This essay vividly illustrates the hardships of childhood education in West Africa.The title is "Education in Africa : A Matter of Survival of the Fittest".

Education in Africa: 'A matter of survival of the fittest!' As he approached me by walking bare-footed on a dusty road in one of the poorest villages of West Africa (not mentioned), his eyes wept tears of hopelessness, discouragement, and agony. Without any second thought, my eyes soon became filled with tears of sympathy as I slowly held my hands on his shoulders to ease his pain. I said, "What's the matter?" He said, "…

…the education and well being of African children is far more significant than the creation of a Unified Africa, for without constructive and effective education of the African masses, the continent will continue to be in what the late Dr. Kwame Nkrumah emphasized: neo-colonialism. Yet without taking what I outlined seriously, one should not doubt that the late Fela Kuti of Nigeria was absolutely right when he said our African politics is full of "colo-mentality".