
That is what makes you.