MTU HOLDS SPECIAL LECTURE: TED Conference Speaker Calls for an Exchange of Ideas and Mindset.

Nigeria does not need permission from her former colonialists in order to jettison the yoke of western knowledge that is not working in the country.  This revelation was made at the Multipurpose Hall of the University on Thursday, 30th June 2022.

This time, it was a special lecture tagged: Pebbles, Swords and Conquering Giants: Indigenous Knowledge, Western Knowledge and Nigeria’s Accelerated Advancement. The event was organised by the University Management.  The speaker was Dr (Mrs) Chika Ezeanya-Esiobu, an expert on African indigenous knowledge and a TED conference speaker.

 In her words, independence is not about the exchange of flags but the exchange of ideas and mindset. She said that Nigeria would have to learn from David, who did not ask for permission from Saul before taking off the armour.

 Citing Rodney (1982:271), Dr (Mrs) Ezeanya-Esiobu stated that the “Europeans thoroughly applied their own curricula without reference to African conditions but, very often they deliberately did with the intent to confuse and mystify”.

 She added that Nigeria would have to gradually urge her people to accept the changes. “Nigerians would be able to invest in their individual capabilities in discussions”, she said.

 In addition, the vice-chancellor, Prof. Elijah Ayolabi, harped on African consciousness and a change of mindset. He noted that Nigerians had been indoctrinated and must have a shift in reasoning.  He advised that it was pertinent that policymakers think of ways to aid the country without looking toward the western world for help.

 He added that the Nigerian educational system would be useless if it won’t be applied to solve the nation’s problems.