HIERARCHY AND RESPONSIBILITY

There is a theory on language put forward by Edward Sapir (1884-1939) and Benjamin Lee Whorf (1897-1941) known as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. The theory states that the structure of a language helps to determine how its native speakers perceive and categorize experience. It is a principle of linguistic relativity which believes that how a language is structured influences thought patterns. In other words, the culture, mentality, reasoning, strengths, weaknesses, behavior, etc of a people are coded in their language. In Nigeria for instance, we have sizeable evidence in our languages to prove that ours is a society big on respect for elders. This is a huge society-driven responsibility which places the success, the unity of our place, firmly in the hands of these elders.

  

It is for this reason that in Nigerian languages – in all that I know – there are no equivalent words for “brother”, “sister”, “niece”, “nephew”, “uncle” and “aunt”. In Yoruba for example, your sibling has to be defined (and, of course, conceptualized by you) as an elder or younger sibling. So, instead of brother and sister, there is only “egbon” and “aburo”, the older or the younger. This ensures that hierarchy is instituted right from the start at home. Respect for elders has become automatic. Has care been taken that this privilege is not abused, or is this what has brought us to where we are today? 

       

Being the smallest unit of a society, gerontocracy and hierarchy begin from the family; so is taking responsibility. If, as the first child, you enjoy the prerogative of making the first choice, then you are also groomed and expected to take responsibility. This is the ideology behind the notion of ministerial and collective responsibility. We can safely say that our customs, cultures and traditions were designed for responsible leadership by our forbearers.  This respect for that burden is evident in the crop of leaders that emerged during the struggle for self-rule. The Azikiwes, the Awolowos, the Saudanas, the Balewas were the last set of leaders who followed the trusted leadership template encoded in the way we were programmed to live.

Today’s leaders have failed. They only crave the one side of the leadership coin which gives them access to our natural resources. They are totally focused on hogging what has been entrusted to them to equitably distribute. They do not take responsibility as leaders of big society and lead by example, such that we are taught by example to mimic the good deeds of the elder, our role model. Instead, we are taught only arrogance, recklessness, greed and selfishness; a very explosive combination in a young poorly groomed mind.

In the Nigerian family, when the elder shirks responsibility, that institution called parenting withdraws the perks attached to their ‘office’. Other watchdogs such as uncles, aunts, etc are available to constantly remind them of their responsibilities. The extended family is very much part of this foundation and consequently any clan member could lodge a valid complaint, which would strip elders of their place, if found to be wanting. At what stage did we lose these control mechanisms?

Today, ruler-ship has replaced leadership. His is extractive and selfish and will unwittingly harvest unrest, whilst trying to protect his priority, his selfish interest! The consequences of years of this elitism are here for all to see.  What we are experiencing today is our failing state. The Northern part of Nigeria is particularly worrisome. I may be wrong, but in my opinion there are three failed predominantly Islamic areas in the world: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Northern Nigeria. Everywhere else where there is conflict with a majority of Muslims involved (such as in Palestine, Egypt or Iran), the people there can articulate their grievances or what they stand for.

Who is Boko Haram? What do they want? If they are a pro-Muslim organization, then why are they killing their own, terrorizing the nation and attempting to break our unity? Our leaders can answer these questions. The system has failed the people. We have been excluded and the vast majority is young, poor, idle and uneducated. An explosive cocktail which we cannot run from as we do not know when and where they will chase us but chase us they will. We hear the same clichéd statements every day, while the death toll soars. We must fight for a voice and take Nigeria back.  

Abuja Bomb Explosion

My thoughts and prayers go to the families of those who lost their lives in that heinous attack in Nyanja, Abuja. It could have been any of us. May their souls rest in peace and may their lives like so many before them not be lost in vain.  

BIG SOCIETY

When are we going to start the struggle? We must start the fight to attain that inclusive pluralistic society that so evades us? It is not fine receiving reports from them telling us how great our GDP is, thereby massaging our egos, fuelling our arrogance and trying to confuse us, to make us feel good about ourselves. It is a veneer used to fool us into thinking that we are doing something right, that we are coasting along and the envy of the world is upon us, but this is not true. Any success that we record as a nation is purely transient and is only enjoyed by the few who will do all in their power to maintain the status quo they profit from.

                                                         

The truth is that Nigeria (and, in fact, most of sub-Saharan Africa) operates a feudal society albeit that we have the trappings of a nascent democracy as this is what the modern world demands. Our leaders practice a very extractive system of government. What does that mean? It means that a very few of us – an elite group – enjoy the profits of the whole nation. The rest of us are left idle in the sun and in the rain. There are many examples of such extractive societies throughout history: the Romans, the Ottoman Empire and, more recently, the Soviet Union. This is why those great nation states eventually failed.

Extractive societies like ours create exclusive monopolies. We give out licenses and do not track the budgets or audit the accounts of federal government. It is for this reason, for instance, that the NNPC is not audited and is shrouded in mystery, whilst every top government official and petroleum trader, license holder or generator supplier are supper rich and fly around in private jets. The rest of us wallow in abject poverty.

We must force a change in our style of government. We must break the fold and make our society more pluralistic, more inclusive, because it gives us a voice. It enables us to say no. It enables us to stand up for our rights and challenge the excesses of this elite group. We must not forget that this is not going to happen without a fight. These guys will protect their incomes. We should be wary of this and not blindly jump into the bandwagon that are the opposition parties, as more likely than not these parties are made up of members of the same elite that are just temporarily excluded from the booty. We must identify credible opposition because it is necessary if we are to make any progress. It means that you and I must get involved. We cannot sit back; there must be a peasants’ revolt. We must protect our collective interest by creating strong institutions, which will listen to our petitions and ensure that the rule of law is protected and judges cannot be used as guardians of a single mega party. This is why the West has continued to flourish and attract people from all over the world.

We must ask our opposition what their manifestos are. They should declare their clearly defined budget, which will act as a goal for the party. They should state the infrastructural projects that they will engage in and where the funds will come from. In this government, the NNPC will be treated as another arm of government and its operations transparent for the world to see. Our salvation depends on this, lest we witness the crumbling of our nation state.  It will continue to be Boko Haram in the Northeast and fighting for autonomy or cries for resource control from other parts of the nation. We should be wary of the same exclusive club agitating for these interests only because the existing membership is fully subscribed and the waiting list too long.

Unless we have a solid structure where there is equity, we will never have big society. There will never be freethinking and thereby a sustainable society where growth will take root. We will never attain a united state which implies good infrastructure, and an industrial base which will open up the country and elevate us from peasant farmers and traders. We must fight for this balance by getting involved, ensuring that our society is inclusive and pluralistic, with checks and balances in constant flux to keep adjusting where loopholes have appeared and need to be corrected. This is the only way that we can end up with strong institutions, as anything else is a mirage that will disappear as quickly as it has appeared and make our thirst and hunger even more deadly. 

TRYING TO COOK NEW STEW IN A DIRTY OLD POT

The following is a thought-provoking passage shared with me by friends on the Internet. I took the liberty to tweak it a little:  

 

Where did we get it wrong? Awolowo was 37, Akintola 36, Ahmadu Bello 36, Balewa 34 and Okotie-Ebo and Enahoro 27. They led the struggle for independence after the death of Macaulay. Only Zik was 42 at the time. In 1966, the first coup was led by Kaduna Nzeogwu, 29, and countered by Murtala Mohammed 28, Theophilus Danjuma 28, Babangida 25, Nanven Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua 23. It brought a 32-year-old Gowon to power. At that time, Ojukwu was 33, Obasanjo 29 and Buhari 24. Most of the military administrators who governed the states under the successive military regimes, many of whom are still in power today, were under 30. The brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw the House of Representatives in particular populated by majority of members under 30 years, as well as some senators.

Under 30s were also not in short supply with appointments; MT Mbu, who became foreign affairs minister at 23, and Pat Utomi who became a presidential adviser at 27. Why is it that this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their parents’ homes? Why is it that this age bracket is today still collecting pocket money from their parents? Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB? Why is it that this age bracket is today still ‘sagging’ their trousers? Why is it that this age bracket is today still searching for jobs, not yet married? Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties? Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile? Why is it that this age bracket is today still incapable of feeding itself? Why is it that this age bracket is today barred by law from even aspiring to certain political offices? Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions?

Since the National Conference was inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan, it has opened another comical chapter for the unengaged Nigerian youth who have found solace in tweeting and ‘face booking’ their lives away. It is a sad irony; but it is true. Pictures of retired and tired octogenarians and septuagenarians commissioned to redefine the future of an Internet generation napping away for a fee! It has to be the most desirable job on earth, one that an obviously frail delegate insisted on taking for the love of… her country!    

We don’t need a soothsayer or a crystal ball to predict the outcome of the National Conference. It has already started showing signs of futile, recycled ideas incompatible with the realities of today.  Perhaps more disturbing is the fact that the same sentiments (ethnicity, religion, injustice, etc) that have so far eaten away at the fabric of our nascent democracy have crept into their sessions. Why are we not surprised at the drama unfolding at the conference? There is something futile in inviting the same people who created our problems and profit still from them to proffer solutions. They should step aside and let us be.

Why has fresh blood eluded statecraft? Could it be that the youth are deliberately and systematically excluded for the status quo to remain? Are poverty, unemployment, poor education and lack of opportunities all premeditated weapons of suppression? Why are our youth not groomed for leadership?  The aim of the conference is to divert attention from the important lapses/ issues we should be discussing with serious purpose. A conference that cannot reach a consensus on issues as mundane as the opening prayer and voting pattern, weeks after inauguration, cannot and should not be handed our future to decide.

We already have separatist groups like the Biafrans, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta and, lately and even more menacing, Boko Haram surfacing their ugly heads all over Nigeria. That apart, we have indigene and settler issues, herdsman and farmer disputes. These guys are taking up arms; frustrated elements taking the law into their own hands and mimicking the crimes of leaders and politicians. This is what they have been taught, lawlessness. We have only one option, to take our country back. We have no choice; otherwise we will be going from frying pan to fire. Get up today and make your voice heard. There is an opposition – we. Please grab your neighbor and together get involved in the political space. We need to take our mandates back and steer the country back on course.