Opinion
The Sound on My Alumni Platform
I belong to several alumni WhatsApp platforms. Each has its own uniqueness and outstanding qualities. Yet, one has unconsciously endeared itself to me.
It was the sound of chronicling the accomplishments of members: academic doctors, medical doctors, professors, associate professors, vice-chancellors, and even native doctors.
It was astonishing to discover that our alumni family is generously represented in virtually every sphere of influence. At first, I felt a deep sense of pride. But on second thought, a troubling reality struck me.
Have we become so enamoured with certificates and titles that we have unconsciously reduced success to academic attainments while neglecting innovation, creativity, production, and practical transformation? It is indeed gratifying to see such an impressive roll call of distinguished scholars and professionals.
Yet, it is equally sobering to realise that a significant proportion of these accomplishments have not translated into the kind of groundbreaking innovations that transform societies. Too often, we excel at sustaining existing systems rather than reinventing them.
We produce elegant theories but too few practical solutions that improve everyday life. Imagine the possibilities if the research conducted by our doctors, professors, and scholars found practical expression in industries, agriculture, healthcare, technology, education, and governance. Imagine if every thesis solved a real problem, every dissertation birthed an innovation, and every academic promotion was accompanied by measurable societal impact.
I use my old boys’ WhatsApp platform merely as a case study. The challenge extends far beyond one alumni association. It reflects a national mindset.
Nigeria remains a country where certificates are often valued above competence, where theoretical knowledge frequently overshadows practical skills, and where titles command more respect than tangible productivity. We celebrate academic excellence, but we do not demand corresponding innovation.
This mindset is dangerous. It encourages the pursuit of credentials without commensurate value creation.
It produces graduates who seek employment rather than create opportunities. It rewards knowledge acquisition more than knowledge application.
The future belongs not merely to those who possess certificates, but to those who transform knowledge into solutions, research into innovation, ideas into industries, and learning into measurable societal impact.
Our universities should not merely produce graduates; they should produce inventors.
Our professors should not only publish papers; they should inspire products. Our doctors should not merely earn promotions; they should pioneer breakthroughs that improve lives.
Perhaps the true measure of education is not the number of certificates hanging on our walls, but the number of problems our knowledge has solved.
That is the sound I long to hear on our alumni platforms—not merely the celebration of titles, but the celebration of impact.
Elon Musk – No PhD. He earned bachelor’s degrees in physics and economics but did not complete a graduate degree.
Mark Zuckerberg – No PhD. He left Harvard before completing his undergraduate degree.
Bill Gates – No PhD. He left Harvard before graduating.
Steve Jobs – No PhD. He dropped out of Reed College after one semester.
Jeff Bezos – No PhD. He holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science.
Larry Ellison – No PhD. He never completed a university degree.
Michael Dell – No PhD. He left medical school to build Dell.
Think about this may be it could possibly stir a shift of mindset.
Jarlath Opara
jarlathuche@gmail.com