Literacy is a Tool for Empowerment

Have you ever had a long conversation with someone and through it all the only thing on mind was "omo is this person okay at all....?" Because coming from an adult the whole interaction feels really shallow and dumb. This is where the importance of literacy thrives.

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According to Chatgbt literacy "is the ability to read, write, speak, and understand language in a way that allows individuals to effectively communicate, interpret information, and engage meaningfully with the world around them. It goes beyond just recognizing words or forming sentences; literacy involves comprehension, critical thinking, and the ability to use language for learning, problem-solving, and participating fully in personal, social, and economic life. In today’s world, literacy also includes the capacity to navigate digital platforms, interpret visual media, and understand numerical data, making it a vital tool for personal empowerment and societal development". From the above definition provided by chatgbt, literacy is not just an ability to read, write and understand language, it is a tool that opens the mind, fosters critical thinking, enables growth and facilitates empowerment in all spheres of life. Knowledge, they say is power and literacy happens to the the very embodiment of knowledge acquisition. The world is constantly evolving thanks to new discoveries that have caused development on both personal level and the society at large so the relevance of this ability can never be overemphasized which brings us to the million dollar questions - Does literacy really help us become better people? does it help the society?..........

My father once told me an interesting story about his boyhood. This was during the Nigerian Civil war and back then he had an uncle the uncle village idolizes because they all believed he was educated. He would gather the entire villagers or anybody interested in his stories square dressed on corporate with two pens (red and blue) clipped to his breast pocket telling them results from war after he was done reading the newspaper and listening to the only radio in the entire village. My dad said everybody respected that man because they believed he was the definition of intelligence due to his numerous bragging about his achievements. However, when children from the village (including himself) enrolled in school and acquired the ability to read and write, they all saw through his lies and the facade he had carefully maintained for years crumbled with time. Apparently his uncle had been lying all along and did not even know what alphabets were and everything he did was just to gain respect and nothing more. My father told me that he was saw his uncle reading a newspaper upside down just days after discovering that he was also falsify the numbers of war casualties to the thousands and from them onward he never took news from the old man seriously 🤣🤣🤣. This right here is a typical example of the benefits to education.

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Yes literacy does make one a better person. In the realm of business, the difference between a literate person with an entrepreneur mindset and someone who just jumps into this craft are worlds apart. Literate entrepreneurs are better equipped to meet market demand, provide efficient customer service, protect their businesses from any form threat, minimize losses and also continue to evolve for the business to advance with the latest trends. Despite all these, there are still some illiterate businessmen who have been able to beat the odds and succeed in their respective niche. However, they still face numerous challenges that would have been been easily avoided if they possessed the said ability and end up underperforming compared to their counterparts.
Other benefits attached to being literate include:

1. A literate individual who has acquired vast amounts of exposures posseses more empathy to towards others than the average person. This is because they have learned through life experiences, encounters, stories and will always seek peaceful resolution in any conflict.
2. It also ensures that individuals have a better comprehension about their rights, societal rules and will be more cautious about breaking them which helps in fostering communal development.
3. Literacy also helps us become better parents. In a society where every parent wants their children to be educated, it will ensure that they are able to help these kids with their assignments, teach them positive values and also raise upright.

While it is important to know that literacy cannot always influence a person's character, it does however reduce Impulsive behavior, recklessness and eliminates ignorance. It is tool that can ensure growth and if used properly will breed improvement in our personal lives and the society as well
Thank you.
PS only the last image is mine.