22 Apr 2008 |
|
A Nigerian Youth League {NYL} Publication Nigerians have the uncanny ability to explain the woes of our country by looking for scapegoats to blame for our detrimental national existence! Whilst this is the easiest thing to accomplish, we need to look within and ask ourselves how we as individuals contribute to the non developmental growth of our country. Nigeria is entering a renaissance phase in our history as a nation under God and it is time we do some soul searching to ensure that we as individuals do not contribute to the sorry state the common Nigerians finds themselves in. This article will be read mostly by the literati who happen to constitute the growing re-emergence of the middle class; hence I’ll endeavor to put us on the spot. When I say us, this includes me as I’m not a saint and neither are you in direct reference to the reader of this article! I am using this medium to bring every Nigerian to the court of his or her own conscience. Every occasion that warrants us to act ethically must be looked upon as a measure of our contribution to the ideal of a greater Nigeria. We have seen how by the contributory power of collective illegality has brought us to this point of disrepute in global socio-economic and political spheres. By adding to this scourge as individuals is what has cumulatively destroyed the socio-economic and political coherence of our country. Our Inaction or negative actions have given inertia to all the problems we complain about as a country. I will look at the most common issues that every Nigerian agrees as our main problems in the country. These are ethnic, religious, and social intolerance. This will also include that hydra headed demon called corruption. Also in the same rank is the eternal problem of visionary leadership which we all agree is an issue within the “ruling” elite in Nigeria. I’ll like to start by taking a look at ethnic intolerance in the polity. This has brought about a lot of deaths and destruction to the various regions in Nigeria that have experienced the outpouring of this national epidemic. Every time you as a Nigerian find yourself in a position where you are required to make a decision based on merit and you decide to choose a kinsman over a qualified candidate makes us equally guilty of the crimes of ethics we judge our leaders by! Using anecdotal evidence I am usually shocked by the attitude of corporate Nigeria towards this issue. When I look at the Giants of the corporate world in Nigeria it doesn’t surprise me that an organization that has a predominantly Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa corporate governance structure has more of their kinsmen as employees. Afribank to the best of my knowledge is owned by Yorubas and you can imagine my chagrin when I go to any of their branches and find mostly Yorubas working in there. Is it a surprise that same applies to Zenith bank? This is owned by Jim Ovia and same rules apply. Most of the workers in government parastatals are Hausas and it shouldn’t surprise us as Nigerians when we find that most government workers are Hausas or of Fulanis descent to be more specific. This attitude in corporate Nigeria is further defined in the lower echelons of the polity. Where intolerance of this nature is condoned by the literati, it becomes ethnic violence by the lesser intellectually endowed populace. Do you blame them for the lack of direction by the leaders in their various ethnic guises? We need to really look within as most of us are guilty of this ethical crime whenever we are pressured by societal and communal influences to choose who to give credence by virtue of ethnic leanings over merit. This is food for thought to be considered by you the reader when going about your daily business. The joke of “Omo Nna”, “Malo”, or “ngbati ngbati” by us all is also another ethical crime as most of these utterances have demeaning innuendoes within them. Is it then a shock that we do not see ourselves as equals when the traditional names given the various tribes amongst themselves are known to belittle the credibility of the other? These are only stereotypes to show how “different” we are supposed to be! The reality beggars belief as I know quite a few Yorubas, Igbos and Hausas that have the exact same delimiting characters that the stereotypes connote towards each other! The religious intolerance is another that shocks me out of my reverie! Africans traditionally have a pantheistic belief system similar to those of the Greeks and Romans {pre Christianity}. It is also quite amazing to find that the Egyptians with their claim to civilization also had the same system. Pantheism in its heathen state could be quite barbaric however it is a matter of fact that every religion that is practiced with fanaticism could be detrimental to the social cohesion of the society. Pantheism in the African context served a purpose which was to ensure that your God and Mine do not have to be the same as I am implored to respect your religious leanings and vice versa. It then comes as a surprise when we as Nigerians find ourselves fighting to the death for Abrahamic faiths that are not traditionally African! Every time you as a Nigerian finds yourself doing favors for a sister or brother in Christ or Islam without due consideration for the abilities of the individual in question or following due process; you are also guilty for every religious strife that takes place in any region of the country. You are one and the same with the fanatics albeit that yours is more cultured and does not take place in the market place but at work, school or in the streets of your domicile residence. Every time you make your religion appear to be the only way to heaven, either in discourse or in jibing with a colleague is tantamount to belittling the other person’s faith. We as Nigerians need to learn from the pantheistic nature of the African religion and let every man worship the God of his own heart as God weighs the contents of the heart in judgment of his adherents. I have found in my dealings that a “bad” Christian or “bad” Muslim or “bad” traditional worshiper all have one thing in common; they are inherently bad people that use religious fervor to disguise their ill and wicked ways. Nigerians must not be sucked in as man in his natural state is sinful and religion only serves to connect us to our conscience through the pre-eminence of God and with the constant fear of the judgment day keeping us in check. Social intolerance is a word I’ve personally coined to mean the profound situation where a Nigerian looks down on the other simply because the other is unfortunate with wealth. We know that we live in an economy where wealth is more respected than intellectual capital and class barriers are a one way ticket to wealth or serfdom. In this sense, every time we find ourselves as Nigerians dealing with someone of a lesser class or of lesser financial capability, we must not be over-handed in our affairs. We are mostly guilty of looking at these individuals as scum of the earth. It is a social vice that is not unique to Nigerians; however, as Nigerians of a higher intellect we must do away with the general innuendo that poor people are foolish and hence must be treated with disdain. Imagine a situation where your house boy or house girl flounders or is supposed to have stolen something from the house. We will usually call a friend that is a police commissioner to arrest the person knowing fully well that the poor can never afford the exorbitant rate charged by lawyers for the statutory defense of this individual! The person after been beaten to submission by the ever ready Nigerian Police will then write a statement admitting the crime and hence we claim to have judgment; though extra judicial! Is it then surprising that “Inhuman rights” is the norm in the polity? What part do you as a reader play in this social vice? Are you guilty of this anecdotal evidence or are you holier than thou? This beggars an understanding that once this is permitted at the middle level of the polity, then the law is only for the rich and the poor will die in serfdom imposed by the non existence of a legal aid which is usually affordable in a social welfare state! We are mostly guilty of this social intolerance either in our treatment of the less fortunate or the lesser enlightened populace. Think twice before you use your position to deal mercilessly with the lesser privileged as one day the same stick might be used on you by a higher power unless obviously you belong to the “ruling” elite whom are usually above the law. Corruption! My favorite subject is apt in its guilty verdict. I dare say Nigerians are mostly guilty of this charge. We all waltz around feeling holier than thou. We claim incessantly that the leaders of the polity are corrupt and have stolen all the money for themselves to the detriment of the federation. A succinct point indeed as I put it to the readers of this article that are you corrupt? Corruption takes a lot out of a man. The corruption of your moral values is the worst of all corruption as it affects your value system as an individual. Once you bite the bait of corruption you will swallow it hook line and sinker. You can not bite a bit and spit out the rest as it is a social vice with viral tendencies. It spreads its terminal disease once you bite the unassuming bait. Corruption is usually equated with ethical values of a society. There are certain ethics that are accepted by our society whilst the obvious “deep your hands in the coffers” is usually decried by all and sundry. What part do you play in this? Have you ever made an extra buck out of work? Have you ever received a thank you gift from a client or customer? Have you ever done anything that you know within your heart is unethical? If you say you haven’t done this, then my next question to you is if you solicited for or gained directly or indirectly from such practices? Have you given one? Have you ever jumped a queue in the bank simply because your friend or family is a worker in the bank? We are all guilty of one of the above. Corruption has now become a major oilier of our undeclared cash economy. The pecuniary nature of our work ethics has shown that we all expect to get paid more than is our due. Whilst not denying the fact that this is a pre-colonial trait in the polity, we as Nigerians need to start questioning ourselves if we are really serious about tackling this issue. A common saying amongst a generation of Nigerians is that “we are not saying don’t steal but steal sensibly”. This statement is the one I find most appalling as I wonder who has the authority to define sensible stealing. Family and communal relationships don’t help matters either, as a man is expected to do the best for his kit and kin once he attains that exalted position of clout in our economy. The community elders rarely ask if this has been done within ethical standards as the individual is piled with chieftaincies and accolades by his community. He inadvertently becomes a demigod in his locality and can never do wrong in the eyes of the populace. Criminals are been exalted by our polity and we seriously expect a change? More soul searching questions for you my “incorruptible” readers as I move onto my final point for this article. Lack of visionary leadership is a peculiar issue in the polity. This is a very difficult one as we are all leaders in one way or the other. If you work somewhere and find yourself in a responsible position I believe that is leadership. The work force comprising mainly of the younger generation of Nigerians in this sense are all leaders. Once given a task to accomplish is similar to the task of leadership by our “ruling” elite. Do we have a personal vision for that task that we have been given. There is a common saying that from whom much is given much is expected. The first thing we require of you as a Nigerian is to have personal vision and then develop a visionary approach to the achievement of your tasks. Our vision in Nigeria as a whole is usually money motivated and whoever it is that finds themselves in this position will automatically suffer what I call a distortion of vision. Your task as a leader must be focused on the achievement of the task and not necessarily the financial incentives that may accrue out of your leadership. Have you ever considered the “what’s in it for me” syndrome? Have you ever given thought to how you can further enrich yourself from this task that you’ve been given? Either at work or at home, amongst friends or amongst family this vice is prevalent in the polity. Should you take what has been given to you or should you find roundabouts to get more than what is due to you? “Nigerians are very smart people” is the general saying in global spheres but we are never there to witness the sneering of the non-Nigerians when they make that a synonym to mean “Nigerians are very cunning people”. The guile with which most Nigerians go about their affairs is perturbing as this damning evidence of our individual lack of visionary leadership connotes. I’ll take an anecdotal swipe at the last regime of ex President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo who upon taking up office quite a few of us Nigerian’s were initially fooled by his vision for the reformation of the polity. Imagine our shock when we now found out that Baba was actually reforming his pocket in the process. This is the typical situation most Nigerians find themselves in. Our leadership vision is usually distorted by a more pertinent vision of a fatter bank balance. Most of our leaders like us initially have a vision; however theirs is also conflicting just like yours by this ever present vision of actualization of a self engendered motif. In conclusion of this satirical article, I have to say I laugh at myself and the country at large. I think to myself if these statements above are actually the reality or if I’m just going off on a wild goose chase. In doing this, I put everyone reading this article on trial in the court of their conscience to prove to themselves that they are not traitors. The traitor within the polity as expected by most readers would probably have been the leaders, ruling elite or the ex Presidents; however, I have to say the traitor is you the readers. The traitor is any of that sentiment that you harbor which conforms to the above stated anecdotes. The traitor is your inner wheel of conscience that drives your values and hence moral system. Call it ethics, call it legality or just call it the vain ramblings of a mad hatter; the reality shows that we as a Nation need to tackle the traitors within us first before we start seeking Judas’s in the polity. In as much as this is an ambivalent article I have to state clearly that it is not representative of a few Nigerians as some of us are not guilty of any of the aforementioned ethical crimes. Some of us are truly holier than thou, as I hope I am; however we are few and far between as we tackle the traitors within whilst knocking off all superfluous knobs and excrescences. Daniel@nigerianyouthleague.org Note The views in this article are solely of the writer and do not represent any official line by the organization which reserves the intellectual rights of this publication If you have any queries regarding the article please contact the writer on the email below. Daniel@nigerianyouthleague.org
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
# 
Your Comments
Please make The Square an enjoyable experience for everyone by refraining from gratuitous ad-hominem contributions, defamatory comments and off-topic posting. Such posts will be removed.