More than 90 percent of everyone living in Nigeria currently have one thing in common: They were raised by at least one Nigerian parent. And for generations our parents have been praised for their tremendous efforts in raising moral kids and creating a conducive environment for values such as discipline and hard work to thrive.
A lot of people believe that parents provide the solid moral foundation for our young generation to grow, and they do this by instilling virtues of obedience and respect in their kids.

Now, if our parents are so good at raising kids, why then do we have a society that reflects the opposite of the kind of values our parents have been touted to be effective promoters of? Why is Nigeria in the state it is if our bad leaders emerged from homes governed by Nigerian parents? Why do we have so many underachieving and uninformed youths if they all were injected into the society from homes regulated by Nigerian parents?

The aim of this writeup is to highlight how badly we have been made to believe a lie about parenting in this country. My goal is to prove to you that Nigerian parents are the root cause of most of the problems ailing this country, especially in stifling intellectual development and raising morally irresponsible and unaccountable people.

Child birth
Nothing illuminates the intellectual vacuousness of Nigerian parents like the reasons for which they have kids. The average Nigerian parent doesn't have kids because they understand what it means to have kids and they understand the responsibility of having kids.They have kids for the same reasons dogs and chickens have kids - Because it's their basic animal instinct to procreate. And thanks to our foolish cultural notions that define having kids as an accomplishment, this basal instinct is reinforced.

Now how would you raise a child well if you prioritize the fact that you have a child and the enhancement of your social image over the serious responsibility of raising another human being? You see, this is where the problem starts. If kids are raised by parents who don't know the implications of raising a child, how then would they put the necessary tools in place to enable the mental, psychological and physical flourishing of the child? Most Nigerian parents who don't even have enough money to fend for themselves would still decide to have children with the hope that they can train the children in school so they can rescue them from poverty. Isn't this stupidity? Doesn't this represent a paucity of intellect?

The primary traits of a child are formed in the early stages of the child's development. If the right variables aren't in place, it could not only shift the child's development to the negative, but it could trigger negative predispositions that would not have otherwise been triggered.

wow

Stifling curiosity and independent thinking
Nigerian parents hobble curiosity and original thinking in their kids and they do this amazingly efficiently. To begin with, how many Nigerian homes actually have books? And by books I don't mean Bibles and Qurans or religious pamphlets, I mean books cutting across different subjects? If the parents are not smart enough to see the benefits of reading, how would they create a conducive reading environment for their kids? If all they care about is religious knowledge how then would they raise kids who would think differently?

Also, due to the desire to be strict disciplinarians Nigerian parents tend to isolate the kids from themselves. When a child sees you as more of an authority figure than a friend, he won't have the courage or develop the closeness required to confide in you and ask you questions. If a child is told to keep quiet every time he has a view different from that of a parent, how then would he develop the ability to ask questions, to think for himself and make independent decisions?
Our parents are quick to antagonized foreign parents for being too loose with their kids. But the reality is, it's this same undisciplined children that grow up to be great revolutionary thinkers, impacting the world in tremendous ways, while our kids are thinking about how to swindle people online and sell their bodies for money.

Authority complex
Many people wonder why Nigerians are so complacent with their leaders. How despite knowing the evils of their leaders, still sit back and allow them continue immiserating them. This kind of thing doesn't happen in the western world. But why in the 21st century aren't Nigerians doing anything about their own leadership problems? Well I think this problem ties back to the Nigerian home. In the average Nigerian home kids are thought to honour, respect and fear their parents. They aren't to talk back when their parents talk, they aren't to question their authority and they are to abide by all their instructions even if they are inconvenient for them. Doesn't this look familiar? People respond to future situations according to their original and foundational perception of such kind of environment. So, if a child is thought to fear and respect authority, even if it's inconvenient for him, he'll always fear and respect future forms of authority even if it's convenient for him.

Forcing Their Dreams On their Children
Anyone with a functioning brain would agree with me that a country where it's human resources are applied to areas that fit their talents and gifts, would be a productive and efficient one. One of the reasons why Nigeria isn't performing productively is because it has it's human population operating in fields not suited for them. Although a lot of this is the fault of our flawed educational system, part is still the fault of our parents.

A lot of our parents are selfish to the point where they'd force their kids into educational lines that clearly aren't suited for their natural skills. They know this, but they shove such knowledge aside, particularly because their own needs matter most. Having a doctor child would be something to brag to their friends about. Having a lawyer child would embellish the family name. Having a child who is an engineer would help fulfill my unaccomplished dreams of being an engineer. These are the kinds of thoughts that permeate the minds of parents and it's what motivates them to alter the personal choices of their kids. I see this as a serious problem. Are people too stupid not realize the possible consequences of their selfish actions? Don't these parents care about their children's happiness?

Lots of young lives have already been destroyed, but lives can still be protected and led in the right direction. This is a wake up call to couples who are about to have kids. Use your brains for once. It's not for fancy.

Raising Moral Sheep
If there is any overt problem ailing our society, it's the problem of corruption, not just in corridors of government, but in other areas of our lives. In our schools, our workplace, and even religious institutions. If majority of the people perpetuating these vices emerged from the so called Nigerian homes that encourage the thriving of moral values, why then do they express the opposite of these values? The answer is obvious. The parents failed woefully in raising them to be responsible moral individuals. But what's the cause of this failure?

Nigerian parents are experts at raising moral sheep. Moral sheep are people who carry out moral actions not because they understand the reason for carrying our those actions, but because they are forced or instructed to. An instructive moral environment is the one most Nigerians grow up in with militant parents who dish out moral instructions that must be obeyed, without explaining the reason for prescribing those instructions. If the only reason why a child does something is because he is told to do that thing, and not because he understands the value of doing that thing and the consequences that follow from refusing to do that thing, then he has a weak moral foundation.

Children should be thought to not just follow instructions but to independently examine a situation, using empathy as the primary tool to carry out this examination, and arrive at the best possible moral solution. This is how to build an ethically grounded society, not by quoting scripture to kids and telling them that that's what god wants them to do.

I am done. Anyone is free to contribute or disprove my assertions.

No one read my writeup? Or you all agree with my views?

Absolutely nothing to disprove here, you made very valid points.

However, I need to correct your posture in putting it all on Nigerian Parents. Clearly, parents have a huge part to play in the larger narrative but let's weed out the problem from the root and not from the consequence - Nigerian parents are also a consequence of the real problem which I'll expand on below.

The bane of the growth and development in this country is illiteracy. Hold up, don't get me wrong - we know almost everyone is a graduate of some higher institution somewhere but very few Nigerians are truly educated and informed, what we have is a collection of very qualified educated illiterates running around and running things - the mind is a hard thing to sculpt, and the only way to do this is via education....and no, not just the kind you get within the four-walls of a university but the kind you get on your own by reading everything and anything.

A truly educated person does not engage in tribalism overtly or subtly, an educated person does not judge people based on where they live or the job they do, an educated person does not leave things to God that can be solved by critical thinking - Kemi Adeosun the other day could unashamedly say that God will help bring Nigeria out of recession..LOL. Really? God?
An economist who should have the training and qualifications to be proactive also thinks God is the one that solves economic problems. WOW!

As you can see, having schooled in a Western country or living in a western country doesn't take the Nigerian out of a Nigerian, because even with all that western education & exposure, a typical Nigerian by default still doesn't know how to be informed.
One misconception being carried around is that being informed means adopting western cultures and behaviours. This is actually a fallacy perpetuated by wannabes who want to be seen as exposed, because trying to adopt a foreign culture in favour of a more traditional one is another mildly visible form of illiteracy - a well packaged one at that.

Education is very important, education of the mind is even more important. The latter is what we as Nigerians need to work on.

crackhaus:
Absolutely nothing to disprove here, you made very valid points.

However, I need to correct your posture in putting it all on Nigerian Parents. Clearly, parents have a huge part to play in the larger narrative but let's weed out the problem from the root and not from the consequence - Nigerian parents are also a consequence of the real problem which I'll expand on below.

The bane of the growth and development in this country is illiteracy. Hold up, don't get me wrong - we know almost everyone is a graduate of some higher institution somewhere but very few Nigerians are truly educated and informed, what we have is a collection of very qualified educated illiterates running around and running things - the mind is a hard thing to sculpt, and the only way to do this is via education....and no, not just the kind you get within the four-walls of a university but the kind you get on your own by reading everything and anything.

A truly educated person does not engage in tribalism overtly or subtly, an educated person does not judge people based on where they live or the job they do, an educated person does not leave things to God that can be solved by critical thinking - Kemi Adeosun the other day could unashamedly say that God will help bring Nigeria out of recession..LOL. Really? God?
An economist who should have the training and qualifications to be proactive also thinks God is the one that solves economic problems. WOW!

As you can see, having schooled in a Western country or living in a western country doesn't take the Nigerian out of a Nigerian, because even with all that western education & exposure, a typical Nigerian by default still doesn't know how to be informed.
One misconception being carried around is that being informed means adopting western cultures and behaviours. This is actually a fallacy perpetuated by wannabes who want to be seen as exposed, because trying to adopt a foreign culture in favour of a more traditional one is another mildly visible kind of illiteracy - a well packaged one at that.

Education is very important, education of the mind is even more important. The latter is where we as Nigerians need to work on.

Excellently stated. Yes, I concede to the point you made about Nigerian parents not being the primary problem. I think there are various intertwined variables that collectively form the casual factors that underpin the lack of growth and development that we are experiencing in this country, of which, like you rightly stated, illiteracy is prime. But I created this thread to isolate one of these variables and tackle it strongly on a section where I believe there are people who it applies to.

I share all your sentiments about the deteroriating reading culture in Nigeria. It's really appalling. In this day and age where information is easy to acquire, where books can easily be downloaded and read on our gadgets, computers and mobile devices, we still have a painfully high uninformed and uneducated population. I think there are lots of factors nourishing this culture. Religion and social media being the chief factors.

On the point you made about our universities, I think our educational structures need to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. I think they have been structured in a way that students aren't thought to view knowledge as a key to effective practical application of such knowledge for the good of their society and for personal enlightenment, but as tools to get a degree and get a job.

I also think there is something genetically wrong with black people. And I know this may sound offensive, but I think the average black person doesn't possess the natural tools of critical thinking and self examination. The fact that people need to be advised to read and independently educate themselves in an era where information, both historical and contemporary, is easily accessible, confirms my speculation that there is something wrong with the black race. Of course there are exceptions, like yourself, and few others.
I think black people evolved excessive social skills and flamboyant gifts like singing, dancing and art, at the expense of cognitive skills like logic, critical thinking, ability to evaluate complex problems and abstract reasoning. That's why our ancient west African cultures were highly developed in the art of sculpting, music and dance, but didn't have a complex language structure to accommodate philosophical thought or a system of writing.

I have to agree with you.
I always say the older generation ( including our parents) have failed us, have failed this nation.
but then, a person cannot give what they do not have. They raised us the best way they know how, the way they were raised.

We are more educated than them now. It's left for to make a change and raise a better next generation.

Joavid:
I have to agree with you.
I always say the older generation ( including our parents) have failed us, have failed this nation.
but then, a person cannot give what they do not have. They raised us the best way they know how, the way they were raised.

We are more educated than them now. It's left for to make a change and raise a better next generation.

If by educated you mean ownership of degrees, then yes, we are more educated than the previous generation, but if by educated you mean being informed about our world, it's history, political and economic systems that have shaped it, philosophy, literature and other relevant sources of knowledge besides sports, music, fashion and celebrity gist, then I don't think we are more educated than the previous generation.

Trudax:


I share all your sentiments about the deteroriating reading culture in Nigeria. It's really appalling. In this day and age where information is easy to acquire, where books can easily be downloaded and read on our gadgets, computers and mobile devices, we still have a painfully high uninformed and uneducated population. I think there are lots of factors nourishing this culture. Religion and social media being the chief factors.

Look, everyone is not going to jump on the bookworm bandwagon.Everyone is not going to be readers or intellectuals. we have to get used to this. Today's millennials care more about social media, making quick money and socialising. I'm not saying it's a good thing but many of us were not trained to read from a young age which is hugely a fault of the rotten educational system and background that has affected us.

It takes a brave and deep thinking individual to decide to start reading after many years of reading only for exams.

A reform in the educational system from the basic level, to reintroduce better books; that will stimulate a child's imagination and creativity, to overhaul the current syllabus and curriculum. This will correct the Nigerian reading culture.

Every avid reader or book writer in the world today started reading as a child. That lifestyle was never inculcated into us.

I got introduced to reading as a teenager. not from school, not by my parents encouraging me or buying me books but by reading the newspapers my dad bought daily.
I thought it was disrespectful to read his paper, so I would sneak it into my room to read. then i go into old novels.

I also think there is something genetically wrong with black people. And I know this may sound offensive, but I think the average black person doesn't possess the natural tools of critical thinking and self examination. The fact that people need to be advised to read and independently educate themselves in an era where information, both historical and contemporary, is easily accessible, confirms my speculation that there is something wrong with the black race. Of course there are exceptions, like yourself, and few others.

To be honest, I also think there's something wrong with black people as well. All over the world, wherever they're concentrated, it's the same problems. I would say it's a curse if I believed in curses.

"The illiterates of this 21st century will no longer be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn"~ Alvin Toffler
with the above quote, we can see it's a universal problem.

I think black people evolved excessive social skills and flamboyant gifts like singing, dancing and art, at the expense of cognitive skills like logic, critical thinking, ability to evaluate complex problems and abstract reasoning. That's why our ancient west African cultures were highly developed in the art of sculpting, music and dance, but didn't have a complex language structure to accommodate philosophical thought or a system of writing.

Well, you can't be too sure what our forefathers did. You weren't there. You don't have enough information.
Read on that history more before you draw conclusions.

I suggest black historians. then compare with white historians, to make a balance.

Trudax:


If by educated you mean ownership of degrees, then yes, we are more educated than the previous generation, but if by educated you mean being informed about our world, it's history, political and economic systems that have shaped it, philosophy, literature and other relevant sources of knowledge besides sports, music, fashion and celebrity gist, then I don't think we are more educated than the previous generation.

I meant the later.

Whenever I mention educated it has absolutely nothing to do with university degrees except I include the degree.

Joavid:


Look, everyone is not going to jump on the bookworm bandwagon.Everyone is not going to be readers or intellectuals. we have to get used to this. Today's millennials care more about social media, making quick money and socialising. I'm not saying it's a good thing but many of us were not trained to read from a young age which is hugely a fault of the rotten educational system and background that has affected us.

It takes a brave and deep thinking individual to decide to start reading after many years of reading only for exams.

A reform in the educational system from the basic level, to reintroduce better books; that will stimulate a child's imagination and creativity, to overhaul the current syllabus and curriculum. This will correct the Nigerian reading culture.

Every avid reader or book writer in the world today started reading as a child. That lifestyle was never inculcated into us.

I got introduced to reading as a teenager. not from school, not by my parents encouraging me or buying me books but by reading the newspapers my dad bought daily.
I thought it was disrespectful to read his paper, so I would sneak it into my room to read. then i go into old novels.

To be honest, I also think there's something wrong with black people as well. All over the world, wherever they're concentrated, it's the same problems. I would say it's a curse if I believed in curses.

"The illiterates of this 21st century will no longer be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn"~ Alvin Toffler
with the above quote, we can see it's a universal problem.

Well, you can't be too sure what our forefathers did. You weren't there. You don't have enough information.
Read on that history more before you draw conclusions.

I suggest black historians. then compare with white historians, to make a balance.

I agree with most of what you've said.

About the history, I have done a lot of research on the history of sub-saharan Africa. I have read about the ancient Malian, Ghana, Kongo, Dahomey, Edo, Oyo and Songhai empires which are heralded as our greatest civilizations. I never said they weren't developed. I said there was an extent to their development and it was concentrated in the areas of trade(mostly raw materials), art, bronze and few iron works. Where they lacked however was in the scarcity of their language and its lack of complexity.You can glean a lot about the extent of a society's intellectual growth by studying their language. And you can't claim that the Europeans destroyed our language. Lol. They also didn't possess any process of documenting data through writing. That's why we know so little about our history. They also were deficient in other areas like animal domestication and weaponry. And these are just few African societies. I am even being biased because I am only cherry picking the narratives of those in support of the claim that African societies where well developed before they encountered the Europeans.

Getting rich quick and stupid aspects of socializing that we are borrowing excessively from countries with developed economies, technological frameworks and industries can only help single individuals. What we need is something that can help grow our country holistically. We are lagging behind in important areas, while the western world and asia is accelerating at lightening speed. America developed its economy and industries before developing its entertainment sector. Nigeria seems to be raising people to do the reverse. A week ago Chinese youths created the world's first quantum computer, while our youths were celebrating someone who was given 25 million for adding not even a scintilla of value to his society. We have serious problems in this part of the world.

I also think we need to do away with religion. It's not helping. It inhibits open mindedness and critical thinking. It also fragments society and nourishes bigotry. These things impede development.

@Trudax, I like this topic so much, because to change the dire situation in Nigeria we've got to first appreciate what is the cause, or rather the causes of the present state of things.

It's my opinion that both you, @Trudax and @Joavid, are leaving out very basic things that are the issues here. Our history and the influence of foreign powers in shaping the development or lack of it of our nation is important but not as important as what we choose to do as a people ourselves.

I've always argued that the society is the way it is because of the values the average Nigerian child is made to grow up with by the parents. Just as you said, politicians and leaders all grew up from certain families.

As I see it, the Nigerian child is encouraged to succeed at all cost by his family. He is made to see success as final. This singular belief is responsible for what I term, the worst form of corruption that is on-going in Nigeria. I mean, Examination Malpractice. Because, parents believe in success at all cost, they bankroll exam rigging for their children. They are encouraged to continue to cheat through all levels of education. These children with already corrupt minds, become politicians, policemen, civil servants, lecturers, etc.

Truth is, we can not have a system that does not reflect the characters of our families.

So I have to agree with you that our parents for a very long time have been failing this nation by what they teach their children irrespective of to what extend they are literate or illiterate.

Fadamant:
@Trudax, I like this topic so much, because to change the dire situation in Nigeria we've got to first appreciate with is the cause, or rather the causes of the present state of things.

It's my opinion that both you, @Trudax and @Jaovid, are leaving out very basic things that are the issues here. Our history and the influence of foreign powers in shaping the development or lack of it of our nation is important but not as important as what we chose to do as a people ourselves.

I've always argued that the society is the way it is because of the values the average Nigerian child is made to grow up with by the parents. Just as you said, politicians and leaders all grew up from certain families.

As I see it, the Nigerian child is encouraged to succeed at all cost by his family. He is made to see success as final. This singular belief is responsible for what I term, the worst form of corruption that is on-going in Nigeria. I mean, Examination Malpractice. Because, parents believe in success at all cost, they bankroll exam rigging for their children. They are encouraged to continue to cheat through all levels of education. These children with already corrupt minds, become politicians, policemen, civil servants, lecturers, etc.

Truth is, we can not have a system that does not reflect the charaters of our families.

So I have to agree with you that our parents for a very long time have been failing this nation by what they teach their children irrespective of to what extend they are literate or illiterate.

Excellent points made. Thanks for this.

Trudax: Excellently stated. Yes, I concede to the point you made about Nigerian parents not being the primary problem. I think there are various intertwined variables that collectively form the casual factors that underpin the lack of growth and development that we are experiencing in this country, of which, like you rightly stated, illiteracy is prime. But I created this thread to isolate one of these variables and tackle it strongly on a section where I believe there are people who it applies to.

I share all your sentiments about the deteroriating reading culture in Nigeria. It's really appalling. In this day and age where information is easy to acquire, where books can easily be downloaded and read on our gadgets, computers and mobile devices, we still have a painfully high uninformed and uneducated population. I think there are lots of factors nourishing this culture. Religion and social media being the chief factors.

On the point you made about our universities, I think our educational structures need to be dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. I think they have been structured in a way that students aren't thought to view knowledge as a key to effective practical application of such knowledge for the good of their society and for personal enlightenment, but as tools to get a degree and get a job.

I also think there is something genetically wrong with black people. And I know this may sound offensive, but I think the average black person doesn't possess the natural tools of critical thinking and self examination. The fact that people need to be advised to read and independently educate themselves in an era where information, both historical and contemporary, is easily accessible, confirms my speculation that there is something wrong with the black race. Of course there are exceptions, like yourself, and few others.
I think black people evolved excessive social skills and flamboyant gifts like singing, dancing and art, at the expense of cognitive skills like logic, critical thinking, ability to evaluate complex problems and abstract reasoning. That's why our ancient west African cultures were highly developed in the art of sculpting, music and dance, but didn't have a complex language structure to accommodate philosophical thought or a system of writing.

That right there is one big consequence of adopting everything and anything without first understanding how developmental dynamics work.

crackhaus:

That right there is one big consequence of adopting everything and anything without first understanding how developmental dynamics work.

Could you elaborate?

Trudax:


Could you elaborate?

Before western countries began investing so much in entertainment, there was a time when it was all about intellectualism - logic and critical thinking. The time of the inventors and scientists, the time where everything that could be invented was either invented or the groundwork laid for it.
The arts, music, film, social media are all now able to thrive in these countries because the tools needed to sustain them were already on ground.

The difference between that situation and the Nigerian situation is that while they developed systematically, we are skipping a few steps and already trying to adopt something that didn't just pop out of thin air...little wonder why our so-called entertainment industry is a celebration of mediocrity.

I hope this elaborates enough?

crackhaus:

Before western countries began investing so much in entertainment, there was a time when it was all about intellectualism - logic and critical thinking. The time of the inventors and scientists, the time where everything that could be invented was either invented or the groundwork laid for it.
The arts, music, film, social media are all now able to thrive in these countries because the tools needed to sustain them were already on ground.

The difference between that situation and the Nigerian situation is that while they developed systematically, we are skipping a few steps and already trying to adopt something that didn't just pop out of thin air...little wonder why our so-called entertainment industry is a celebration of mediocrity.

I hope this elaborates enough?

Yes it does. I made the exact same point in one if my responses to joavid. Thanks for clarifying.

Fadamant:
@Trudax, I like this topic so much, because to change the dire situation in Nigeria we've got to first appreciate what is the cause, or rather the causes of the present state of things.

It's my opinion that both you, @Trudax and @Joavid, are leaving out very basic things that are the issues here. Our history and the influence of foreign powers in shaping the development or lack of it of our nation is important but not as important as what we choose to do as a people ourselves.

I've always argued that the society is the way it is because of the values the average Nigerian child is made to grow up with by the parents. Just as you said, politicians and leaders all grew up from certain families.

As I see it, the Nigerian child is encouraged to succeed at all cost by his family. He is made to see success as final. This singular belief is responsible for what I term, the worst form of corruption that is on-going in Nigeria. I mean, Examination Malpractice. Because, parents believe in success at all cost, they bankroll exam rigging for their children. They are encouraged to continue to cheat through all levels of education. These children with already corrupt minds, become politicians, policemen, civil servants, lecturers, etc.


Truth is, we can not have a system that does not reflect the characters of our families.

So I have to agree with you that our parents for a very long time have been failing this nation by what they teach their children irrespective of to what extend they are literate or illiterate.

very important point @ bolded.

no one knows it all, I don't know it all, we are all learning from each other.
it's nice to see we're connecting the dots.

I hope you don't find it offensive I broke it into bits.

Trudax:


I agree with most of what you've said.

About the history, I have done a lot of research on the history of sub-saharan Africa. I have read about the ancient Malian, Ghana, Kongo, Dahomey, Edo, Oyo and Songhai empires which are heralded as our greatest civilizations. I never said they weren't developed. I said there was an extent to their development and it was concentrated in the areas of trade(mostly raw materials), art, bronze and few iron works. Where they lacked however was in the scarcity of their language and its lack of complexity.You can glean a lot about the extent of a society's intellectual growth by studying their language. And you can't claim that the Europeans destroyed our language. Lol. They also didn't possess any process of documenting data through writing. That's why we know so little about our history. They also were deficient in other areas like animal domestication and weaponry. And these are just few African societies. I am even being biased because I am only cherry picking the narratives of those in support of the claim that African societies where well developed before they encountered the Europeans.

hmmm so you're saying they were lacking in literature and philosophy. I think the Igbos have something called the nsibidi writings or so.

Anyway let's look at the bright side, they succeeded in other areas we should acknowledge them for. the past is the past.

Getting rich quick and stupid aspects of socializing that we are borrowing excessively from countries with developed economies, technological frameworks and industries can only help single individuals. What we need is something that can help grow our country holistically. We are lagging behind in important areas, while the western world and asia is accelerating at lightening speed. America developed its economy and industries before developing its entertainment sector. Nigeria seems to be raising people to do the reverse. A week ago Chinese youths created the world's first quantum computer, while our youths were celebrating someone who was given 25 million for adding not even a scintilla of value to his society. We have serious problems in this part of the world.

First of, It's unfair to compare America to Nigeria for obvious reasons. I.e, America is a lot older, the kind of colonisation that was in America is different from Nigeria etc etc.

I know it might be offensive to say this, but Asians are on another level. The black race is at the bottom and sometimes I think other races have every right to be racist towards black.
I always say, until African countries get out of this cesspit they're in, blacks will continue to encounter racism.

I also think we need to do away with religion. It's not helping. It inhibits open mindedness and critical thinking. It also fragments society and nourishes bigotry. These things impede development.

In the next century, Africans won't be as religious, trust me. we're in a phrase. but would we ever catch up with the western world? I doubt.

Joavid:

I hope you don't find it offensive I broke it into bits.


hmmm so you're saying they were lacking in literature and philosophy. I think the Igbos have something called the nsibidi writings or so.

Anyway let's look at the bright side, they succeeded in other areas we should acknowledge them for. the past is the past.

First of, It's unfair to compare America to Nigeria for obvious reasons. I.e, America is a lot older, the kind of colonisation that was in America is different from Nigeria etc etc.

I know it might be offensive to say this, but Asians are on another level. The black race is at the bottom and sometimes I think other races have every right to be racist towards black.
I always say, until African countries get out of this cesspit they're in, blacks will continue to encounter racism.


In the next century, Africans won't be as religious, trust me. we're in a phrase. but would we ever catch up with the western world? I doubt.

I don't mind if you break it into bits.

What do you think would lead to Africa not being religious in the next century? And when you say non religious, do you mean a decline in piety or the subscription to atheism?

Trudax:


I don't mind if you break it into bits.

What do you think would lead to Africa not being religious in the next century? And when you say non religious, do you mean a decline in piety or the subscription to atheism?

The educated millennials of today or at least the ones I see everyday aren't really religious.

They go to church on Sundays because it's a tradition from their parents. The other ones go to modern, hip & social churches aka motivational centres that sometimes read the Bible and collect tithes.

same as the Muslim millennials.

Aside the rise in atheism, educated millennials are less religious. probably because they have some unanswered questions.

I see a decline in religion in western and southern Nigeria in the next century. can't say the same for Northern Nigeria.

Joavid:

I hope you don't find it offensive I broke it into bits.


hmmm so you're saying they were lacking in literature and philosophy. I think the Igbos have something called the nsibidi writings or so.

Anyway let's look at the bright side, they succeeded in other areas we should acknowledge them for. the past is the past.



First of, It's unfair to compare America to Nigeria for obvious reasons. I.e, America is a lot older, the kind of colonisation that was in America is different from Nigeria etc etc.

I know it might be offensive to say this, but Asians are on another level. The black race is at the bottom and sometimes I think other races have every right to be racist towards black.
I always say, until African countries get out of this cesspit they're in, blacks will continue to encounter racism.



In the next century, Africans won't be as religious, trust me. we're in a phrase. but would we ever catch up with the western world? I doubt.

If I may pick on your second point, the idea that America is way older that Nigeria is not a good one ( I don't want to put it strongly).

It took Britain about 500 years to develop. America took 200 years. Japan 60 years. Singapore, China and South Korea anout 35 years. The point I am making is; it is taking countries lesser and lesser number of years to develop and do great things. Even in Africa countries are moving forward, while we remain stock. We gained indepence in 1960 is only an excuse to entrench mediocrity.

Joavid:


very important point @ bolded.

no one knows it all, I don't know it all, we are all learning from each other.
it's nice to see we're connecting the dots.

Yes. I've been worried by this for quite sometime. Most of what we have today as leaders are products of exam rigging, that is why we have the situation we hve now.

China recognises this as a major challenge. So once a student is caught cheating, that is the end of his educational pursuit.

Trudax:


Yes it does. I made the exact same point in one if my responses to joavid. Thanks for clarifying.

You're welcome.

@Trudax:

Nice one.

I am happy I came across this thread; I am usually amazed when I see people parrot that our parents are better than we are (like they didn't train us )

I largely agree with the OP and have always said that Nigerian parents don't train their kids aka inculcate values they want replicated in their kids; they do fire brigade approach and excessively beat a child for doing something wrong.

Again, most people were never allowed to critucally think and were taught to obey in a zombie-like manner without critical thinking that's why a subservient subordinate can be a very brutal boss/master in the space of 2 mins.

Religion: same issue.... the problem is not with religion (how many people actually study their religious books); the issue is the cultural flavour of zombie-like obedience and suspension of critical thinking brought into it. Infact history tells us that most of the early fathers of science were very religious. Again, our religious leaders sell 'hope' in exchange for seed planting aka tithes, offerings, contributions etc.

Is the black race cursed? Maybe.... or how do you explain someone who has access to voodoo making his neighbor as poor as he is instead of making himself the wealthiest person in town?

Good argument, fair points...

... but it is also true that there hasn't been a "black" nation in recent time/ for centuries. The last ones (mentioned above as African "civilisations") were deliberately fragmented. The 'development' you compare ours to evolved within a fairly harmonious (race-based) context (in the main). We still haven't formed any nations yet.
Today's parents have taught what they commonly felt was the best approach, based on their outlook-personal lessons and experiences from colonisation, colonial religion/education, civil war, Civil Service-and how it affects quality of life.
The politics and struggle for true nationhood still preoccupies the youth. Coupled with new-generation exposure to (inappropriately used) Technology, talent-to-riches (Entertainment-wise), largely negative/fraudulent religious practices (as against the previous generation's colonial experience) and poor quality of economic/social life, I fear the coming generation is even less prepared.

connkg:
Good argument, fair points...

... but it is also true that there hasn't been a "black" nation in recent time/ for centuries. The last ones (mentioned above as African "civilisations" were deliberately fragmented. The 'development' you compare ours to evolved within a fairly harmonious (race-based) context (in the main). We still haven't formed any nations yet.
Today's parents have taught what they commonly felt was the best approach, based on their outlook-personal lessons and experiences from colonisation, colonial religion/education, civil war, Civil Service-and how it affects quality of life.
The politics and struggle for true nationhood still preoccupies the youth. Coupled with new-generation exposure to (inappropriately used) Technology, talent-to-riches (Entertainment-wise), largely negative/fraudulent religious practices (as against the previous generation's colonial experience) and poor quality of economic/social life, I fear the coming generation is even less prepared.

In a nutshell, our parents only taught what they know, right? But how is it not their fault when they were supposed to be thinkers themselves. I refuse to agree that illiteracy had anything to do with it. Training is not only about reading and writing, but mainly about values.