Nigeria, once a beacon of intellectual promise in Africa, has witnessed a troubling shift in societal values. Education, historically revered as the cornerstone of progress and a pathway to dignity, has been relegated to the margins, while escort services and sex work have ascended to a pedestal of prestige and reward.
This inversion of priorities is starkly illustrated by the contrast between the plight of highly credentialed Bachelors Masters and PhD holders and the ostentatious wealth showered upon high-profile sex workers, some of whom flaunt Lamborghinis as symbols of their success.
This editorial explores this cultural decline, its implications, and the urgent need for a recalibration of values.
In Nigeria’s not-so-distant past, education was a sacred pursuit. Families sacrificed meager resources to send their children to school, believing that a degree—especially an advanced one like a PhD—guaranteed respect, stability, and a role in nation-building. Universities like Ibadan, Ahmadu Bello, Lagos, Nsukka and Ife were celebrated as crucibles of knowledge, producing scholars who shaped policy, science, and culture across the continent. A PhD holder was a community asset, a figure of pride whose expertise commanded reverence.
Today, that reverence has evaporated. These academics, despite their years of toil and intellectual rigour, are often underpaid, overlooked, and forced to navigate a system that neither rewards nor utilizes their skills. Many languish in underfunded institutions or turn to menial jobs to survive, their potential squandered.
Meanwhile, a new aristocracy has emerged — one defined not by intellect or cerebral contribution, but by the commodification of the body. High-profile sex workers and escorts, often amplified by social media and celebrity culture, have become icons of aspiration. The reward for their trade is not just financial but conspicuously lavish: luxury cars like Lamborghinis, sprawling mansions, and a level of public adulation that eclipses the quiet dignity of scholarship.
This shift is not merely anecdotal; it reflects a broader societal recalibration where quick wealth and visibility trump the slow, unglamorous grind of education.
The message to the Nigerian youth is clear: Why labour for a degree when a shortcut to riches lies elsewhere?
The roots of this decline are multifaceted. Decades of economic mismanagement have eroded faith in institutional systems, including education. Chronic underfunding of universities, coupled with strikes and corruption, has diminished their allure. Simultaneously, a globalized culture of instant gratification — imported via the internet and amplified locally — has glorified materialism over meritocracy.
The government’s failure to create opportunities for educated graduates has compounded the problem, leaving many to question the utility of their degrees.
In this vacuum, sex work, with its promise of immediate returns, has filled the gap, its practitioners elevated by a society that now equates value with visibility.
The consequences are dire. Nigeria risks losing its intellectual capital to brain drain or apathy, undermining its ability to innovate and compete globally. A nation that celebrates Lamborghinis over laboratories cannot hope to address its pressing challenges — poverty, infrastructure decay, or technological lag.
Moreover, the devaluation of education perpetuates gender and class disparities, as women, in particular, face pressure to leverage their bodies rather than their minds in a patriarchal economy.
Reversing this trend demands bold action. The government must prioritize education through funding, job creation, and policies that restore its prestige. Society, too, must reject the fetishization of fleeting wealth and champion those who invest in knowledge. Nigeria’s future hinges on whether it can reclaim the value it once placed on education — or whether it will continue to trade its legacy for the fleeting gleam of a Lamborghini’s chrome.
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