NecheX

A few months ago, my grammar was not particularly great, especially here on X. Then, one beautiful morning, I received a call from Dr. Oby Ezekwesili ( @obyezeks ) that changed that aspect of my life forever. She advised me to go back to Primary 3 and rebuild my foundation in English. She said something profound: Once you fix the foundation, everything else begins to fall into place. I took her advice wholeheartedly. I went back to study Primary 3 Grammar and Comprehension, and that simple decision transformed my command of English. I remain deeply grateful to @obyezeks for that invaluable piece of advice. Its impact on my life has been remarkable. But this experience taught me something much bigger about education. Many of us are struggling today, not because we lack intelligence, but because we are building on weak educational foundations. We keep trying to fix problems at the top when the real problems are at the bottom. Sometimes, the greatest form of progress is having the humility to go back to the basics and rebuild properly. You cannot build excellence on a foundation you have refused to repair.

I met a little boy named Chijindu who was struggling academically. I decided to focus on helping him achieve mastery in just one subject: Mathematics. What happened afterwards completely changed how I think about education. As Chijindu began solving mathematical problems he previously considered impossible, something remarkable happened. He became excited about learning. His confidence grew. His performance in other subjects improved dramatically. Eventually, Chijindu took first position in his class. But here is what fascinates me. I didn’t just teach Chijindu mathematics. I may have changed what he believed about his own intelligence. There is a concept in psychology called self-efficacy, developed by Albert Bandura. When people experience genuine success, their belief in their ability to overcome challenges can grow. Think about a child who has repeatedly failed academically. Eventually, that child may stop believing, “I don’t understand this subject,” and start believing, “I am not intelligent.” The first is a learning problem. The second is an identity problem. And our education systems often respond to both by giving children more examinations, more pressure, and more opportunities to fail. But what if we reversed the process? What if, instead of trying to fix everything a struggling child cannot do, we first helped that child become exceptionally good at one thing? What if one experience of genuine mastery could rebuild the confidence needed to approach other subjects differently? I am not suggesting that mastering mathematics automatically improves performance in other subjects. But confidence can increase effort, effort can produce success, and success can make learning exciting again. Perhaps millions of children we consider academically weak are not incapable of learning. Perhaps many have simply never experienced the confidence that comes from truly mastering something. We spend so much time measuring what children cannot do. Maybe we should spend more time helping them discover what they are capable of achieving. Chijindu has made me question something fundamental: What if the first step to transforming a struggling child’s education is not teaching them more, but helping them believe, through genuine achievement, that they can learn?

On Monday and Tuesday, my organisation, Educare, will be the headline sponsor of the APEN Conference at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The conference will bring together private school leaders from across Nigeria to discuss the theme, “Human First: Leading with Purpose in the Age of AI.” Nigeria has a vast network of private schools, and it is critically important that our education system evolves to meet global standards and the demands of a rapidly changing world. We must ensure that our schools are not merely preparing children to pass examinations, but equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to thrive in the age of artificial intelligence. The future of education is changing, and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind.