Mentoring in the North of Nigeria
Mentoring which has been underrated in Nigeria, is practically non-existence in the north. I personally had a problem during the course of my education as i had no one to guide me on what a computer science undergraduate should aspire to be, or what to expect after graduation.
School was difficult as you had no idea why you’re doing so many subjects or what their benefits will be in the real world. We were memorizing codes instead of understanding the syntax/semantics associated with programming languages.
Imagine if there was a platform or just that one person who has gone through the system and had a better approach? A mentor, whom i could have met to put me through on the programming languages, or applications of computer science in the outside world and the vast areas of computer science and their importance.
As opposed to the south of Nigeria who have recognized the importance of mentoring and put it into practice, we still shy away from being mentors/mentored. The general belief from the young ones, which is justified, is that those being looked upon as mentors are not willing to mentor.
For our youths to be relevant in the 21st century, more should be done in the mentoring aspect. Guidance and Counselling should be taken seriously not only in the secondary schools but in the higher institutions too. Successful career persons in particular fields should host talks and career guide tours in their respective schools to encourage these students.
Students from the northern region should be bold in approaching successful people as mentors. Your approach should be professional and pitch why you think such person will be a great mentor. Try several mentors till you find one you think will work inline with the success you’d want to achieve.
As the National Coordinator Women in STEM for Brainiacs Robotics and STEM we are working hard with my team to come up with a platform for young girls to access mentors.
