The End Of Knowing Is Doing; A Pragmatic Viewpoint On The Issue Of Unemployment In Nigeria -By Nkom Blessed Chat

INTRODUCTION

Nigeria as a country has suffered a lot of setbacks and bedevilled with myriads of problems within her nooks and crannies. One among many of the things we see in practicality that is eating up majority of our citizens is unemployment which one cannot painstakingly trace the origin or reason behind it. However, theories have been propounded, articles have been written and published, citizens have gone for peaceful protest on this very issue of unemployment but as if nothing has yet been done probably because our leaders have not accepted the fact that knowing is doing and to know is to do. The joy of having the knowledge of something is to put into practice that thing because theories are abstract entities that exist only in the mind and can only yield a bountiful harvest when they are expressed and exemplified in actions and deeds since the importance of theories and ideas are best seen in actions less the remain useless within us.
Be that as it may, the thrust of this paper is to analyse the phrase ‘knowing is doing’ which is streamlined to pragmatism and the problem of unemployment in Nigeria.

CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS

PRAGMATISM
Etymologically, pragmatism originates from the Greek word pragma meaning action which is a school of philosophy that is based on the principle that the usefulness, workability, and practicality of ideas, policies, and proposals are the criteria of their merit. It emphasizes the superiority of action over doctrine, and of experience over words.

UNEMPLOYMENT
Unemployment as defined by the Advanced leaners Dictionary is the state of been jobless. Base on this paper, unemployment is the state of not given the privilege of doing what someone knows or practicing what one has as knowledge of a field he studied in the higher institution.

‘KNOWING IS DOING’

The end product of knowing is putting into practice that which you know. The case of knowing and not doing is been practiced in our country Nigeria and this is mostly seen among the youths who after putting in their best in school remain at home without been legally recognised and allowed by the government to do that which they have as knowledge acquired via the long and cumbersome process of schooling alongside spending of time and resources.

The phrase ‘knowing is doing’ depicts the end and importance of education either formal or informal in such a manner that your education will be a waste of both time and resources if you don’t practice that which you studied, and if what you have as knowledge in the mind does not reflect in your action or is not illumined by your actions it means that thing is as useless as not even acquiring it from the initial. One’s actions are supposed to be the products of his thoughts and what he has in mind as theories. Invariably, he who does not have the capacity to act does not know or think as such our actions are the ends of our thoughts and knowledge. The knowledge of politics is better appreciated when it is expressed in the act of ruling, the knowledge of medicine is better appreciated when it is expressed in the act of treating ill patients, the knowledge of law is better appreciated when it is expressed in the act of passing legal judgement to criminals, the knowledge of teaching is better appreciated in passing of knowledge to students and the ignorant none the less all this knowledge remain dormant and invaluable to the human person and the society at large, and that is when our government leaders have a better role to play in order for their knowledge of politics to be appreciated by those placed under their custody.

THE END OF KNOWING IS DOING; A PRAGMATIC VIEWPOINT ON THE ISSUE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA.

As painstakingly stated in the aforementioned, the end of knowing is doing, Pragmatists who have postulated that the end of every theory is its workability and usefulness in everyday life have their reasons for that.

Meanwhile, it is very painful and to some extent, useless if you know something and don’t practice it. Of what use is the whole knowledge of medical treatments to someone who does not practice it? Of what value is the whole idea of construction to someone who studied engineering for several years alongside struggles in the university and is not legally allowed to practice it? Of what importance is the knowledge of law to someone who studied for several years without practicing it?

This has been the cry and pains of unemployed citizens in our country Nigeria, whose efforts of going through a lot in school have been rendered useless because they are not given room to practice that which they studied. A critical mind might be moved to interrogate this very issue by asking whether those unemployed youths cannot enrol themselves in learning of entrepreneurial skills or rather find other means of survival, and I will say that entrepreneurial skills are only additional values one can add up to himself, and there are people that feel going to school might not be their call as such instead of wasting their time and resources engage themselves in learning of other skills. You cannot feel the pains of been unemployed as a university or college graduate unless you find yourself in such shoes or when you come across those suffering from that ill. To whom it may concern, do you know how it feels for a less privileged to sponsor himself all through the university and what he/she gets as a reward for his hard earned education is unemployment? Do you know how it feels for a parent whose %70-80 of his monthly salaries was spent on a son who after graduating from the university still depends on him for minor things that he should have been able to provide for himself if our country Nigeria and her Leaders have done their duties of rendering employment to those concerned? Have you withdrawn back to ponder on the reasons why some youths who are graduates and most times first class graduates involve themselves in some social crimes? Have you for once tried to put yourself in the shoes of these unemployed youths and citizens of our country? Have you for once asked anyone who after graduating with a presentable result from the university feels as an unemployed citizen? Have you for once asked any of your wards of how he/she will feel if after graduating remain unemployed and without any means of survival? Or have you for once tried to imagine that after going through a lot in the higher institution you still remain jobless?

People are out there suffering, citizens are out there dying, youths are out there delving into other things that contradict their personalities, social crimes are increasing day after day, and our country takes different phases and dimensions of identity every day just because of unemployment. Insecurity is gradually becoming a new normal because the youths have found themselves in the web of unemployment. It’s high time we appreciated the philosophical doctrine of pragmatism by applying it to our educational system there by giving room for those who are educated to practice that which they studied in various fields of endeavours like medicine, teaching line, engineering, law, journalism, marketing, and the likes in order to better the lives of many in our country Nigeria and to reduce the high rates of so many social crimes in the country.

CONCLUSION

The issue of unemployment is very dangerous to the identity of our country Nigeria, there are so many ways of getting rid of this issue but pragmatism in my own opinion will go a long way in assisting us do away with it which emphasizes the practice of what one claims to have as theory or knowledge. Be that as it may the earlier the better for us, we should make use of the sun while it still shines less we become speechless and helpless when the effects of unemployment will transcend beyond our reach.

BY NKOM BLESSED CHAT, A STUDENT OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT VERITAS UNIVERSITY ABUJA

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