| They Called me a White Man |
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| Written by Phil Tam-Al Alalibo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 30 November 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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They Called me a White Man
By
Phil Tam-Al Alalibo
My visit to the campus of the Rivers State
University of
Science and Technology, [RSUST], in Port-Harcourt, on my last trip to
Nigeria in
search of research materials earned me an unexpected disenfranchisement
of my
rights as a Nigerian and a transposition into a white man. No sooner
had I
alighted on the campus and headed for the library did I run into a
group of animated students discussing the political fate of our nation.
I could
not resist and I joined the fray introducing myself in the process and
with
that I was dragged into the discussion and unanimously stripped me of
my
Nigerian citizenship, without due process, if I might add.
The crust of this discourse was a spiraling
accusation that "Oyinbo-Nigerians" [their words, not mine] have
contributed nothing to the development of the country as they have resorted to
the pen rather than action in their relatively safe havens in the West. This
was re-echoed recently by the Minister of Information, Frank Nweke, who noted
that Nigerians abroad were inconsequential to the on-goings in their country. The
battle seems to be mounting as many Nigerians, especially, the young ones in
their twenties and thirties, feel they are paying the prize for the misrule of
our leaders while the "Oyinbo-Nigerians" are waiting in the
wings to return to a peaceful country made possible by the tears and sweat of
the Nigerians currently in the country.
The situation can be likened to that in
South Africa during the dark days of apartheid when many young South Africans
sought refuge in the West and in other African countries while their
compatriots paid the full prize in Soweto and other townships [in South
Africa]. As it is now, at the end of apartheid, there is a widespread
resentment towards those South Africans who have returned to reap what they did
not sow. In fact, many have been attacked and their belongings looted, as those
who stayed during the dark days believe that the "newcomers" owe them
something.
The same sentiment is now engulfing Nigeria
as the country continues to swim in endless spates of violence and economic
hardship. On this particular occasion, as I was discussing with students of
RSUST, I was accused of being one of those Nigerians waiting earnestly in the
wings to settle back in Nigeria when its all said and done. They accused me of
sabotage and of taking advantage of the prevailing circumstances to escape from
the country while they were bequeathed with the most unbearable conditions. One
of them said something to the effect of "...so you are the one who
writes articles up and down in the US? Now you can see what we are going
through." Another supported his statement by saying something along the
lines of, "articles mean nothing if they are not backed with action."
The anger in their deposition was evident. I appealed to their civility and the
discourse continued.
This group of students from
RSUST, one of
the well-maintained state universities in Nigeria, insisted that
Nigerians
abroad do not mean business. They noted we must go beyond the Internet
and do more. They further stated that it would be more effective to try
and change the system from within than from without. They cited the
example of Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who left her plum job in Washington
DC, the most powerful capital in the world, to come home to help and
effect changes. The students, five
in
number, all from the engineering faculty resorted to examples from all
over the
continent. "Did Mandela run away when the going got tough? No, he
stayed
and was captured for 27 years. Did Jomo Kenyatta run away? Did Julius
Nyerere
run away? Did Patrice Lumumba run away? No! But look at you, look at
Soyinka,
look at Achebe, look at all of you, you have deserted us and are
throwing
stones from thousands of miles away. We are not sure if you guys are
Nigerians or white men. If you are serious, you will fight here
with us in the trenches. All of you are guilty of desertion and
unpatriotic
behavior."
But I continued to impress on the students
that they should not paint the "Oyinbo-Nigerians"
as a
toothless group. I told them that many overseas groups have succeeded
in
changing policies in Nigeria through pressure and concerted efforts. I
told
them about the fine work of the All-Nigerian-American Congress (ANAC)
which is
trying its best to launder Nigeria’s image and influence polices at
home. During the recent CNN depiction of Nigerians in Houston as bank
robbers, ANAC was on task to confronting the media giant. I
told them that many Nigerian groups in the US are sponsoring specific
candidates for various offices in the next election and those
individuals are
committed to changes that would affect the lives of Nigerians. I gave
them
further examples of how Rivers state groups in the US are sponsoring
candidates
for the State House of Assembly, federal House of Representatives and
even the
Senate and how those candidates, some of whom are current residents in
the US
would return and attempt to improve the lives of their people. Thus,
their
accusations were unfounded to a very large degree, not to mention
uninformed.
I contended that Nigerians abroad or "Oyinbo-Nigerians"
as they would say, have contributed enormously to the economy of the
country
through their endless remittance of hard currencies, be it dollars,
pounds,
German Marks, Francs, Russian Rupee, Dutch Guilder, etc, to their ever
begging
families and these family members spend the money right there in
Nigeria,
buying goods, investing in small businesses, creating employment, etc.
Western Union, the money transfer agent, noted that Nigerians abroad
send over $2 billion home per year. This was significant, I told the
students. I urged them not to be tunnel vision-ed and to look at other ways that
"Oyinbo-Nigerians"
have helped the economy. I impressed upon them that not all Nigerians would be
in Nigeria to help.
A man like Soyinka is not appreciated in
his own country. He is someone who gave up fortune and pleasure to serve his
country in many capacities, someone who spent two years in jail for the Biafran
course, though a Yoruba. I asked them to take stock of their statements and
accusations and put things in perspective. I argued that not all are called to
preach, some are called to counsel, some to advise, some to listen, some to
fight, some to help the fighters financially, some to feed the fighters, etc.
At last, they saw my reasoning and one of
them apparently tired of my rhetoric, requested that I should buy them
"chop" [food]. Of course, that was not a problem as I was feeling the
spirit of benevolence at that moment. We shook hands rather amicably as they
led me to a nearby campus-side restaurant where they each immediately settled
for a sweating bottle of Guinness to be followed by simmering bowls of Isi-ewu-filled pepper soup. After they saw their hefty portions of okra soup and eba that
followed soon after, they apologized for calling me a white man and proclaimed
me, the very one they had attacked ever so veraciously only a few minutes ago,
a true Nigerian, a patriotic citizen.
You see the power of food?
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Posted by Robot| 30.11.2006 10:00