WHY PEOPLE DENY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR NEGATIVE ACTIONS

 
Ozodi Thomas Osuji

 
You probably have noticed that some human beings tend to want to avoid taking responsibility for their negative actions.  When they seem to fail, make mistakes and or are poor they tend to seek some one to blame for their fate. They seek scapegoats for their “misfortunes”.  Why this behavior?

To take responsibility for ones failures and for ones mistakes is to feel less than perfect, for if one were perfect one would not make mistakes. Only the imperfect make mistakes.  

Some human beings do not want to make mistakes and seem incompetent; they want to seem perfect and competent at all times. They want to seem like they know it all, even when they do not know what they are talking about.

If we are perfect, do not make mistakes and are always competent then we are godlike. Only God does not make mistakes.

To make mistakes is to have a depressed view of ones self. To accept that one is prone to making mistakes is to risk depression, a painful mental state.

Folks deny responsibility for their mistakes and failures because they do not want to be depressed. (In clinical depression, the individual feels low self esteem, loses interests in the activities of daily living: does not have interest in work, sports, social relationships and personal grooming; some may even have suicidal ideation and some engage in self mutilation.  However, we are not talking about clinical depression needing anti depressant medications; we are talking about sad feeling from accepting responsibility for ones mistakes.)

Those who deny responsibility for their mistakes and find other people to blame for them tend to avoid depression; unfortunately, they tend to become paranoid.  The paranoid person always blames his problems on other people. (In clinical paranoia, aka delusion disorder, the individual is grandiose, sees himself as superior to other people, even if he has the IQ of a moron, believes that because he is so important that other people are out to kill or harm him…he may seek police protection and hide from people and write with a false name, all in an effort to protect his fancied important life; he generally has ideas of persecution and grandeur; he tends to fear been demeaned, belittled, degraded, disgraced, criticized etc. He is always quarrelling with those he thinks are demeaning him, those that do not see him as the god he wants to be seen as.  We are not talking about clinical paranoia requiring medical treatment; we are talking about phenomenological paranoia found in most human beings; only the unique human being does not have some paranoid traits.)

Psychologist, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals consider the person who takes ownership of his mistakes hence risks depression developmentally more mature than the person who denies his mistakes and blames other people for them.

The paranoid person is considered developmentally more like a child than an adult. Adolf Hitler, the quintessential paranoid personality, was emotionally a child. Though intellectually gifted, this unfortunate man did not think like an adult;  his life was devoted to doing what he believed would make him a very important person, even if it meant killing fifty million persons. Real adults care for other people, not kill them.

Adults get depressed, children get paranoid.  (See William Meissner, Paranoid Process, New York: Aronson, 1980; also see his Psychotherapy for the Paranoid Process by the same publisher; for a more descriptive take on paranoia, see David Swanson et al, The Paranoid; for an analytic perspective on the subject, see David Shapiro, Autonomy and the Rigid Character, and, of course, see the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, sections on paranoia.)

Generally, adults tend to accept responsibility for their action whereas children tend to deny responsibility for their actions. It is believed that primitive persons tend to blame others for their existential problems (they also blame non-existent gods) and that more civilized persons tend to blame themselves for their failures and mistakes.

There is empirical evidence that primitive persons tend to be more prone to paranoia than civilized persons. Civilized persons tend to be prone to depression.

An African is likely to be paranoid than depressed; whereas a Westerner is likely to be depressed than paranoid.  (These are broad generalizations; the diseases occur in all human populations. People in the same population group are at different levels of emotional and intellectual development; there are Europeans who are emotionally underdeveloped and there are Africans who are emotionally very developed.)

The civilized person has internal locus of control, that is, sees himself as in charge of his life and takes responsibility for what happens to him and for the outcomes of his behavior.

The uncivilized person tends to have external locus of authority and see the environment as responsible for his life’s outcomes. Because he sees the outside world as responsible for his destiny, he tends to be fearful.

What is the point to all these?  Nigerians, Africans and black persons, in general, tend to seek others to blame for their failures and mistakes. If you look for people to blame for your problems, you would, of course, find those who seem responsible for your problems and blame them.

Africans tend to blame slavery on white people even though slavery existed in Africa before their contact with Europeans. In the present, Africans tend to blame the West for their poverty even though much of their poverty is attributable to their lack of managerial and leadership skills; their lack of integrity and their proneness to corruption.

Many Africans blame Westerners (the Metropolis) for the woes of Africa (the Periphery.  But give such Africans money to help their fellow Africans and they would pocket it while their people are starving to death.

Those who blame other persons for their problems tend to be perceived as child like in temperament. This tendency to blame other people for their woes makes other people see Africans as child like.

 It would be nice if Africans stopped blaming other people (the West) for their failures. Of course, in the nature of things, other people contribute to the individual’s problems, after all we live in an interdependent world where every one affects every one else and is affected by every oneness. Nevertheless, empirical evidence shows that those individuals who accept the belief, albeit a fiction, that they are in charge of their lives tend to do better in life than those who accept the fiction that other people are in charge of their lives.  It is a question which illusion is bore conducive to productivity.

 If you make mistakes accept them and learn from them and go do what you have to do to avoid making similar mistakes. 

CONCLUSION

 It is us, Africans, who made Africa what it is. It is not others, Europeans, who made Africa the miserable place it is. We are responsible for our continent’s fate.

 If we are corrupt we produce a poor continent; if we are men and women of integrity and accountability, people who work for public good, we produce a better Africa. All things being equal, other people, particularly the West, affects us, positively or negatively, one is not denying reality, but it is time that we emphasized our own behaviors and ignored what other people did or did not do to us.

Ozodi Thomas Osuji, PhD
November 13, 2006

Robot  Villager

# 1 WHY PEOPLE DENY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR NEGATIVE ACTIONS Ozodi Thomas Osuj...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 14.11.2006 07:38

GemuhDesayinah  Villager

# 2 =Ozodi Thomas Osuj;138531> Africans tend to blame slavery on white people even though slavery existed in Africa before their contact with Europeans Really? All The people of Ethiopia (which had nothing to do with trans-altantic slavery, by the way) blame slavery on "white people"? All the African countries that suffered the brunt of Trans-Saharan slavery blame it on "white people"? Is the author serious? Methinks this author is not knowledgeable enough about the African continent to discuss it intelligently. I strongly suggest extensive continent-wide research prior to subsequent articles. Posted by GemuhDesayinah| 14.11.2006 09:51

EezeeBee  Villager

# 3 First of all, Mr. Osuji, thanks for a relatively short article that can be read at one sitting. Next, I'm intrigued that the article originally appeared to be titled: WHY PEOPLE DENY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR NEGATIVE ACTIONS but somewhere along the way you decided to title it Why Africans deny responsibility for their actions. Are Africans not 'people' in your view? You sound conflicted when you state Nevertheless, empirical evidence shows that those individuals who accept the belief, albeit a fiction, that they are in charge of their lives tend to do better in life than those who accept the fiction that other people are in charge of their lives. If it is a 'fiction' why would you advocate accepting it? For reasons you advance? What makes your reasons or rationalization of fiction superior to anyone elses? Lastly, you engage in classic 'blame the victim' pedagogy when you state: In the present, Africans tend to blame the West for their poverty even though much of their poverty is attributable to their lack of managerial and leadership skills; their lack of integrity and their proneness to corruption. You perhaps exist in a state of complete denial of the fact that a major part of colonialism and slavery was to DELIBERATELY destroy the institutions of leadership and management in the countries colonized in order to make way for introducing CORRUPT foreign values to the populace. I have argued here and elsewhere, that there is NOTHING inherently inferior about the leadership, integrity and honesty of Nigerians, Africans to anyone else, and nothing I've seen, read or heard has convinced me otherwise. The challenge of the post-colonial era for Nigerians and other Africans is recreating our institutions and NOT attempting to model them on anyone elses, because to do that is to perpetually play 'catch up' in someone elses 'home court'. Posted by EezeeBee| 14.11.2006 11:37

Oghre  Villager

# 4 George Bush wrongfully blames Saddam Hussein for 9/11, is Bush a Nigerian? Black people are continuously blamed for rising crime rates even in areas where they don’t set foot. Paedophilia is an exclusively white crime, yet the only convicted one I saw in the paper last week is the only black 1 of 6000 registered in the UK. Please wait for the photo of the sample serial killer in America; it will probably be a black man. And no, White people never blame their problems on others. They are perfect. Are we to assume here that you collectively believe that every single Nigeria or African has these symptoms contained in your article? What experimental evidence of research informs this? If people fail to take responsibility for their action, does that not reinforce your beliefs (and ours) that humans (all colours) are imperfect? I don't know about God mate, there is no empirical evidence that a "God" exist, if it does not exist how can it be perfect? If it is perfect then people like Hitler, Margaret Thatcher and Ibrahim Babangida would probably not have been. About the Nigerian and African condition, lets talk about abuse, slavery, oppression and discrimination and its effects... start with whites and then translate that to how blacks may have been affected by slavery, colonisation and the abuse that still rages today Many western societies are rife with sexual abuse, paedophilia and all manner of mental and psychological torture of mainly their own kids. When these kids grow up the symptoms recorded are things like fears, panic attacks, sleeping problems, nightmares, irritability, outbursts of anger and sudden shock reactions when being touched, Little confidence, and self-respect and respect for one's own body may change, Behaviour that harms the body: addiction to alcohol and other substances, paranoia, depression, self-destruction and prostitution. Some even become stranglers and serial killers, because daddy treated them bad! A white porn star I was chatting to told me her father raped her that’s why she is doing blue films to get him back, she was not Nigerian! Now these abuses happening in these “superior white Arian societies” is nothing compared to the mental torture, the slavery, colonisation and the continuous defilement of anything black anywhere. Surely the things we suffered and are still going through must have some kind of effect on the psyche, no? Just like the continuous beating of black children by parents in the name of corporal punishment. These are actually physical abuse. Surely these things must have some effects on us as a people. Posted by Oghre| 14.11.2006 16:22

Anike  Bibi ire: Agbe Gboko Rosu

# 5 I agree with you that individuals are responsible for their own shortcomings and should take responsibilities for their actions. However, I don’t agree with you that the refusal to so do is a trait demonstrated by Africans and Africans alone. You remind me of Andrew Billingsley, Author of Black Families in White America. I remember reading about how, growing up in Alabama, he, as were the other kids, was taught by whites to think so little of his African roots, and that being remotely linked to Africa shamed him so. He talked about how being called nigger was much better than being called African or black African because he was taught to think that Africa/ns symbolized the dark gory past, while caucasians represented white hope of the future. He also said that African kids, I think there were 2, just as they did Africa as a continent, were loathed. I think the only difference, imo, is that when he broadened his knowledge, he was able to seperate the lies he was taught from realities somuch so that he chose to educate others with his experience =>Africans tend to blame slavery on white people even though slavery existed in Africa before their contact with Europeans. In the present, Africans tend to blame the West for their poverty even though much of their poverty is attributable to their lack of managerial and leadership skills; their lack of integrity and their proneness to corruption. I think Africans blame slavery on white people, Europeans, because of all the slaveries that existed, the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (Middle Passage) records the most loss of life, human misery, atrocious conditions and extended duration of travel in history, with between 11 and 25 million Africans believed to have been shipped over its course. And, though Britain went above and beyond, signing pacts and seizing ships, even paying millions of pound sterling in damages, to put an end to slavery, isn't it true that they did this in order to have sole lordship over their territories? Isn't it true that, with all they did to supposedly put an end to slavery, including having the African leaders, over 40, sign their souls, and by extension the soul of the future Africans over to them, only recorded more loss in life as slavers had to travel longer routes, bribing, the corruption you're so eager to blame Africans for, their ways through, just to still get "negroes" on their plantation? So, I ask, should we blame Iraq or China? How did Africa, a continent incapable of managing or leading, manage to single-handedly manage Europe and The Americas economy up until the 19th century? Please, provide us with evidence that the only reason why Africa is economically challenged is due to "their lack of managerial and leadership skills; their lack of integrity and their proneness to corruption". Please be very nice enough to highlight those reasons of yours that are nonexistent in the "West". And, please, tell us that the decades of brutality and forced migration is the African leaders' fault alone. And that the Africans that were brought to the New World and barred from speaking their languages and not allowed to learn, or adapt to, the culture of the New World should blame their ignorance on no one but themselves. (any reason why "fanacular" speaking was (or maybe stills is) prohibited in African schools? You may want to help schools see the evil of prohibiting vernacular speaking) And, o, let me also thank you for making this article short. It could not have been easy but you did it. Posted by Anike| 14.11.2006 21:27

DeepThought  Villager

# 6 An analogy: Iran is, as is the right of any self respecting people, striving to develop its capabilities in Engineering and Sciences, including Nuclear science(exactly as the West had done, but unhampered by any powers.) The West led by America ,is hell bent on frustrating this aspiration. So if the West succeeds in destroying Iran,its leadership and culture, then facilitates the ascendancy of some subhuman trash into position of leadership in Iran, thereby directly causing Iran to sink into a state of unprecedented babarity, just as we currently have in Africa, we should expect the emergence of an Iranian version of Osuji, who will scratch his head, shrug his shoulders and write an article about how Arabs deny responsibilty for their actions? Na wa for this Dr. Abi dem dash am degree? :confused1 Posted by DeepThought| 15.11.2006 00:58

Shoko Loko Bangoshe  Villager

# 7 =EeezeeBee>I have argued here and elsewhere, that there is NOTHING inherently inferior about the leadership, integrity and honesty of Nigerians, Africans to anyone else, and nothing I've seen, read or heard has convinced me otherwise. I'm scratching my head over this statement. How can you say that, when you see the kind of leaders that Nigeria has routinely thrown up over the years? There are certainly Nigerians who possess good leadership qualities, but in my observation, they tend to be in the minority - unfortunately, your average Nigerian leader tends to be dictatorial, unwilling to delegate authority, overly conscious of his status, and unwilling to accept that he has made a mistake. (Gosh, I'm beginning to sound like Osuji now!) Posted by Shoko Loko Bangoshe| 15.11.2006 01:43

Godwin  Villager

# 8 @ GemuhDesayinah "Really? All The people of Ethiopia (which had nothing to do with trans-altantic slavery, by the way) blame slavery on "white people"? All the African countries that suffered the brunt of Trans-Saharan slavery blame it on "white people"? Is the author serious? " It takes 2 to tango. Who sold Slaves to the Europeans? Trans Atlantic Slave trade may be over but slave trade still continues in Africa to this day. Trans Atlantic "Brain Drain" is just as destabilising to African countries. Less succesfull people usually blame others for their failures and they may or may not be Africans. Posted by Godwin| 15.11.2006 05:38

tengallons  Villager

# 9 This article is so breezy and impressionistic, it doesn't deserve a point by point refutation. Anytime one begins analysis with atmospheric categories like "Africans" versus "Europeans" or "white people", you are treading on thin ice. What the author has basically done is to essentialize large, complex groups to the point of absurdity. Oh, one other thing, words like "primitive" and "civilized" are outmoded in the academy. Other respondents here have already pointed out examples of buck-passing and scapegoating that abound in the West. Out. Posted by tengallons| 15.11.2006 15:28

Exxcuzme  Villager

# 10 Shoko Loko Bankoshe---iya aje...o ti eva facinate my name....gogogongo wrote: _____________________________________________ I'm scratching my head over this statement. How can you say that, when you see the kind of leaders that Nigeria has routinely thrown up over the years? _____________________________________________ what about oyinbo people killing/assassinating all the good leaders every which way and imposing people like Mobutu, OBJ, Gowon etc on us. If we can eliminate "the owners of naija" and Africa is when the REAL black people will take over! Posted by Exxcuzme| 15.11.2006 17:35

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