Lately i've been reading about governors, government officials and other important political figures talking about building more schools, hospitals, universities etc. This is a harmless idea: build more infrastructure. So what is my beef then, you ask? I'll tell you, because that is why I am writing this.
The problem we have in Nigeria is not a lack of infrastructure as much as it is a lack of maintainance of pre-existing infrastructure. Every where you look in Nigeria there are buildings that were once brand new, but now look like crackhouses you can find in a gritty American drama. And then right across from it you see a new building going up to replace the dilapidated one. I can't be the only one noticing this...
Alright just to make this much more tangible and real lets talk figures. We are Nigerians, we respond to Ego, Kwudi, Owo...
Say the cost of building and furnishing a new primary school is 15 million naira and and out of that 15 million, 5 million is used for the actual furnishing, we could build a new school......or we could go to the Federal Government Primary School, repaint and refurnish it... buy desks, computers, equip the labs and library with much needed materials. Lets say that costs 7 million, then we woould have not only succeeded in saving money but we have also improved the learning environment for lots of young children, rather than build one on a whim.
We can increase the pay for teachers and make them more enthusiastic about their work by improving the work environment and access to teaching materials, this will reflect in the way that they perform and ultimately in the way that the kids learn.
I am a firm believer in the philosophy that if the workplace is comfortable and inspiring, then productivity will be high. I am not saying that we should build palaces for Nigerian students, I am saying that we should improve the infrastructure we already have, improve the work environment and pay for teachers, and ultimately improve the quality of education that Nigerian kids are receiving.
The future is bright for Nigeria but we have to make sure we light that fire when these kids are young and make sure it doesn't die from dissapointment.
I guess what I am saying is, why cook a new pot of rice when you have already cooked rice in the fridge? Just bring it out warm it up add stew and it is still rice.... I'm rambling. But you get what I mean. Let us maintain the infrastructure we already have instead of building new ones.
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