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Ade’s reaction to the recent European Champions
League final played in far away Russia between two English Clubs – Man United
and Chelsea – is a testimony that Nigerians are pretty much tie to their
colonial masters. Oh, there’s nothing wrong in being a fan of a club one
thousand miles away, but to dress a cow in Man U and Chelsea’s logo and then
going on to kill the cow in celebration, is more than just the love for
football. It’s more than that. As for me, it’s part of colonial mentality. Ade,
Obianna and Yakubu went on rampage in Nigeria,
killing and maiming in order to show their solidarity with two English teams!
And talking about colonial
mentality, the behaviour is as rampant as corruption in the land. The
determination to love or die for whatever British/Oyinbo has
contributed immensely to the downfall of Nigeria.
There seems to be no exception regarding the way Nigerians have been cajoled to
love whatever is British. One would have thought that the so-called
intellectuals know better, but alas they are as guilty. I mean they blow
grammar that would make Queen Elisabeth cringe. They always wear an expensive
grey suit and dark tie in such a tropical weather. Terrestrial example though,
it speaks louder.
There’s no limit as far as
Euro-American domination on the Nigerian mind is concerned. From their
president to the new born baby, Nigerians seem to be characterised by long
suffering like a chronic smoker. Their love for foreign things has moved slowly
and smoothly to the point where if care is not taken, it would be the next
corruption most likely to swindle them from their inheritance. And like many
other wrong things in their daily lives, Nigerians do not see this behaviour as
something that might enslave them forever. They may posit: “What’s wrong in
copying one’s master?”
Oh, there’s nothing wrong with Nigeria
except we don’t know what’s wrong with us. I started serious thinking about the
consequences of obsession with anything foreign when a 10-year-old Nigerian
girl said this: “If I have the chance to go to London,
I won’t come back to this stupid country”. I have also overheard a boy of
twelve saying this: “Oyinbo are better than us”. What could have provoked two
of our future leaders to think in this way? Who or what helped them build
inferiority complex at such a tender age? Perhaps the answer would surface
before the end of this essay.
I reiterate here that our inability
to sustain a common language other than English is a major hindrance to keeping
Nigeria ONE. Language and culture have tremendous appeal in building a people.
In our characteristic colonial mentality, parents prefer their children to
speak Queen’s English to any local language. WASOBIA, a national language once
proposed, was murdered like the police indiscriminate shooting of the citizens.
If WASOBIA had lived, or officially adopted some twenty-two years ago, there
would have been a positive structure in the minds of our young adults in
today’s Nigeria.
“We love and glorify in things of
our former oppressors including their languages, their cities/countries and
their ways of life,” says one Agidimolaja. There seems to be no exception in
this madness – from rulers to the ruled; from highbrowed to low-browed; from
mundane to heavenly or ideal things. Nigerian politicians for example, have not
been able to design a system that would be favourable to our culture and ways
of life. It’s either the borrowed presidential or parliamentary system which is
equal to no government.
Their uncanny sense of direction is
inhibited in the way they glorify Oyinbo things. It is their life time
ambition to die in foreign land, especially “ London”.
They would rather be buried there with the public money than to make use of the
money in their country. There’s no hospital good enough for this group of
Nigerians other than the ones in Germany,
England, America,
Hungary etc. It actually reached a point where a former governor of old Imo
State, Sam Mbakwe, cried
for the return of the colonial masters to begin what he called re-colonization.
Nigerian government is ready to
employ a less-qualified “expatriate” for the position in which qualified
Nigerians could be of benefit. Or are we saying that no Nigerian engineer or
doctor is as good as the Chinese counterparts for example? Still, colonial
mentality comes in different ways. Many Nigerian graduates would rather carry Oyinbo
shit, wash and clean toilets in England
than being a teacher or a doctor in Nigeria.
Despite the campaign for Andrew to stay at home, his colonial mentality
instinct would pilot him to Euro-American zone. He, like his leaders, must
prostrate before Bush’s White House.
I remember how a Nigerian
journalist was almost killed just because she wrote that Prophet Mohammed, whom
Moslems in Nigeria
hold in high esteem, loved beautiful women. They went on another rampage in
defense of an Arab leader who lived thousands of years ago. See, every form of
colonization is accepted in our dear country and nobody is fighting against
this phenomenon. Those who should enlighten the unenlightened are themselves
victims of colonial mentality. No wonder we are still at the crossroad.
The so-called Nollywood has become
the monumental display of colonial mentality judging from the way the actors
and actresses promote and worship Euro-American values. They just prefer to be
like Americans. Imagine a Yoruba film or even Nigerian English film playing
rock and roll or rap in the background. It’s not uncommon to see Nigerian film
stars carrying in their chest logo like I love New
York, England,
California etc. Even the name – Nollywood – tells a lot of story about their
state of mind.
Likewise, many Nigerians in the
Diaspora are guilty of what can simply be described as colonial mentality. A
naturalized Nigerian in one of the EU countries once proudly narrated an
encounter while he was on vacation in his country. According to him, he was
arguing with some people who were becoming violent toward him.
Immediately he sensed danger, he told his would be attacker, “Look here,
I am not ordinary Nigerian,” he boasted. “I am European citizen and if anything
happens to me, you are all in trouble”.
Some mask their Nigerian accents to
sound like the British or American. Tunde, who has since changed his name to
Tony, barely spent six months in America
when he called me in 1996. “Hey men,” his voice boomed in a fake American
accent.
“Who is this?”
“C’mon men, you gotta guess”.
“Who is this?”
“Men, Tony on the line. Calling
from Yankee…we stayed together at baba’s flat in Budapest”.
“Oh Tunde, you don be American o”.
“Men, Yankee the place to be.
Everything cool men”.
“And wetin you dey do for Yankee
now?”
“Men, I’m gonna soon go to school
men”…….
Talking about Nigerians in Nigeria,
they would rather buy second hand goods from England
than patronize first hand goods made by Ibo or Yoruba or Hausa. Yours truly is
guilty of this behaviour as well, for I cannot wear any shoes other than
Italian made. Many Nigerians including a South-West governor bleach their
skins, believing that whatever light is better. Even my sister has washed away
her crown with different chemicals in order to straighten or curl her hair; her
identity peculiar to her type. Even the unborn ones glorify in things of our
former oppressors. Is there a cure? I need it.
Copyright
2008
mysmallvoice@yahoo.com
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Authors 
Posted by Robot| 04.06.2008 22:00