There is common saying that children are leaders of
tomorrow. I agree that this is a true statement because the child today will
become the adult tomorrow and from among them the leaders will come forth. This
means that the leaders we have today are the tomorrow’s leaders that were
talked about yesterday.
If the leaders we have today who were talked about yesterday
as the hope for the future are failing us then it means that they hope upon
them has been dashed. What happened to them that now the hope seen in them did
not become a reality? What changed along the way? Who cause the dashing of that
hope? Many questions, abi?
This write up is not about the leaders we have today who
were ‘leaders of tomorrow’ yesterday. This is about the leaders of tomorrow who
are children today, the children that will grow to become leaders tomorrow. So
what about them?
Secondary schools are writing their final examinations
precisely Senior School Certificate Examination. A friend hinted me on
something happening in the exams going on now. She mentioned something like
‘Magic Centre’. Immediately another phrase that I have heard about exams came
to mind, ‘Miracle Centre”.
Magic or miracle centre is any examination centre where
examination malpractice is the norm. Candidates pay any amount of money
necessary to bribe the supervisors to condone malpractice. In these centres,
this money is factored into the registration fee for the exams. The school
management is responsible for sharing the money among those concerned and also
mobilise those that will supply the answers to the examination questions.
Failure rate in these centres is very small as most of the
candidates come out in flying colours. Candidates from these centres brandish a
result fit for Ivy League schools but can hardly defend these results. These
centres are usually bloated with candidates seeking for miracle every year.
This act is connivance between school management, teachers,
parents and even examination officials. And students readily gravitate to these
centres in the bid to passing their examinations. These students are the
leaders of tomorrow, aren’t they?
If they can cheat in WAEC or NECO then they can also cheat
in JAMB. If they cheated in JAMB, they can repeat it in Post-UME. The tendency
to cheat in their other exams is very high. If they can cheat in examinations
then they can also cheat when they start to work. And when they become
occupiers of authority they can also cheat there.
If the group of students described above is leaders of
tomorrow, is there any hope for a better Nigeria? Are they not exhibiting a
trait likely to lead to corrupt practices in the future? Can these set of
leaders of tomorrow lead Nigeria to El Dorado we all clamour for? Will they not
plunge Nigeria into more problems if they take the mantle of leadership?
We cannot afford to have these kinds of ‘leaders of tomorrow’
if Nigeria must move forward and be taken seriously among the comity of
nations. Something needed to be done quickly to change the trend of things. It
starts with all of us. We are parents, brothers, sisters or at least related to
these youngsters in secondary schools. We have a duty to show them the right
path. If we condone or support these acts of indiscipline and malpractice, we are
building a foundation for a Nigeria that is doomed to ruin.
Are you prepared to work for change? It starts with all of
us.
#2015OnMyMind
#PoliticalGabriel
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