From Makoko to an Abuja N1m School. Is it Pygmalion?


 Makoko is a slum in Lagos. Esther the Jewish girl rose to become a queen. From the slums of Makoko a girl was

plucked into an expensive Abuja school charging N1m.

With our faith in Nigeria, such a promotion is desirable and welcome.

With the benefit of reading George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, I ask if such a move is in the best interest of the girl?

For those who have not read Pygmalion, the story is about this type of social mobility, except that it was more rapid and very superficial. In the story by Bernard Shaw, a bet was placed on placing a flower girl among the elites without the benefit of a proper education but by teaching her mannerisms and elocution of the upper class.

The girl learnt at the feet of the best and fitted in, to the point of being accepted as a nobility but her heart was with her rural boyfriend.

Methinks that while the Nigerian girl could lift her parents out of the slums of Makoko, a better strategy would have been to empower the parents and let the girl go to a modest school.

The girl benefited from philanthropy, and you do not look a gift horse in the mouth.

It is a rarity to see a guardian better than a parent. For proper psychological and social development, the inputs of parents are almost indispensable.

Like earlier said, a gift is a gift. May this gift not leave the girl dysfunctional. Amen.

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