By
John Chizoba Vincent




I am bigger than papers




“It makes little difference how many university courses and degrees a person may own. If he cannot use words to move an idea from one point to another, his education is incomplete“ – Norman Cousins



Economists who have studied the relationship between education and economic growth confirm what common sense suggests: the number of college degrees is not nearly as important as how well students develop cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problems solving ability” – Derek Bok



What I have learnt is that a whole lot of people with degrees don’t know a damn thing and a lot of people with no degrees are brilliant“ – John Henrik Clarke





I have met many great men of great repute who weren’t defined by what they studied in school or by what certificates and degrees they acquired. Some of them opted out of school to become who they are now while some of them dropped out from school due to one thing or another.



Melancholy and sadness are the start of doubt – doubt is the beginning of despair; despair is the cruel beginning of the differing degrees of wickedness. It has become the norm in our country, Nigeria, for people to qualify you or become acquainted to you based on the certificates or degrees you acquired from university or higher institutions without having any clue of what those who acquired those degrees stand to offer society.



I am not saying that those degrees are not good to acquire or not important, we know that to compete for the jobs of the 21 century and thrive in a global economy, we need a growing, skilled and educated workforce, particularly in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math. Nigerians with bachelors degrees have half the unemployment rate of those with high school degrees but I am of the opinion that degrees should not be a criteria to judge people based on what they can and cannot do. Everyone should be given a chance.



Don’t judge me on my educational background, I can be better than the things I was taught in the four corners of the classroom. I may end up doing better than those that went to school to acquire thousands of certificates and degrees. We have great men who became great today not because of what they studied in school but because they discovered themselves; they discovered their lives beyond what men conditioned on paper with ink.



“Leadership consists not in degrees of techniques but in traits of character, it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort and imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint” – Lewis Lapham. We should all feel confident in our intelligence.



By the way, intelligence to me isn’t being book-smart or having degrees here and there; it’s trusting your gut instincts, being intuitive, thinking outside the box, and sometimes just realizing that things need to change and being smart enough to change it. You can be all you want to be without degrees littered on your shelf. You can self help yourself and still have one or two things that can stand tomorrow. Don’t allow anyone to put you down because you don’t have a PHD or HND or Bachelors of science; no! Your dog only bears the name you call it every day.



Shakuntala Devi once said that education is not just about going to school and getting a degree, it’s about widening your knowledge and absorbing the truth about life. Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who are prepared not in degrees but in what can be beneficial to the world. Stop judging people basde on the degrees before their names, judge them based on what they can offer to help make the world a better place. We are all bigger and greater than those papers on our shelves.



Let the truth be told, many people nowadays don’t work with their degrees or certificates. Some of them don’t work based on what they study in school. We have many who studied sociology who ended up working as presenters and those who studied psychology who ended up working in the banking sector. So, it is not all about what you study or the degree you were awarded in university, it’s about what you can do yourself. I am bigger than those papers likewise you; don’t be defined by it.

when did you realize this?

falcon01:
when did you realize this?

Just recently! And I thank God I did

Johnchizoba:




Just recently! And I thank God I did

good for you. All that matters is what you know.

falcon01:
good for you. All that matters is what you know.

Exactly. But our problem is that majority of guts still trust in this.

with your terrible English filled with all kinds of poor grammatical construction, I see the reason why you are averse to education.

olowoba:
with your terrible English filled with all kinds of poor grammatical construction, I see the reason why you are averse to education.

Thank you for reading the terrible English filled with all kinds of poor grammatical construction. Thank God you understand what the article is talking about.

Johnchizoba:




Just recently! And I thank God I did

I'm glad you discovered. Now that you have, what next?

Exactly my brother, education and degree is overrated, especially in nigeria




Enterpreheur, skill, talent and business is the way forward not degree


degree can only make u a cooperate slave(employee)


and u can never be rich been an employee, ur employer will always be richer dan u


for those who has not understand this should go and read

1. Rich dad, poor dad
2. Think and grow rich


u can thank me next year with iphone200

Tony142:
Exactly my brother, education and degree is overrated, especially in nigeria




Enterpreheur, skill, talent and business is the way forward not degree


degree can only make u a cooperate slave(employee)


and u can never be rich been an employee, ur employer will always be richer dan u


for those who has not understand this should go and read

1. Rich dad, poor dad
2. Think and grow rich


u can thank me next year with iphone200

Where can I get this in Ibadan

Nuclearact:
Where can I get this in Ibadan

i have them, drop your email address, i will send it to u, but not now sha. Cos my mb is about to finish, maybe 2moro

I Need It Too

olaola20010812@gmail.com

It is not only universities that issues certificates Tailors also issue certificates so u can try and focus on them too not only universities. In fact no sure way in Nigeria anymore whether certificate ooo! or skills ooo! or business oo ! nothing is guaranteed anymore in this country so face anyone you are in and ask God for divine favour. Businesses are folding up, people are losing jobs that will in turn affect the skill person to get a job to do. So everyone is interwovenly in a mess as it stands now.

op i really commend you for writing this topic. it is an eye opener to our over educated brothers and sisters.

[quote author=dikachi86 post=73152537]op i really commend you for writing this topic. it is an eye opener to our over educated brothers and sisters. Over educated people did not start today and will also not end anytime soon. There has been skill acquisition, trading and businesses right from time immemorial there is know eye opener anything. People chose what rocks their boat OK! Ojukwu read in Oxford but decided to end up in the Nigerian Army. Achiebe and Wole Soyinka decided to end up in the academics after their over qualification according to u from abroad. What u guys don't know is that higher education is indispensable. Paper qualification is all over the world not just in Nigeria alone. Wall street in the US is made up of college graduates in their offices and they are powering US economy. So have a chill pill on Nigerian degree holders focus on the government to get the country working like every other saner countries. In the US, u work in the bank with a degree only special skills like IT can be exonerated some how and it must be top notch. And again degree doesn't devalue u it only add to what u have. U can be ur fashion designer and still have ur degree. But if u don't see a need for the degree just be confident on what u have. What I sense from all this is lack of confidence in once ability and clean conscience towards degree holders. U feel intimidated or inferior stop that! And man up OK! Or u are happy that they should not make an head way in chosen what they like the way u have chosen what u like and hoping to make a better life out of it.

Tony142:




i have send it, check ur email weather u will see it

I have seen it boss. I also replied the mail. Thanks once again, I really appreciate.