Seek and Acquire Knowledge First; Not Money

By Ogiri John Ogiri.

I have decided to pen this here for the lavish consumption of those who have been conditioned, by their foretaste and actual experience of the pangs of life's many challenges, to think and hold that money is better than education; that money is better than a degree certificate. I do not agree with this line of thought because I think it is dangerous to so hold and espouse. I am convinced that money can never replace and displace knowledge from its enviable position as the origin and destination of everything in the society as well as in the life of mankind.

 For this reason, I think we should discourage our younger ones from holding and promoting this kind of a mentality. Agreed, in this part of the world, we have not been able to conquer the basic necessities of food and water, clothing, shelter, security and education. Many still wallow in abject penury even to the embarrassment of their God who created them. However, this should not become a sufficient ground for us to abandon knowledge for the pursuit of money, which in the end, still requires education and knowledge to multiply and create satisfactions.

I understand how important it is to make money but I equally understand the fundamental necessity of acquiring knowledge. The pursuit of money should not precede the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge. The right order should be maintained, that is, knowledge first ,then money. Honestly, the first thing you should pursue and get in life should not be money; it should be knowledge. Get the knowledge and money will follow. Without knowledge, you may not know what to do with the money when it comes but with knowledge, you become very intentionally prepared to make and handle money and the responsibility it will place on you. 

When we finally make the money, we should dedicate a part of it, however little, to the acquisition of more knowledge in order to be at par with the demands of a dynamic, growing society. The truth is that, what you learned yesterday was for the solution of today's problems. So, to solve tomorrow's problems, you need new knowledge.

So far, it is a general agreement among Economists (both classical and Neo-classical Economists) that, the demand for money is a derived demand. This means that money is not needed for its own sake but for what it can help to buy. At least, I am aware that up till now, this has not been repudiated or disproven by any superior viewpoint in Microeconomics. If this is so, then, let one of your reasons for demanding money be for education. Invest your financial resources in education for the acquisition of skilled knowledge. Do not forget that, from books and nature, we get knowledge. From life, we obtain experience. From experience, we acquire wisdom which becomes our guide through life. 

Knowledge first; money second, and other things will follow.

© Ogiri John Ogiri.

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