Modern educators, in certain culture seems not to realize more than ever that a well rounded, complete education demands not only training of the intellect and training of the will but also of the heart as well. In a nutshell, the formation of character is as important as the acquisition of knowledge, if you like. This is self-evidence today in many African cultures. This very problem of character and education in African culture is something of a widespread epidemic, such that what is happening in one place is always the same in another due to what looks like a basic issue, and yet, it is endangering the African moral political setting.
It must be observed that intellectual ability is never a proof in any way, that a man will be able to master the difficulties of life and will be able to adhere to the right principles of action in times of distress. This is also self-evidence, in the amount of suicide rates that oftentimes have been taken place among educated individuals, not the uneducated one.
Make no mistake, that only a strong will and a firm character that can enable a man to stand such trial unshaken, because like it or leave it, life is filled with trials, hence, the very necessity of character formation.
As it were, character formation requires in the first place, an idea that gives direction, measure, and value to an effort.
According to Monsignor William J. Kerby, the aim and ways as well as the means of education must be derived. This is because the man who aims to become a perfect Christian will of necessity follow other ways and use other means than he whose aim is only to make as much money as possible, as we have come to witness in our contemporary setting.
It must also be observed, that it requires a fair knowledge of one-self, the power of body and soul, and indeed, of one's strong and weak points, and defects. According to the old Greek saying"Know yourself", no doubt, also hold true even today.
Self-knowledge, is often offered in a learned and high-sounding phrases, but more often than not, it yields little or nothing once again and this is self-evidence in the very life of African politics, and according to the Italian adage- "Tutto fumo, niete arosto", and this simply means that, although, there great is a deal of fire, but nothing is cooking. It must be said however, that man is painfully conscious of his many shortcomings, and very often, he feels a great desire to eliminate all those obstacle that tends to obstruct his way and that have now become the way, as well as the unsatisfactory personality traits. But this was just the way to enable him to achieve greater harmony within himself and the environment he finds himself.
However, the bone of contention here, is that African education is not actually a mixture of African culture blended with Morals, in-respective of the type of moral derivative- "which is to say do unto others as you would like others to do unto you.".Of cause, African history has always had a way of bringing to light, that they know what morals concept was all about before the advent of white colonialists. And if so, they tends to left one to wonders why they seems to be struggling to come to terms with our realities, as if everything was imposed them because, where there is no way becomes the very way, taken the corruption attitude they seems to imbibe.
I just think they must all go back to the drawing board, and get down to the basics. Because it is not just possible that the white colonialists are responsible for all our problems of the like of characters and the educational system we operate for any discrepancy, politically or other wise.
The internal and external conspirators must be brought to book, because they are always there, in the family and in the society at large- do not be deceived.