The Biggest Scam: How School is a Mental Prison & Why Africa Needs Entrepreneurs, Not Employees

Let’s talk about school. You know, that institution we spend 18+ years in, only to graduate and feel like we’ve been scammed. No offense to the “system,” but seriously, has anyone else stopped to wonder why school feels like a giant mental prison? You’re trapped in a classroom, force-fed information you didn’t ask for, then told you have to pay for it. Oh, and after you graduate? Surprise! You need more education.

Before you grab your pitchfork, let me clarify: education is important, obviously. We all need to learn things that actually matter — skills that can help us create value. But the academic system as we know it? It’s not cutting it. Especially here in Africa, where we’re too busy preparing for jobs that don’t even exist while the real opportunity — the one that could transform the continent — is being ignored. What’s that opportunity? Entrepreneurship.

18 Years in School… For What?

So, here’s my story. I finished high school in Kenya, and like a good student, I was excited for what the future held. But after a few weeks of “freedom,” I hit a brick wall. I asked myself, What did I actually learn? More importantly, How does any of this help me in the real world?

The answer was… nothing. After 18 years in school, I still had no idea how to create value. I didn’t know how to solve real-world problems or build something meaningful. And then the kicker — they told me I needed to go to university for even more education. And when I got there, I found the same thing: more theory, more textbooks, but still no real-world application. It felt like a scam. A scam that was designed to turn us into employees rather than innovators.

Africa Doesn’t Need More Employees, It Needs Entrepreneurs

Here’s the truth: Africa doesn’t need more people lining up for jobs. We’ve been stuck in that mindset for far too long. What Africa needs is entrepreneurs — people who can identify problems, create solutions, and build industries. Look at America. It wasn’t built by people waiting to be employed. It was built by entrepreneurs — people who took risks, innovated, and created industries from nothing. Think Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Oprah Winfrey. These are the people who made America what it is today.

Meanwhile, here in Africa, our system is still focused on churning out employees. The curriculum is outdated, the mindset is stuck, and the opportunities are being wasted. We are literally sitting on a goldmine of resources and talent, but we lack the right education to turn that into value. And that’s the root of the problem: our education system is built to create workers, not thinkers or creators.

The Colonizer’s Trap — Cotton and Clothes

The situation today reminds me of what happened after colonization. The colonizers left us the land, and we were thrilled. “Here, this cotton field is yours,” they said. And we were happy. We planted the cotton, worked the fields, sold it to the colonizers, and watched as they turned it into clothes using their education, only to sell it back to us at a profit. Do you see the scam?

They had the knowledge. We had the resources. They created value; we worked the fields. The same thing is happening now. We have the resources — both natural and human — but we don’t have the education that turns those resources into wealth.

Forget the Donkey, We Need a New Approach

Remember the donkey-and-carrot analogy? The one where the donkey keeps running after the carrot but never catches it? That’s the African education system right now. We’re chasing degrees, chasing jobs, chasing the next certification, and hoping that one day, it will all translate into wealth. But here’s the reality: it won’t. Not unless we shift our focus.

The system needs to stop preparing us for jobs and start preparing us to create jobs. We need to start raising innovators, not employees. We need people who will think critically, solve real problems, and turn Africa’s potential into actual industries. In other words, we need to produce entrepreneurs.

The American Blueprint — Why Entrepreneurs Are the Key

If you look at the most successful economies in the world, you’ll notice a trend. They were built by entrepreneurs, not employees. The people who changed the world weren’t waiting for someone to give them a job — they went out and created value. They took risks, they innovated, and they built industries that employed other people. That’s how you create wealth.

Africa needs to follow the same blueprint. We have the talent, we have the resources, and we have the problems that need solving. What we don’t have is an education system that equips people to think like entrepreneurs. Instead, we’re stuck in this endless cycle of schooling that prepares us to follow orders instead of give them.

So, How Do We Fix This?

It’s time to overhaul the system. Our education system should be focused on building critical thinkers, problem-solvers, and innovators. We need curriculums that teach students how to identify problems in their communities and create solutions. We need to teach skills like coding, design thinking, business acumen, and leadership — not just how to memorize facts for a test.

We also need to create an ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship. This means providing mentorship, access to funding, and a culture that encourages risk-taking and innovation. The days of just preparing people for 9-to-5 jobs are over. Africa’s future lies in the hands of its entrepreneurs.

Education → Value → Wealth

Here’s the new equation for education: Education → Value → Wealth. If your education isn’t teaching you how to create value, it’s a scam. If it’s not equipping you to solve problems, it’s a waste of time. We need to stop thinking of education as this endless chase for certificates and start thinking of it as a tool for innovation.

Africa’s problems won’t be solved by people waiting for jobs. They’ll be solved by people creating jobs. And that starts with a system that prioritizes entrepreneurship over employment.

It’s time to stop the donkey from chasing the carrot and start building the future we deserve.

Let’s fix this.