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CULTURE, FREEDOM AND POVERTY In an attempt to define marketing, Phillip Kotler gave the example of two salesmen, who were sent to a village to prospect for a market in which shoes will be sold. The first came back and said there was no market because the people don’t wear shoes. The second however returned and reported that he had discovered a gold mine- the people don’t wear shoes but they will be taught how to wear shoes and by extension the company will sell shoes to them. Kotler concluded that between these two extremes is the definition of marketing. Looking at the world economy today and the high level of poverty in Africa especially my country Nigeria, I have come to the conclusion that the bedrock of the economic policies of western countries is situated somewhere within the report of the second salesman - that is, teach them how to wear shoes and sell shoes to them. And in spite of the fact that African countries are independent states, they depend largely on the Western countries for so many things ranging from aids, grants, machinery, to food etc and are usually the first and worst hit victims of the vagaries in the international economic environment. We, Africans on our part have jettisoned our values, and cultures in the name of freedom. Freedom here is synonymous with westernization. The combination of these factors have kept us in perpetual poverty.Instead of eating our home grown delicacies we are thought to buy and eat burgers, instead of wearing our Adire and Kente, we import suits, ties, skirts, jeans etc.Instead of wearing our Dansiki, Aso-oke and Adire, we patronize such textile products as St. Michaels, Hugo Boss, Appollo etc. I sometimes wonder about the amount of foreign exchange that goes into importing suits and ties for bankers in Nigeria. They look good in them oblivious of the torrents of sweat that come with the scorching African sun. Fela Anikulapo Kuti succinctly in “I no be gentleman†I am not unaware of the independence of nations and their economies. I am also aware of the law of comparative advantage, which states that “a country should specialize in the production of those goods in which it has the lowest comparative cost or the greater comparative advantage over other countriesâ€. However, recent developments have challenged the efficacy of the application of this law. The advantages that come with industrialization, information technology, economies of scale and most importantly subsidies granted to farmers in the industrialized (western) nations have conspired to produce exports that are far more cheaper than their substitutes in the importing countries. The importers are mostly the African and poor countries of the world. In a way, African and other poor countries are in a perpetual cycle of poverty- the direct opposite of Keynes circular flow of income. We are in a situation where we find it difficult or unable to develop an economic system in line with our own cultures, tastes and values. This is worrisome because under such a circumstance we become perpetual importers of anything and everything. We lose the capacity to produce, create employment and wealth for our citizens. In addition, the cumulative effect of this is a negative balance of payments which translates to a reduction in exchange rates,debt burden and pressures on the local market. With the challenge posed by the factors mentioned above, a large proportion of expenditure on goods and /or services go into paying the wages and salaries of the workers in the exporting countries, capital accumulation in the consuming country is stunted, production (even for basic needs) remains low with a resultant freeze in employment. With a dismal low level of employment, the dependent population (though active as per age classification) increases, aggregate incomes reduce, and the cycle is begun once more – the cycle of poverty. In any economy, interest and foreign exchange rates are indicators of the health of that economy.In an African setting faced with the scenario described above (which indeed contains the minimum of negative variables impeding growth) both interest and foreign exchange rates will tend to become critical factors. Whether one is looking at the fixed/floating exchange rate regimes or the balance of payment system of determining foreign exchange rates, African and indeed other poor nations will continue to have depreciating currencies under the present world trading systems. According to Falkena, foune and Kok in The South African Financial Systems, two factors that influence exchange rate movement under the floating exchange rate regime are inflation and purchasing power. And under the balance of payment regime, exchange rates movements are influenced by such factors as economic growth, rising interest rates, political / psychological factors, technical factors etc.
It is sad to observe that whichever way you turn, those variables that influence exchange rates are negative in Africa and other poor countries.A recent demonstration against WTO’s policies is a confirmation of this assertion. FREEDOM OR DOMINATION ?
The reasons for our poverty can also be found in what we have accepted as freedom. Freedom, to us, is as defined by the western nations and is usually couched in a direct language -whatever we do as natives is slavery and superstition, copying or surrendering to their lifestyles and adopting their tastes is freedom. In 2005, I watched a programme on CNN where Iraqi ladies were employed to man telephone service centers. Their duties? - To attend to the enquiries and complaints of customers. Looking at their responsibilities and the fact that they were operating in their own country attending to their own people, one could conclude that they could comfortably perform these role as conventional Iraqis women without being subjected to cultural cloning and becoming turned into “Psuedo-Americansâ€. To the Americans, the process of domination must be complete and the assault must be visible. The entire personalities and being of these unfortunate Iraqi women and ladies were altered – Without being overtly force, they were implicitly or subtly required to acquired American slang, wear jeans, uncover their heads and eat McDonalds. To the Americans that was freedom, the costs which included severance of family ties, non-adherence to religious duties and commandments, and the loss of the local economy to burgers, French pies and jeans did not mean anything to the conquering Americans. The second example. During the struggle for independence, the British overlords in India were the landlords to the peasant farmers. The british government, each year decreed what the farmers will plant. In the case of farmers who cultivated Indigo, it was disaster. This was because Indians bought almost all their clothings and textiles from England; nobody needed Indigo to dye clothes. The farmers were perpetually in poverty, grief and dejection until Mahatma Gandi made that famous declaration that all Indians should burn the imported fabrics and be left with only one piece of clothe - the home spurn! To quote the Mahatma (great soul) “ you are left with one piece of cloth wear it with dignity†That was the beginning of the economic revolution in India. CONCLUSION
Until Africans, indeed Nigerians evolve and develop economic models the nucleus of which will be our cultures, values and regional interests, our people will continue to be poor. We need to revive the latent natural skills of our people to produce goods and services that will take care of our basic needs of food, clothing and shelter. It is not likely to be an easy matter as the industrialized, predatory western nations will retaliate in every way possible. But then, no pain no gain. No venture, no success. And talking about success three factors are its determinant – opportunity, efforts and obstacles. We have to bear this in mind always so that we don’t concentrate only on obstacles and in the end lose our focus. We have to begin to appreciate those things that God has endowed us with and to use then as the core inputs in the design and implementation of economic models. A reasonable starting point is for our governments to put in place immediately a ban on the importation of food and clothing. Any nation in Africa that cannot feed and clothe her citizens has no reason to be in existence. In our definition and application of the law of comparative advantage, two elements must be excluded- food and clothing. This must be constants and should be the minimum that we should demand from our leaders. And talking about leaders, we have 37+774 governments in Nigeria and their activities/inactivities contribute to our creeping growth pattern and poverty. However, I am of the opinion that until we resolve issues relating to our culture, economic model and redefinition of freedom, our governments will be strangled to death by the harsh and inhuman economic policies of the industrialized nations.
Perhaps, this the time to revisit Prof. Ali Mazuri’s Africa: the triple heritage. Perhaps we will discover therein the reasons for our poverty and failures and stop chasing shadows or looking for scapegoats. Finally, let me leave you with the words of Frederick Douglass in The Conscience Of The Nation Must Be Roused (1852): “America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the Constitution and the Bible which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery - the great sin and shame of America!….†Indeed this is the summary of the fate of Africa today. Thanks for having read this article, Taslim Anibaba(FCA) 21st January, 2006 Comments are welcome and can be forwarded to tanibaba@yahoo.com or tanibaba@nigeriavillagesquare.com
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Posted by Robot| 22.01.2006 13:37