“Knowledge is power”--- Francis Bacon
About 200 years ago, the platforms of investment were
severely limited, elementary and at times crude. Between then and now, the
frontiers of knowledge have doubled several times over. Today, investment
opportunities are unlimited. With Internet and e-commerce, the man who knows
and obtains useful information first has a head-start over his nearest rival in
fields of Commerce and Investment. The society never fails to notice and take
stock. Women all over the world give birth to children everyday. It is either a
baby boy or a baby girl. I have never heard that a woman delivered a Lawyer or
a Doctor. It is simply a baby boy or girl. What later in life makes these
babies to become Lawyers, Doctors or something else is what they learn as a
deliberate process. This is education.
Education is therefore the foremost instrument for segmenting the society. This is why education is not only craved for, it is coveted. A man is what he knows. Even when you come across a group of Professors, chances are that they will all be specialists in various fields even though they are all Professors. Go to their homes and find out the books that dominate their libraries, you will have an idea what their areas of specializations are. I am told (I have never been there), that when you step into Professor Wole Soyinka’s country home high up the hills in Ogun State, Nigeria, you are likely to notice the books first before you notice the furniture. Chances are that his books collection will have more of history, drama and literature books than any other collections. The Nobel Prize has given the man world recognition for literature. This is what has defined the man most of his life despite his numerous other talents. Yet, with all his academic qualifications, Professor Soyinka may not be able to match the knowledge of his illiterate uncle who farms when it comes to the rudiments of farming. Just as his uncle may not be able to read and understand a single chapter in his book “The Man Died.” We all have our various areas of knowledge which specialize us. This is what segregates us into professions, vocations and businesses. Whatever you do, it is in your own best interest to be as knowledgeable and as proficient in that field as you possibly can.
