FOLA GUIDANCE & COUNSELING SERVICES

YOUR DESTINY IS IN YOUR HANDS

This write-up comes up as directed by the Holy Spirit to help in the CHARACTER FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT of the citizens of our great country- NIGERIA.

 The objective is to encourage each individual to realize his/her uniqueness which will lead to self-reliance, respect of others "LOVE" for our country and total FREEDOM. It will contribute immensely to the knowledge of all "child developers, like parents, teachers, school owner government officials, religious groups, market women, artisans and all those who want to achieve 'SUCCESS' in all areas of their lives.

 The main question as far as this NATION'S DEVELOPMENT is concerned, is; under the present circumstances what must a system of education do in order to raise the citizen in the scale of civilization?

The answer to this question seems clear to me; It must strengthen the citizens characters, increase their knowledge, (Physical, Emotional, social, Intellectual and spiritual knowledge), educate each citizen on their individual uniqueness i.e. itself importance), guide them to identify each citizen's talents and use such talents for the benefits of individual, family and the nation at large.

Now it goes without saying, that it is hard to do all these things simultaneously and suddenly. It is the trained, living human beings, cultivated and strengthened by long study and thought, that breathes the real breath of life into people and makes them human.

If the society fails to lift up its citizens, they will pull it down. Education, honesty and hardwork are the levers to uplift people, work alone will not do it. unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence. Education must not simply teach work, it must teach life.

Parents, Teachers, religious groups, the society at large must see their responsibilities of nation building as a God given assignments, which must be carried out conscientiously.

Since you can not give what you don't have, there is need for "Continuous Adult Basic Education and development of Reading Culture. Our main focus should be on "Creativity, Self-Reliance and Freedom and not competition which lead to slavery. (This will be explained deeply in the subsequent lessons).

It appears to me, that the greatest problems we have in this country today is in our kind of schooling, today it is "skills" but with very little education. They teach us every thing from Biology to Biography, from Physics to Phonetics, from Science to Sociology, from calculus to computer. We memories and understand the skills but not the arena of practice, which is LIFE. They teach us everything but not about LIFE itself. We come up therefore with so much skills and certificates but only literacy. We become computer literates, biology literates but with little or no education even at the point of Ph.D. We graduate experts in everything else but life, so much knowledge but very little wisdom. So many certificates but no education.

So who then, is the educated man?. It is the enlightened man. An educated man is light-embodiment; that is THE LIGHT IS IN HIM/HER. The concept of light in this case is spiritual one which many are familiar with. It is associated with love, Truth, hard-work, honesty, culture, respect, nobility, compassion, consideration, creativity, and with imagination.

In times past, teachers, religious leaders and parents' primary duties were the ignition of this light, so it could shine so brightly in the children that it lights up the path even for others. But now it is the worship of money, cars, houses etc.

The educated man is the rounded human being, the model, the example, he practice truth with ease because he is not separate from it. His confidence is deep seated, because he is rooted in the light, he sustains the light and the light sustains him. His sole ambition is to work for the up liftment of humanity. This he is fired by an unselfish ambition, which empowers and compels him to excellence. Whatever skill he acquires he sees it not as a mere meal ticket, but essentially as an instrument to be put in the service of life. The educated man spends all his life taking care of life and, by some unknown rule, life also takes care of him.

If the educated man is a leader and you are his follower, you will testify to the love, the forth rightness, the discipline. If a follower, he is very easy to lead. If the educated man is a medical doctor, and you are his patient, you will testify to the difference, to his compassion, the love and the excellence at which he works.

As child developers the only right or the best legacy to our children/young ones is "TRUE EDUCATION" and not only literacy. With true education, there is never need to fear for the future. By definition, the educated one can always take care of himself through services to fellow men.

The focus of our education should be "Self Reliance and developing our creativity. It should aim at total development of each individual, the home, the developed states and the country at large.

Self Reliance is what proves that you are a developed human being. developed country or developed continent. It is important to rely on your self because the external world, the world outside yourself is most unreliable, shifty and unpredictable. Relying on yourself also give greater control of your life and destiny. You make your own plans and projections and prediction based on your own trusted abilities. It is easy for you to make amends or changes, in your own life; like a master, not a slave. When you rely on yourself, you are in charge, which means your destiny depends on you.

 

 (1) Spend 10 minutes a day with your self alone. You may call it quiet time, prayer time or meditation time. This is one of those rare moments when you ask God to speak to you. This habit will get you listen to yourself to hear yourself, even in the midst of other people. It brings out the uniqueness of your personality. Try to answer the basic question. Who am I? What do I really want in life? How can I get what I want? How can I use time and space to move toward success? How can I control my destiny? what will happen when I allow others to control my life? With self-reliance, you will have pride and dignity in your thought and actions which will enable you to earn the stuff of nobility.

 

(2) The tool for creativity is imagination. The journey into creativity begins in the house of imagination. Since everybody has imagination, it means we can all create the best life we deserve. Therefore, we should develop our faculty of imagination for us to be happy and free. Imagination is the power of the mind to see deeply. Example, close your eyes and see the best car or house you like to have.

But it is not enough to imagine, and leave it in your head, if you want to be creative and great. You have to bring out what you imagined, by making it physical, sculpture if you are a sculptor, painting if you are a painter, printing if you are a printer etc. The creative process has three basic segments; the imaginative essence which is spiritual, yourself as its channel for materialization, and the creation itself. In essence as al creative person, you are like a bridge between the spiritual and the physical.

In life most people end up as copycats, either because they do not use their imagination or do not have the discipline to realize physically and concretely what they imagined.

To be a successful, creative and great person, you therefore need imagination, imagination you already have from birth. It is self-discipline and personal effort that you need to be successful.

Being in school or in our jobs is part of the attempt to help with the requisite discipline to become a true creative person. The subjects our children offer in schools are the elements of discipline which they need to acquire, to help them translate the product of their imagination into concrete reality, the same preparation is what you are getting through character training so you can control yourself, limit your selfishness, greed, freedom, anger, vanity and desire for comfort in order to create.

Lastly it should be noted that our education can only be relevant, if it is tailored toward our culture.

Since culture not only refers to anti facts, but also ideas, technical knowledge, habits, values, modes of behaviour and socialization, culture distinguishes one nation from another.

Culture is not genetically transmitted, it is acquired, it is acquired through the process of socialization, it is historically derived, and therefore, transmitted from one generation to another.

 EDUCATION SHOULD GIVE INDEPENDENCE & FREEDOM.

 

RECOMMENDATION: In my own little way I therefore request that the issue of giving true education should be revisited by all agencies concerned, the parents, homes, community leaders, local, state and the federal government. Each individual in the country should set this big goal of FUNCTIONAL EDUCATION through identification of each person's talents and start its implementation now. It does not require much money but it has the highest future.

Thanks.