By John Mayaki
Which man can give what he does not have? In a period of very heartbreaking decay of education in Edo state, where it is clear that the man at the helm, Governor Godwin Obaseki, cannot salvage the situation, and neither is he genuinely interested in doing so; we become tempted to turn towards his deputy, Philip Shaibu, for a crumb of hope. But when we do so, the worst arises.
While Obaseki has become a prolific and successful sophist, his deputy, Shaibu, went to school only for the necessity of it. Philip Shaibu's disastrous academic record casts him in a position where responsibility for overseeing anything education, should be taken far away. Hence, while Obaseki in his honed sophistry, summons millions of words, conflating and deceiving the audience; Shaibu remaining in his lacklustre intellectual capacity, will not comprehend any, and by his habitual disinterest for academia, will enter no action. A spell of doom upon Edo.
First of all, Philip Shaibu had to write the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination twice. Not to be mistaken, the reason for his repeated participation was not born out of love for examinations, but by a shameful necessity: he failed the first, therefore he must write a second.
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| Edo deputy governor, Philip Shaibu |
Yet, while wisdom suggests he must apply himself to his studies for him to change his academic fate, it seemed, judging by the result of the second examination, that he rather became worse and totally indifferent about education.
One quality characterized the two results: absenteeism on exam dates, hence blank score sheets; failure of basic and necessary subjects. Entering the University became a lucky venture made possible by a very impossible benevolence of fate that saw the combination of the two stomach-turning results help him secure a place in the tertiary institution.
Arriving at the tertiary institution, nothing remarkably changed about Philip Shaibu as after seeming years of truancy and lackadaisical attitude to study, he bagged a flashy Third Class Honours degree.
For a man who went to study Accounting at the University of Jos in 1995, but graduating six years later, 2001, it directly proves that some of his courses were failed and had to be rewritten before he could graduate. Hence, the trademark absenteeism born out of sheer recklessness that became his secondary school signature found its way into his tertiary academic study. Nothing changed.
But the classification of his degree, which is an underwhelming third class, is not the focus, neither is it his extended years of study. What rather worries the mind is the character of the person who leads such life. To be excellent academically, a certain range of attitudes and characters are needed: discipline, focus, punctuality, organisational skills, time management etc. These qualities are what makes a student coordinate himself, applying his energy unto study and eventually emerging successful. Absence of these characters and attitudes prepares one for failure in an academic endeavour and in real life.
And that is the case. Can we say that there is any difference in the Philip Shaibu of Secondary school and University days? Can we say that there is any difference between the man who was absent in three out of his eight WAEC exam papers and the one we hope to drive our state's education fate? Can we trust the man who was absent in vital subjects like Government, History, and Commerce, to govern our state? Absenteeism was the most significant similarity between his two WAEC certificates, proving the persistence of his truancy. What more can we expect from this man?
Some people may argue that ones’ academic records do not matter, nor does it determine the proficiency and qualification of a man. They are right. For the motor park tout leader, a treasurer of the Union of Okada Riders, academic records don't matter and wouldn't determine their performance in their honourable role. But that argument falls flat when we enter the discourse of high intellectually demanding tasks like state governance. And even if we want to dismiss bad academic records, what about the absence of characters and qualities that led to it? Characters and qualities that its absence will in governmental leadership, spell doom.
What Philip Shaibu's education history, both as a student and leader shows, is that of academic scorn, indifference and disinterest. With Godwin Obaseki dabbling in impotent sophistry, can Shaibu be trusted to save Edo State's vanishing educational glory? This man cannot give what he does not have, and with it comes the sadder news: education will remain under serious threat so long the ineffective duo of Obaseki and Shaibu are at the helm.
John Mayaki, a media expert writes from Edo State
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