On Making a Contribution

I recently read a speech given in June 2007 by Bill gates on graduation day at Harvard University. It was a great and inspiring speech. It moved and inspired me.

For long I have always wanted to make positive contributions to my community but I have found the issues too daunting and complex. Gates awakened me to the fact that the significant inequities in our societies are usually too complex and as such people who care get intimidated and give up trying to make a difference. Gates went on to propose a three point strategy to cut through the complexities:

· Identify the problem
· Identify the solution
· Implement and measure the impact of the solution

According to Gates the most essential and probably the most difficult part is finding the solution to a problem. Most Nigerians will agree with this as we can list the myriad of problems facing us but we cannot seem to find solutions that work.

As a female from Northern part of Nigeria (Kano) I have always felt that the biggest inequity confronting my local community is the lack of quality public education. In this modern age, I believe that no society can move forward when a majority of the citizens have no access to quality basic education (primary and secondary school). It is only through making available quality education to all, that those brilliant minds that could solve our biggest problems can be discovered and nurtured.

Today, thousands are denied access to education while an even bigger number spend time in our public schools without learning much. Recently I visited a public secondary school in Kano metropolis. Most of the classes in the school have over 80 students. Over half the students have no chair or table. Majority of the students don’t have any textbook to speak off and the school library is a joke. No meaningful learning can take place under such conditions and in fact no meaningful learning is taking place in this particular school.

How can we change this? How do we enlighten and encourage parents to send their children to school and to take an active part in their education? How do we get the best out of the money set aside by government for education? How do we get the government to increase funding for education? These are some of the problems that come to mind.

Improving the quality of our public schools is a long, tough and continuous battle. However, it is a battle worth fighting.

A few months ago, the Federal Government called on Nigerians both individuals and corporate bodies to “adopt a school” in order to help the government in addressing the public education crises. While addressing the crises will require more commitment from government, the “adopt a school” approach could yield unexpected dividends.

On my part, I have decided to heed the call of the government and adopt a school. I have already identified a secondary school within Kano metropolis to adopt.

I encourage all readers of this piece out there to try to do something positive that will impact on their communities. For in Nigeria of today, anybody reading this piece is privileged and “to whom much is given, much is expected”.