₦airaland Forum

Love seeing sport legends go on to do remarkable things in unrelated fields; curious to see what Nadal's impact will be, and this brings to mind Kobe... damn! That man was only getting started. RIP Kobe. RIP Gianna.

Great job you've done op: I wish you all the best.

Kobojunkie:
1... also one who has remained a law-abiding citizen through it all.

I say ethics is a great piece of technology, that betters the life of all parties involved, because when there's ethics we cooperate seamlessly, and that there is the huge unlock.

Kobojunkie:
1. A track record of tangible, measurable success(not abstract nonsense/awards) in the real world. I want someone who has a long business record that can be looked up and examined, and also one who has remained a law-abiding citizen through it all. Running a small mom-and-pop store for 2 minutes is, of course, not what I mean. 😒😒

2. I no dey do Nigerian soup-idity, abeg! 😒😒

I agree. We need less pomp more useful competence. Even if politics may not be one's personal objective, the real-world-competence frame of mind is one good heuristic for life.

Kobojunkie:
Check their credentials, and you will find that those were the minority who had at least one foot, or maybe even half of their body, solidly planted outside of the academic bubble. 🤔🤔

2. The lightbearers are not made lightbearers as a result of being part of academia, but as a result of the wisdom they have gleaned from their many "majority failed attempts" at trying/testing what they have learned out in the real world. See, being 100% academic is like living inside of one's head. The only way to truly learn and make something out of oneself is to step out of one's mind into the real world. 🤔🤔

3. I know of Jordan Peterson. That man had many, many years of real-world practice even as he worked in academia. However, I would never vote for such a man to become a politician. Why? Because a politician should have even better skills than what Peterson's resume reveals. 🤔🤔

Jordan did; true, he had years of real-world practice. To add to your second point, what ends up in books comes from real-world experience.

Out of curiosity, what other skills would your ideal politician possess?

Kobojunkie:
1. Precisely! So, when a headline reads that people voted in Academics and the people who made it happen were many of the same students who were locked up in the same academic bubble as those they voted in, prayers are needed! 😐😐😐

2. Exactly! A life that most students have never known or even considered what it truly holds for them once they leave the academic bubble many of them have been groomed in. 😐😐

3. The people of Serbia need our prayers as they embark on this journey! 😐😐

Now I see your perspective. Contemporary academia isn't the old school of Athens. There's this man, Nial Ferguson and his wife Ayan Hirsi, together with others such as Bari Weiss (The Free Press), they founded a new university, the University of Austin, during the woke storm which seized most American universities. So yeah, if those students aren't as classical as they need to be, then prayers indeed. It was great conversing with you!

Kobojunkie:
Back in 2018, EU voters were warned of what their academic heads were about to do to their continent.

MUST WATCH: Janice Atkinson’s 2018 warning about the UN Migration Compact looks spot on in 2026. She called the direction of mass migration years before the headlines caught up. Please RETWEET this. pic.twitter.com/aUUxhvf8os

— Amelia (@makeukgood) October 31, 2026

Fast forward to 2026, the report card is in, and we all now see how the academics damaged the constitutions and life in the EU.😐😐😐

That's a valid example. And COVID too. But there were those in academia who were also against migration and the strict clampdown of social freedoms during COVID; some of those professors lost tenure at the universities they taught at. Academia has its bad eggs, yes, but there are bearers of light within her walls as well. Perhaps you know Jordan Peterson, the Canadian psychologist who was cancelled for his views.

Kobojunkie:
1. The greatest civilizations on the planet were built, not by academics, but by mostly laymen or educated men who had long since walked the path that ordinary men walked and gained so much wisdom from the journey. Compare that to what you find even today in Europe, Africa, and Asia, and you will find this to be the case time and time again. 😐😐

2. Don't shift the goalposts now! Your post literally celebrates academics, not intelligence! Two totally different things. One does not equate to the other. 😐😐

3. It has never been a sound bet. Hence the reason why I offer my "prayers to the Serbian people. 😐😐

All academics are not intelligent. Intelligence is formed by a practical life. All academics don't live practical lives. Wisdom is formed by practical living. All academics are not wise. Wisdom is necessary to establish a great civilization. All academics are not people who can establish a great civilization.

The stuff of truth, sound judgement, and inventiveness are not found in academia.But those elements are found in life outside academia.

I seem to think the above is what you see. Correct me. (No sarcasm, I'll like to understand your viewpoint; my views are not superior. Thanks for your attention so far. I'm new to Nairaland.)

Kobojunkie:
High standards? Historically, high standards have never actually been set by those from academic circles, but rather by those who have everyday experience of life and living, business, and struggle outside of academic bubbles. So, yeah...my "prayers" or something resembling that are with the Serbians as they go through this. 😐😐

Historically, could you be kind to cite a few examples. Intelligence does not only thrive in academia, yes. But the grind of everyday life doesn't afford most the chance to live the life of the mind and of actions that can alter reality. So perhaps the academic bubble is a sound bet given the sort of people contemporary politics and government tends to attract.

There's goodness in the world. There's goodness in the world. Worth imitating. Good will prevail.

Kobojunkie:
OMGOSH!!! Our prayers are definitely with the Serbian people as they go through these challenging times. 😐😐

Yeah, it's such a challenge to have high standards and be better for it. Indeed, we sympathize with the well-meaning people of Serbia.

Dozens of academics become politicians after student group’s stunning victory

An astrophysicist who studies galaxy evolution. An electrical engineer who has helped design robots. An organic chemist who, during the pandemic, worked on COVID-19 drugs. An education researcher, a sociologist, several political scientists, economists, physicians, and medical researchers. They have all been elected to what may well be the brainiest parliament in the world.

After a student-led opposition movement won in Serbia on 25 October, the group, named Student List – Students Are Winning, has 141 representatives in Serbia’s 250-member National Assembly. Dozens of them come from the academic world, and more than half have a Ph.D. or M.D.

Now, this group is tasked with forming a government and charting a new course for Serbia, after 13 years of populist authoritarian rule by Aleksandar Vučić, first as prime minister and later as president. Student List has promised to fight corruption and establish meritocracy, accountability, and the rule of law.

The winning political movement emerged from countrywide student protests sparked by the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad train station in November 2024 that killed 16 people. Students blamed the tragedy on corruption in the public sector and demanded transparency and justice. But as their calls went unheeded, their protests grew stronger, drawing support from academics, teachers, and the wider public. By May 2025, they called for an early election and started to draft candidates.

Rather than stand themselves, the students pulled together a slate of trusted figures—not just academics, but also farmers, lawyers, artists, teachers, and a former basketball player.

(Source: https://www.science.org/content/article/serbia-just-elected-world-s-brainiest-parliament)