The idea and doctrine that the Blackman is inferior and indeed a lesser mortal has been ongoing since the first contacts between Europeans and Africans. That doctrine engendered the beginning of Slavery and sustained it for more than 300 years. The end of Slavery shifted  the focus  to Colonialism, Jim crow laws, racial segregation,  Apartheid,  and continuing neo-colonialism  all inspired by the doctrine of  the inferiority of the Negro. The ongoing efforts by Dr James D. Watson a renowned scientist to put  a scientific seal on the inferiority of the Negro is thus  the final attempt to settle a long standing European doctrine on African inferiority which many commentators and politicians had used and continue to use to justify both the crime of Slavery and other historical vices against the African.

However we must admit, that some of the realities on the ground in Nigeria nay Africa has helped to sustain and to a large extent amplify the historical prejudice that exists against the African. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and tragically a jungle by every standard. The Nigerian context and the tragedies of her inexplicable failures in every area of human endeavour has sought to vindicate the likes of James D. Watson.

No other nation on earth parades the kind of shameful paradox of failures synonymous with Nigeria. In spite of being the worlds sixth largest oil producer and almost a decade of oil boom Nigeria is an eyesore and a jungle. Corruption has increasingly become a way of life, the roads are death traps, education has collapsed, healthcare does not exist, heaps of smelly refuse adorn the streets, electricity has given way to permanent darkness, violent crime has spiralled into alarming proportions, indeed the police force themselves are in most cases the robbers and sponsors of robbery, and when they come under pressure they parade innocent victims. Extortion and even killing for 20Naira is  an added feature of policing in the Nigerian jungle.

Human corpses literarily litters the streets especially in large urban centres like Lagos. Just last week a friend of mine told me of a corpse he saw near Ikoyi hotel that had been crushed to a pulp by passing vehicles, only the hands and legs sticking out made it recognisable as a human corpse. Such barbarities are ever so routine.   The national army on its own part has spent more time waging war against other Nigerians, committing serial acts of genocide against ethnic communities.

Politically the jungle creed is even more notable. Elections and  census  results are routinely rigged under situations of intimidation, violence and murder. Just recently the April  elections has been described by local and  international observers as the worst in the history of humanity. Ethnic harmony is virtually a no go area. The level and extent of tribalism, stereotypes, ethnic hatred, routine ethno-religious strife, government discrimination, Black on Black Apartheid etc is  worse than what obtained in Apartheid South Africa, yet it has escaped   the notice of the world because it is happening among  people of racial similarity.

Nigeria’s inexcusable failure in every sphere of human endeavour is an indictment of the totality of the Black race that has provided the justification for the sustenance and now scientific angles in the purported inferiority of the Blackman. Nations like Singapore with a similar colonial  background, becoming independent in 1965, 5 years after Nigeria in spite of a severely limited landmass of just 700 sq km (less than one sixth of Anambra state)  and a total absence of natural resources has triumphed to become one of the richest and best organised nations in the world. This and several other examples has rubbished the usual excuse of colonialism advanced by those seeking to excuse the chaos and crass failings of Nigeria.

In the larger African context, the reality continues to be grim, though a few oases of prosperity has emerged in Botswana, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa, Nigeria remains the bad guy of Africa synonymous with everything negative, dysfunctional and evil. Thus the redemption of Africa and the African can only begin with a Nigerian renaissance which will signal a paradigm shift in the failed management of a nation that is potentially one of the richest in the world, but remains in every respect the dreg of humanity.

The African is not essentially inferior. Like all human beings, they have their strengths and weaknesses. The missing link has been the lack of organisation and absence of the political will to address the contradictions inherent in many African nations that has held them down in a state of anomie owing to the contradictions of their creation and existence. But many nations such as Singapore, Malaysia etc with a similar colonial baggage has resolved such contradictions and moved on. Africans nay Nigerians must do same with utmost haste, so that they can with dignity and pride join the rest of the world in crafting a sane and organised society that can earn the respect of all and sundry. Once this is done, perhaps the likes of James D. Watson will become irrelevant.

Comrade Lawrence Chinedu Nwobu
Email: Lawrencenwobu@yahoomail.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 However we must admit, that some of the realities on the ground in Nigeria nay Africa has helped to ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 11.11.2007 09:50

Wayfarer  Villager

# 2 I do not think it matters whether or not we are inferior. Our greatest failing are our inability to work together, and the habit of approaching issues collectively that we would never entertain individually If a non Black person scored higher than a black person on a test, or a non Black person stepped on a black person's toes without apologizing, does the black person accept it as his just desserts because of his inferiority? No. Why therefore do we accept as a group behaviour we would never countenance individually? What great contributions have South Americans made to the world? Even China, for all her vaunted industriousness, what has she invented lately? Or india for that matter? Where would South America or Mexico be without the United States? Yet in spite of their modest contributions to world development, unlike Africans, these countries passionately defend their cultures and collective dignity against foreign onslaughts. Argentina was routed by England during the Falkland Islands war, but that episode did not infuse Argentinians with a collective inferiority complex. Similarly, colonialism did not instill a collective feeling of inferiority into Indians. The children of West African immigrants compare very well in terms of scholarship and other indices used in measuring progressiveness. We do just fine individually when we are not occupied hating and sniping at each other. We just have to learn that familiarity breeds contempt, and that if you let people denigrate your society, you will never receive their respect. We just need to learn to love ourselves, to start loving only those who reciprocate our love, and to start procuring and adapting resources from whereever we can find them to our own needs. Who cares whether you have built greater societies than I have? I still love my society more than yours. I just need to transfer that technology you developed and I'll be just fine. Afterall, it's not as if your cuisine is anywhere near as delicious as mine for pete's sake. Posted by Wayfarer| 11.11.2007 12:25

Dove  Villager

# 3 Re: Is The Blackman Really Inferior? It's likely. That's why Arik Air, owned by blackpeople, placed that picture of a caucasian on their website. The airline would have been inferior had they used a picture of a blackman.:biggrin: Posted by Dove| 11.11.2007 12:35

Anon  Villager

# 4 =Wayfarer;2091818951>I do not think it matters whether or not we are inferior. Our greatest failing are our inability to work together, and the habit of approaching issues collectively that we would never entertain individually If a non Black person scored higher than a black person on a test, or a non Black person stepped on a black person's toes without apologizing, does the black person accept it as his just desserts because of his inferiority? No. Why therefore do we accept as a group behaviour we would never countenance individually? What great contributions have South Americans made to the world? Even China, for all her vaunted industriousness, what has she invented lately? Or india for that matter? Where would South America or Mexico be without the United States? Yet in spite of their modest contributions to world development, unlike Africans, these countries passionately defend their cultures and collective dignity against foreign onslaughts. Argentina was routed by England during the Falkland Islands war, but that episode did not infuse Argentinians with a collective inferiority complex. Similarly, colonialism did not instill a collective feeling of inferiority into Indians. The children of West African immigrants compare very well in terms of scholarship and other indices used in measuring progressiveness. We do just fine individually when we are not occupied hating and sniping at each other. We just have to learn that familiarity breeds contempt, and that if you let people denigrate your society, you will never receive their respect. We just need to learn to love ourselves, to start loving only those who reciprocate our love, and to start procuring and adapting resources from whereever we can find them to our own needs. Who cares whether you have built greater societies than I have? I still love my society more than yours. I just need to transfer that technology you developed and I'll be just fine. Afterall, it's not as if your cuisine is anywhere near as delicious as mine for pete's sake. Very well said my brother. I could not have put it better. I think the bane of the black man's ( and infact more particularly the Black African) is his inability to even remotely work together. There is a constant drawback inhenrent in the desire to demonize certain ethnic groups at the expense of others, or promote one's own as superior to others. When people refuse to live as brothers, and work collectivly for each other's good, it's obvious that other groups would capitalize on it and come out with the dubious research such as that peddled around by Watson. Infact I had cause to say else where that when Nigerians for instance have mud thrown at them and their heritage or someone comes here making fun of them based on their skin color or Afro heritage, most people go mute, but substitute those insults with their ethnic groups rather than the word black and you would see all sorts of people crawling out of the wood work to protest. We seem to identify with our small clusters of ethnic groups rather than any one shared heritage of being from one common Afro descendant and that has done more harm than good in the long run when it comes to working together. I could go on but I think you pretty much covered the basis. However you'll have our resident white supremacist have us beleive that Watson or what's his name is right and he constantly cites another villager to prove same. Just go here and here to read him again in action. Posted by Anon| 11.11.2007 12:41

emj  Villager

# 5 Nigeria’s inexcusable failure in every sphere of human endeavour is an indictment of the totality of the Black race that has provided the justification for the sustenance and now scientific angles in the purported inferiority of the Blackman. Nations like Singapore with a similar colonial background, becoming independent in 1965, 5 years after Nigeria in spite of a severely limited landmass of just 700 sq km (less than one sixth of Anambra state) and a total absence of natural resources has triumphed to become one of the richest and best organised nations in the world. This and several other examples has rubbished the usual excuse of colonialism advanced by those seeking to excuse the chaos and crass failings of Nigeria. Chinedu, Nigeria's inexcusable failure in some sphere of human endeavour cannot, i repeat cannot be said to be an indictment of the totality of the black race.....the buck stops at every doorstep...everyman/woman is responsible for how and why things are the way they are....Nigeria we might say as a nation, is a failed nation...reasons for that abounds..>>>>>>> We've all abandoned our nation Nigeria in pursuit of greener pastures........u might of course say for various valid reason....hmm Nigeria is blessed with so much Human Resources.......we are the best in every field and spheres of life...the knowledge that we could have used to serve our nation properly is being used to benefit other nations.....we are scattered all over the continents of the world.......if we decide to all shift and take a decisive step to return home today, those nations will be the worst for it....mass transfer of human resources(the nations of the world will catch cold). What most of the nationals of other countries are doing right now, especially the Asians, is to learn and transfer. Most of the Indians here bring in their people, set up all manner of businesses, make use of factories back home to produce and remit funds back to develop their various communities...at times the headquarters of their business is here and the branches are back home and vice versa. In the larger African context, the reality continues to be grim, though a few oases of prosperity has emerged in Botswana, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa, Nigeria remains the bad guy of Africa synonymous with everything negative, dysfunctional and evil. Thus the redemption of Africa and the African can only begin with a Nigerian renaissance which will signal a paradigm shift in the failed management of a nation that is potentially one of the richest in the world, but remains in every respect the dreg of humanity. We sure are rich and have the potential to be the richest if we love ourselves and in extension our nation Nigeria...not just eye-service, but selfless service, it's not about trying to prove that you are more superior than the other fellow or being clannish...there is need to get off our Archiac high horses and do positive things, do away with those things that makes us feel and seem inferior. We have all manner of resources at our disposal, but not the wherewithal to do tangible things with them.....reason being our suspicion for each other......our myopicness is what hinders our altitude. The African is not essentially inferior. Like all human beings, they have their strengths and weaknesses. The missing link has been the lack of organisation and absence of the political will to address the contradictions inherent in many African nations that has held them down in a state of anomie owing to the contradictions of their creation and existence. But many nations such as Singapore, Malaysia etc with a similar colonial baggage has resolved such contradictions and moved on. Africans nay Nigerians must do same with utmost haste, so that they can with dignity and pride join the rest of the world in crafting a sane and organised society that can earn the respect of all and sundry. Once this is done, perhaps the likes of James D. Watson will become irrelevant. All in all Chinedu, i really enjoyed reading your article, and will as an individual continue to do my bit. Posted by emj| 11.11.2007 13:37

Oghre  Villager

# 6 If any back individual feels inferior in their existence that is no excuse to go about writing articles whenever some retarded white scientist pokes fun at their race; articles like these should never be written, they smack of internalised hated and inadequacies. Poor economics, a lack of proper organisation and disunity cannot be adjudged as inferiority and low IQ. The standard of article writing in some Nigerian website is becoming below standard; there are core issues we can concentrate on instead of writing incoherent ridiculous assertions based on right wing ideologies. Posted by Oghre| 11.11.2007 16:32

Jah Guda  Villager

# 7 Love and respect in Western societies is what makes the big difference. The absence of these most valuable of human emotions is what makes the black race what it is today. Selfish greed has turned our Nation into one big, corrupt arena. Politicians on $20,000 per annum leave office as millionaires. Forget roads and electricity, our politicians have no long term vision, they are there to steal. There are no industries, the money derived from oil and gas should be used to create other revenue streams for the Country and opprotunities for Nigerians. Nigerians are fleeing abroad in droves, the citizens of the places we go to for a better life cannot understand why we have plenty and yet have nothing. Naturally they will feel they are better beings than us. If we are aware that disunity is the main cause of our problems then why don't we unite? why don't we spend billions on projects that will bring about unity? If certain groups in Nigeria feel aggrieved, why don't we apologise, shake hands and get on with rebuilding our Country? We do not do the things we need to do to make Nigeria better because some Nigerians would rather keep our monies in their bank account. Our only option then is to take it back by force because it was stolen from Nigerians in the first place. It is not the first time I have heard a Nigerian, or in this case read a Nigerian ask the question, do we have limited intelligence? Personally I do not think we have limited intelligence, what we lack is bravery. Mark my word, Nigeria will continue to be run the way it has always been run, nothing will change until some sort of violent confrontation occurs. Unfortunately words are just words, we all know we have had great writers and artist who dedicated their lives to trying to force our leaders into changing their ways, it will take more than words to prise the hands of Nigerian politicians from the vault that holds our oil money. Posted by Jah Guda| 11.11.2007 17:34

aproko  Villager

# 8 Have we not belaboured this "Nigeria is blessed with rich human and natural resources" that it's become a favoured cliche? Nigeria and her children should do more and talkess. In as much as i enjoyed the article ( and some pertinent point wher made somewhat) i reject the belief (by the writer) that because Nigeria can't get her acts together, then everything black equals inferior IQ,product whatever. Watson's belief is for him and his disciples, intelligence or genius is not a white thing but i know that each race can list their own "wonders". Having a low or high IQ is an individual thing, subject to the kind of tests used to measure it. Posted by aproko| 11.11.2007 18:16

Abraxas  Villager

# 9 Hi, folks! I wonder if any member of the White race ever contemplates asking if the White man is really SUPERIOR. I know it is absolutely unthinkable for a White man to bother to even think of whether the White race is INFERIOR. A tiger does not need to tell a cat who is Big Brother. Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) Posted by Abraxas| 12.11.2007 01:39

Abraxas  Villager

# 10 Hi, folks! I wonder if any member of the White race ever contemplates asking if the White man is really SUPERIOR. I know it is absolutely unthinkable for a White man to bother to even think of whether the White race is INFERIOR. A tiger does not need to tell a cat who is Big Brother. Muchas gracias. Don Juan-Carlos ABRAXAS (III) Posted by Abraxas| 12.11.2007 01:40

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