On Sunday, January 27, 2002, pandemonism occurred in the Mile 2 area of Lagos State. Everyone ran, not counting the chemistry teacher who walked calmly down the street. Pandemonia was due to bomb explosions occurring in a nearby city (military flank of Ikeja, Lagos). You may be wondering why the teacher did not run with others. Maybe she was tired of living? No! She did not run, because she knew well the components of the atmosphere, of which nitrogen, which does not support combustion, has the highest percentage composition (about 79%). This made her realize that no matter what happened, the explosion could not spread to where it was, and this was the secret of her calm.
First, what is knowledge? Knowledge is simply information, understanding, and skills derived from education or experience. It can also be defined as the state of knowledge about a particular fact or situation. A person who is knowledgeable about something is knowledgeable about it. Francis Bacon said: “Knowledge is power,” and you and I know how important power is. If so, we can resolutely consider Knowledge, which is the Power to be very important. Now the question arises: what is the importance of knowledge?
Knowledge gives you an edge over others who lack it. In the story above, it is clearly seen how the chemistry teacher had an advantage over the others, who unintentionally ran through the burglary, some even in the direction of the explosion. She had such self-confidence - a characteristic responsibility to knowledgeable people. The correct judgment or manifestation of great insight is another meaning of knowledge. Knowledge is needed to be able to distinguish the good from the bad. It was this knowledge that helped the wisest man, King Solomon, to find out who the real mother of the child was in the popular biblical story.
Another meaning of knowledge is in the field of scientific and technical progress, which made life much easier than it was in the past. Currently, moving from one place to another can be done in the flickering eye with the help of airplanes, helicopters, cars, etc. In addition, the mutual connection has been simplified. It is now easy to contact people all over the world via the Internet, telephones, etc. In the field of agriculture, mechanized farming really helped increase agricultural output.
If you want to gain the respect of others, gain knowledge. I say this because knowledge deserves respect. Think of some great man or woman whom you respect so much, and you will see that a person has really achieved this growth because of his knowledge in certain aspects of life. To emphasize my point of view, let me mention a few names: Michael Faraday (father of electricity), Ben Carson (great neurosurgeon), Dr. Alexander Fleming (discoverer of penicillin) and even Barack Hussein Obama (great lawyer and first black US president).
What I'm going to do now may seem ridiculous, but true. Knowledge makes people look young. Relax! I would explain, but before that I would like to give you some examples of people who fall into this category from my own jurisdiction. 1986 Nobel Prize winner - prof. Vole Soyinka, former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria - Professor Charles Soludo and a popular Nigerian actor who returned to the television drama “Things are falling apart” a year ago - Pete Adochi - some of the practical examples I want to attract attention. From year to year, these people look the same or sometimes even younger. This is because knowledgeable people are problem solvers; it is easier for them to come up with solutions to almost every problem, thus having little or nothing to worry about, as they worry too much about fast work. In addition, the knowledge gained helps them to understand what to consume and what not to consume, unlike an illiterate person who eats something while he is edible, without taking into account its health effects.
The value of knowledge can not be overestimated, because it is an integral part of life. In fact, I would say with the apologies of ignorant people that “Knowledge is life.” because they are inseparable. The more a person lives, the more he or she learns. As T.L. Osborne: "When you stop learning, you start dying."
