Our Education is Hard | Dr. Mohammed Malah | TEDxMaiduguri

Dr. Mohammed Malah, a chartered geoscientist and energy and climate policy professional in Nigeria's upstream petroleum sector, argues in this TEDxMaiduguri talk that the country's education system is unnecessarily hard and that hardship is not a prerequisite for success. He draws on his upbringing in Maiduguri and asks whether a city should be defined by a period of hardship despite years of prosperity. He links his story with that of young people and encourages viewers to look beyond hardship. The talk was given at an independently organised TEDx event.

• Critique of the current educational system in Nigeria
• Personal story of growing up in Maiduguri and the history of Borno
• Question of whether a city is defined by its hardship or its prosperity
• Encouragement for young people to look beyond hardship

This talk challenges the current educational system in Nigeria as unnecessarily hard. He argues that hardship is not a prerequisite for success. He shared the story of his upbringing in Maiduguri, chronicling the story of Borno as a story of hardship but he asks a question, can a city be defined by its period of hardship despite all the years of prosperity. Juxtaposing this story with that of young people, he challenges people to see beyond the hardship regardless. Dr Mohammed Malah is a chartered geoscientist and energy and climatepolicy professional with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Sector. His career spans upstream petroleum regulation, emissions reduction, sustainability, carbon management, and climate policy. His journey began in Maiduguri, where he attended Namu Primary School, Federal Government College Maiduguri, and the University of Maiduguri. He later obtained a master’s degree and PhD in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom. He also holds an MBA, which complements his technical background with knowledge of strategy, leadership, and organisational management. Over the years, he has contributed to policy development, regulatory initiatives, research, professional dialogue, and capacity-building programmes in Nigeria and across Africa. He is also committed to mentoring young people and expanding access to knowledge and opportunity. He considers himself a lifelong learner and continues to broaden his knowledge across science, policy, leadership, and management. His work focuses on energy policy, sustainability, carbon management, and the transition to cleaner energy systems in Nigeria and across Africa. Beyond his professional work, he is interested in how communities can turn constraints into innovation, resilience, and new possibilities. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx