How acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge,habits,skills or values can empower Nigerians, preserve the planet ,build shared prosperity in the nation and foster peace amongst various ethnicity.
Since the phasing away of the British curriculum and the adaptation of the American, little or no changes has been affected in the Nigerian educational sector. The introduction of 9-3-4 system which was supposed to eradicate poverty, empower the people,value oriented, create wealth and provide employment.
If these were the core values or promises of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), why then is the people not empowered,why is the system not working or giving maximum value, one might ask?
The reason for this poor performance can be narrowed down to poor personal development, government policies that doesn’t favour the system, poor learning environment, lack of financial allowances for the teachers, poverty, injustice, gender discrimination,war and violence, lagging behind in modern technology and artificial intelligence, ethnicity;where one ethnic group is favored more than the others, economic inequalities etc.
How learning can empower the people
Knowledge they say is power. Social vices like assault and battery, kidnapping and killing, thuggery and theft, that have become the norm in most of our society today wouldn’t be so if the people understood the importance of human life,if they knew that human life is priceless. We have more school dropouts now more than ever because the society is designed in a way that education is made a privilege and not a right which shouldn’t be so.
We have a school system that is designed to favour one ethnic group;where they are given food and allowance just for them to be in school while the others are pleading to be allowed in the school hall even if it means they have to sit on the floor.
Notwithstanding, empowering others, the job of empowering one another is an individual role and shouldn’t be left in the hands of the political leaders alone. If each and every one of us would make it a point of duty to empower at least one person in a day,by the end of the day,a lot would have been empowered.
“The beauty of empowering others is that your own power is not diminished in the process”_ Barbara Coloroso
There’s this positive vibe you feel within, when you empower another. It gives you a sense of self efficacy and energy and increases self confidence within you and the person also. The aim of empowering others is to make them see the world in a different light,in a world that is filled with chaos, to make them value diversity, make them support group interactions and address the importance of context.
These are ways we can empower one another:
1. Listen to other’s.
2 Speak and act with honesty.
3. Give out compliments that you mean.
4. Teach a class.
5. Get involved in community service.
6. Mentor a child or a student.
7. Donate money to charity.
8. Starts non-profit.
9. Take time to talk to strangers.
10. Be sincere.
11. Nurture talent in others.
12. Be conscious about others in public.
13. Give thoughtful gifts.
14. Volunteer in schools.
15. Smile more often.
16. Throw dinner parties with a mixed range of guests.
17. Use public transportation.
18. Don’t isolate yourself.
Learning for planet preservation
Preservation of this planet Earth,the ozone layer,wild life and natural resources is a task every living individual should take on. The healthier the planet is, the more living is made bearable for all of us.
Making sure that the ozone layer don’t deplete, that drainage systems don’t block off, that the atmosphere don’t get saturated by toxic gases,that waters don’t get contaminated and that wild life don’t go into extinction is our collective and individual role.
Here are practical ways we can preserve the planet;
1. Don’t send chemicals into our waterways.
2. Plant a tree.
3. Use long-lasting-energy-light bulbs.
4. Buy less plastic and a reusable shopping bags.
5. Conserve water.
6. Educate yourself and others.
7. Volunteer for clean up in your locality
8. Reduce-Reuse-Recycle.
Learning for building shared prosperity
Shared prosperity is the ability of a country to grow it’s economy and share it in a way that boosts the income of the bottom 40% of it’s population. It is NOT reducing inequality by redistributing an economic pie of a certain size or by taking from the rich to give to the poor.
It is simply a phenomenon where a country can grow the size of it’s pie, while at the same time share it in ways that boosts the income of the bottom 40% of it’s population.
Ways a country can move towards shared prosperity;
prosperity can be broad if growth can generate jobs and economic opportunities for all segments of the population.
By making sure children and youths are provided with universal access to early childhood development, health, nutrition, education and basic infrastructure.
By dismantling barriers to women’s participation in economic, social and political life.
Learning for fostering peace
Learning to live in peace is the process of acquiring the values,the knowledge and developing the attitudes, skills and behaviors to live in harmony with oneself,with others and with the natural environment.
There are ways we as individuals can help in fostering peace and these includes;
1. Writing a blog about promoting peace.
2. Posting on social media promoting peace.
3. Attending peace rallies,
4. Inviting a peace speaker to your workplace and/or community.
5. Traveling.
6. Visiting museum and cultural centers in your locality.
7. Listening with the intention to understand.
8. Be helpful to others when you can.
9. Learn another language.
10. Volunteer with the peace corps.
11. Study nonviolence,ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), conflict management, conflict resolution and peace studies.
12. Take interest in your city.
13. Attend council meeting.
14. Make a personal commitment to nonviolence.
15. Start a collection to donate to charity.
16. Organize a community project(clean up, planting trees)
17. Read books about peace.
18. Attend a meditation or conflict resolution training.
19. Create art in the theme of peace.
20. Say “I am sorry”.
In conclusion, in everything, it is our individual obligation to empower one another,build an economy that grows all and sundry financially, make the planet Earth live longer and not go into extinction and be at peace with oneself,with others and with the environment.
Written by Godswill Chiamaka