Miseducation and Spirituality

[Onyiiboy]

Miseducation and Spirituality
By Nkemka Anyiwo and Akobundu Anyiwo

found online at
http://igbokwenu.wikispaces.com/Educ...d+Spirituality

Our history can strongly affect our esteem. The educational system carries a big role in society. It is responsible for educating the future of the world, the youth. What is learned in schools can sway a person's perception towards themselves as well as others. The power of education is well known among those in power. It can be used to empower people or to devour people. It can be used as a way of controlling or a way of liberating. Unfortunately, under Western education, Africans often fall victims to mis-education. We are denied of our history and lied to, causing psychological effects. Many of us feel as if we are inferior to the oppressors. Our minds have been conditioned their value system. The greatest way to control is to control the mind. By glorifying Western education and excitingly pursuing it, we are, in a sense, allowing ourselves to be brainwashed.

The educational system, in Nigeria, often completely disregards the Igbo people or gives students misleading facts. Students are taught that Igbo traditional government were "stateless" anarchies, simply because our people were not interested in large empires built on violence. They say we had "stateless societies" yet our traditional government is one of the best examples of pre colonial African democracy. Instead of having a feudal system like those of the Europeans, average Igbo communities had direct and representative democracy where the people had the power. Western textbooks won't tell you that they were several Igbo kingdoms and city-states. They completely ignore the Nri, Arochukwu, Abam, Akwa, Umunoha, etc kingdoms and the trading oligarchies of in Igboland and beyond. Instead, Western books may extremely exaggerate Edo, Igala, and Ijaw sides of the story of their imperialism in Igboland and take it factually while completely ignoring Igbo influence on their neighbors.

The western educational system doesn't talk about the Ekumeku movement in Western Igboland in 1883-1914 against British rule. They completely leave out the Aro expedition, Ezza resistance, Afikpo rebellion, king Jaja of Opobo, the Igbo women's war of 1929, etc. However the western textbooks mention Igbos in the Nigerian-Biafran civil war. They give a slanted story, with maybe a paragraph on how millions of Igbo starved to death in a 30 month war in which Nigeria crushed the rebellion. Using logic, you would know that Biafra should have fell within a month but it was three years with gallant and fierce resistance of brave Eastern Nigerians to fight Nigeria heavily backed by world powers. They barely mention Nnamdi Azikwe, Olaudah Equiano, King Jaja, priest Ahanyi, and other notable Igbo historic figures. Even in Nigeria the story is the similar where the education is modeled off the British curriculum. The schools will only say that Igbos are Jews which is a theory and maybe about the civil war. Yet they talk about the great Yoruba, Hausa, Edo states. How can Igbos be proud of their history they are unaware about?

Why is this case? The Igbo people are unique. Before colonialism, we lived in many peaceful communities in the densely populated Igbo land without building large states based on violence. We had civilized and advanced societies under peace and conduct. This surprised the racist Westerners. We revolted against Western rule and it took all the way until the 1920s for Igbo land to be conquered. Even in that case the Igbo resisted and in the 1940s-1950s, we lead the fight for independence of Nigeria. The Igbo people are hardworking and ambitious people who forever refused oppression. Even Igbo slaves in the New world revolted by committing suicide in slave ships and leading several uprisings. Our people declared independence of Biafra and fearlessly fought against Nigeria and neocolonialism. The Igbo people are disaster to the West and they want to forget about us by deleting our history, controlling us, and making us forget who we are.
Mis-education not only takes place in the motherland, but in America as well. Children learn little if anything at all about Africa and the great accomplishment we have made throughout history. Africa is where all of mankind originated yet it rarely taught about is history class. High school World History is an imperialistic oppressive version of history. It gives history from the European and Arab perspective and tells little if anything about true African history. The ancient Egyptians were far more advance and educated then the Europeans. Europeans came to Africa to attend schools and learn. Egypt gave birth to the world's first doctor, Imhotep, who was also a writer, philosopher, poet, and astrologer. African people were the founders of civilization yet, many Africans are ignorant of this. The history of Africa, according to some textbooks didn't exist until the Europeans and Arabs came and raped the continent. History, as told in some textbook, portrays Africans as unruly savages who were SAVED when the white man came to oppress us.

When people are constantly degraded and dehumanized through education , psychological affects occur. They develop feeling of self abnegation and inferiority. Under Western education, many Igbos have dropped their own culture, language, and history. They do not pass down the basic ingredients of Igbo culture to their children. Many Igbo youth who have been raised in America is undergo an identity crisis. They have a lack of knowledge of their own history and don't even know Igbo. The lack of knowledge of themselves has caused them to repudiate their true identity and conform to the American way of life. We as a people need regain our self worth. We need to be knowledgeable about the great thing our people have done in history and take pride in it. Igbos need to pass our customs, history, and language down to our offspring. If we don't our history , language, and custom will eventually become extinct.

Our mind, body, and soul are one. We cannot be fully healthy if all aspects of ourselves are not completely health. Miseducation affects our mind, body, and spirit. It decreases self confidence and our drive to succeed. True knowledge is freedom. As long as our youth are being lied to in their textbooks, as long as our youth are being deprived of their true history in our schools, as we neglect pass down our history, language , and customs, then we not free. We are enslaved and bound by chains of oppression. Not physical chains, but psychological chains. Enlightenment is the only way to break free. We must liberate ourselves from mental slavery and no longer conform to the oppressor's way of thinking. We must control our own education and refuse to allow miseducation to continue in our school systems. It is up to us to learn about history and culture and pass it down to other. Knowledge is power. Know your history, culture, and language and you will find know yourself.