EDUCATION: A RIGID OR A FLEXIBLE MENTAL ACTIVITY? BY ABAI FRANCIS 

EDUCATION is not a one-off activity that ends when one graduates from the formal educational setting, be it at the primary, secondary or tertiary level. It is instead a continuous mental activity that begins from an informal setting in the home and then transits throughout our existence on Earth.

Sadly, the concept of education seems greatly misplaced leading to most persons choosing to stop growing mentally after their exit or graduation from the formal or school setting. Another misconception of education is the rigidity many choose to adopt after acquiring knowledge in a specific area or discipline. Such a culture will not translate to gaining wealth in the long run, it will instead lead to a stunted growth in life. 

The term "TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX" was formulated to reemphasize the need for one to broaden the mindset, especially in moving away from conventional knowledge. And so, education, which is an attempt to move one from a state of ignorance to one of building knowledge, should never be limited in scope. The sooner we realize this fact, the faster we can easily readapt our situations to our advantage, not disadvantage.

What most people fail to recognize is a simple fact in life, which is that, in the absence of PROBLEMS there is no opportunity for WEALTH creation. As long as problems exist, pathways for wealth are created. The challenge for many is that they fail to focus on the solutions, but are consumed in dwelling more on the problems. Why? They adopt a rigid mentality, or put differently, they refuse to grow mentally!

This inability to grow mentally is often what has led some Nigerians to label education as a SCAM, which is not. If your attempt to acquire education is solely to gain an impressive white or blue collar job so you can be rich, then you are among the many having a wrong misconception about education. And that is where the problem lies for many.

So what is the way out? You have to begin to develop a whole different approach to challenges in life if you are to succeed. And to begin with, stop viewing education from the receiving angle. Instead, view education from a giving perspective, which is that you acquire education so you can offer solutions to existing and future problems. Nigeria is negatively where it is today because there are too few solution providers when compared to the gigantic challenges before the country. That's a starter!

Further reading: The Misapplication of Knowledge in the Nigerian Setting

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