By Dhano Obongo
July 25, 2017 (SSNA) — While I was on the Easter break in April visiting my beloved family in Kampala, Uganda, in on morning I was reading a newspaper call New Vision dated Monday, April 24, 2017 Vol.032No. 081.
I read that, H.E President Museveni attended a summit on natural resources in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
In that summit, he gave a talk on natural resources and why the Africa Continent remains behind. President Museveni was very persuasive in his language.
However, when I was reading his speech, yes, I agreed with some of what he told the African leaders in the summit for example, “Africa has structural disadvantage, we are not like China – In China, when there is one good thinker, the whole China follows them”. Here H.E President Museveni he is absolutely right and I agreed with him. Because, we Africans we intended to localize and not to sale it to the whole continent. It’s a pity.
In the summit President Musseveni it seems disagree with presenter on issue of education as a right direction to the African problems.
I said, I agreed with presenters that, education is a good solution to our African solution, with due respect to the President Musseveni opinion, I want to say I profoundly disagreed with President Musseveni on the “the talk that if you educate your people, everything will be okay, was part of the mistakes in 1960. This fragmented thinking. Vision is incorrect”.
From my point of view giving education to African people, means give power, & knowledge and two are robust instruments for our beloved continent. And a good example is the President Musseveni himself. Why? Because, he has a strong education background, has made him to be an instrumental, influential, strong and thinker in political leader in continent and in the region and may be around the globe.
Simply, because he has earned a robust knowledge. Thus, saying that, the education vision which was put in place by our pan-African leaders was incorrect vision is not place.
I think, only what our Pan-African leaders missed was that they lack poor planning in vocational education to produce skills that should match with the development needs of the continent. In general, or each country demands.
For instance, the South Sudan is an oil producing country, so the skills being passed on now should be relevant to the jobs that will raise from the oil industry. And that is the work of educationist planners in the Ministry of Higher Education, Sciences and Technology with collaboration of the Ministry of Public Service & Human Development Resources.
For these reasons, I strongly articulate above mentioned and with my due respect to president Museveni, I profoundly disagreed with him on issue of education, because education is power, light and most significantly is a key road to civilization and modernity, While the illiteracy is a killer and enemy to dignity as well as to self-esteem. Thus, I will not miss this opportunity to thank our beloved missionaries who came from the western world in the last passed century and they gave us knowledge to open our eyes through education. Furthermore, education can minimize poverty which the first killer in the world in generally and Africa continuant in particular. God bless Africa.
Long live Pan-Africa
Long live African continent
The author can be reached via Email address: [email protected].