FEATURE ARTICLE

Ejukwa OsamSunday, October 18, 2009
[email protected]
Lagos, Nigeria

ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE
TO YOUR FRIENDS

RE: IGNORANCE OF WORLD HISTORY, THE FAILURE OF NIGERIAN SOCIO-POLITICAL CRITICS

lthough I will not dispute the fact that critics should not compare Nigerian with advanced countries in North America and Europe on development, I have serious issues with Alphonsus Nwadike�s recent write up which appeared here https://nigeriaworld.com/articles/2009/oct/051.html. Since he started publishing, I have enjoyed Alphonsus Nwadike�s articles and also exchanged private emails to advance my position on controversial matters about our country. So far we have been unable to harmonise our differences over the social problems of Nigeria so I decided to go public.


advertisement

There is no doubt that it took European and North American countries over two hundred years to attain development. It is also true that USA was not developed even after fifty years of independence and lacked major infrastructure that many are enjoying today. The problem is Alphonsus may have misunderstood what and why critics of Nigeria are saying or are concerned about. This fact is pertinent I don�t believe Nigerians are having sleepless nights mourning about the development of the industrialised world at our expense. Honestly I wonder how many Nigerians are wishing an overnight miracle for us to be like USA Japan Canada Russia or EU countries. Since there are no public opinion surveys in Nigeria, the only credible voices of dissent are newspapers and individual articles on the web like the Nigerian world.

I can insinuate what social critics of Nigeria have been saying; that our foundation and pace of development has stagnated over the decades and life is not easy for ordinary Nigerians. In other words, Nigerians are clamouring for good governance devoid of corruption, progress in quality educational, help with employment, positive development to reflect the needs of this technological jet age, revival of agriculture sector, the need for industries to reduce unemployment, credible wages from oil profits, visible developments to reduce influence of rebel attacks, provision of uninterrupted electricity, improving lives to reduce hunger and starvation, improving the deteriorating health care which is killing thousands of Nigerians and solving social problems relating to security and issues relating to elevating the common man and woman. It is only fair to say Nigerians deserve to enjoy the basic necessities of life such as uninterrupted power supply and not generators, running water and not polluted rivers or stream, good roads and not dead traps, functioning universities not glorified secondary schools, safe country devoid of police and army brutality, a country free of kidnappers and armed robbers, gain reasonable employment, mobilise youths to be productive and not drop out, get basic necessities of life in keeping with the founding fathers of our country.

Even if a few Nigerians make such comparison with North America and Europe, it is not an act of resentment or anger against anyone. To me it is patriotic for citizens to demand action if universities are on strike or if foodstuff is so expensive to the extent that hunger and starvation is leading to malnutrition. It is patriotism for citizens to access and even question the slow pace of development. After all this same Nigerians watch foreign television channels, they listen to British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) news bulletins. They hear about the developments of other countries hence demand good governance so as to dispense the oil profits to elevate the poor and middle classes who have been wiped out by cruel government policies initiated over the decades of Nigeria misrule and structural adjustment programs.

Even if USA and some industrial countries did not attain development after two hundred years of nationhood, it cannot be the norm for all countries to adhere in this jet age of postmodernism and globalisation. The fact that in 1826 USA had no electricity or pipe borne water, advanced hospitals, airports/ aircrafts or modern shipping facilities and a viable infrastructure two centuries ago does not mean that every country Nigerian inclusive must mark time until two hundred years to attain a semblance of development. Here are some issues and questions to ponder. Had the USA gained independence in 1960 like Nigeria does it mean electricity, trains, airplanes, radio, television, etc., would not have been invented by the USA at the time the inventions took place at least a century earlier? The present scientific achievements and political developments on the world stage are both products of the Renaissance movement in Europe at the end of the Dark Ages that forced on a rethink of the underlying philosophy of human endeavours in the arts and science but progress in these two arenas of human development did not go at the same pace. The framework of modern nations like England, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc., has been put in place long before the Industrial Revolution of the 19th Century. So to attempt to link America�s technological advancement to its independence is to try to compare mass with time. The two are simply not tied to one another. The transfer of technology made countries like Nigeria even more vulnerable to accusation of incompetence because they no longer have to make their own breakthroughs in order to develop their own countries. At Independence in 1960, Nigeria had radios, trains, cars, telephones, and other amenities that the USA did not even dream of in 1776 so what excuses do the leaders of Nigeria have for being unable to conduct credible national census or elections 50 years after independence as a free country? Why has it been impossible for our electoral processes to take advantage of electronic voting machines like in other countries? How much was the US indebted to any other country in its first 50 years of existence as a nation? How many US politicians have stolen money stashed in foreign banks in the first 50 years of independence? The US invented electricity in 1879 but 50 years on did the graph of the power output of the US gone down or up? How does that compare to Nigeria 50 years on?

Perhaps unknown to Alphonsus Nwadike, even some hardworking Nigerian leaders desire rapid pace of development. It is this logic of not marking time that made a few governors to initiate development models that one can cite. For example former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River State initiated a massive development of urban Calabar, he also initiated tourism as a source of revenue and made the Calabar festival an annual event to attract tourists. Luckily Governor Liyel Imoke has continued to sustain his predecessor�s efforts to develop the state. In the same vein the present governor of Akwa Ibom state Godswill Akpabio recently commissioned the largest airport in Nigeria worth billions of dollars. Mr Akpabio did not mark time or assume his state is not yet fifty years before embarking on such a lofty and vital project. Similarly the current governor of Lagos State Mr. Babatunde Fashola is seriously developing and reshaping the infrastructure of Lagos state to a place of envy. The governor of Imo state Mr Ikedi Ohakim is also on the same path and a few other governors that I cannot name have embraced massive development projects without marking time. These governors have the understanding that Nigeria is part of the globalise world where development in Europe and North America and far away Japan affects the development and marketing trends in Nigeria and other parts of the world including Oceania. Because the world�s economy is globally intertwined, development models are not exclusive to a few rich countries. Take a sector like tourism. This is a huge revenue generator and countries like Kenya, Thailand, Tanzania site of Kilimanjaro mountain and Mongolia site of Mt Everest rely solely on tourism for foreign exchange hence there have embraced development to attract foreign tourists. Nigerians have the right to demand development and the diversification of our economies to include tourism but the infrastructural base must be developed to meet the world�s standards. If Nigerians mark time without upgrading the electrical grid, infrastructure, natural resources including tourism sites and improving world-class safety standards, how can foreigners visit and return again?

Our country has comparative advantage over other countries hence she can help herself with the vast resources at her disposal to attract investors and to diversity. This fact is vital because of the challenges of globalisation and high tech where folks share ideas and goods and services are transported with ease. Luckily electronic transactions done via click of the mouse in a computerised age could conclude a transaction quickly to enhance a deal. That is why Tom Friedman of New York Times titled his book The World is Flat implying that emerging markets have the potential to be as competitive as the industrialised countries of the world. India and Asian Tigers are positively giving the lead. I am deeply troubled by Alphonsus raving and ranting below:

�Although I am not interested in making a case for Nigerian government officials in this write-up, I personally believe that many, if not all, of these characterizations of Nigeria, Nigerians, and Nigerian public office-holders are myopic, misleading, mischievous, unpatriotic, and uninformed. It is understandable to me that Nigeria has not achieved much socio-economic development as a nation, and it is unarguable to me that Nigerian political arena is dominated by corrupt and incompetent individuals. However, it is not clear and believable to me that these self-proclaimed social critics are honest and God-fearing individuals who can lead Nigeria or any of her component states or local government areas to the promised land if given the opportunity to serve. The insincere, untrue, lopsided, and ethnically tinctured nature and tenor of their criticisms immensely belie whatever professions of love or true crusadership for Nigeria they may seem to have made�.

From the above the writer forgot that by publishing his article in defence of the status quo, he was inadvertently becoming the spokes person for an incompetent federal government and social system that has no track record of competence to be proud of. If Nigeria government or her leadership were as better as Alphonsus Nwadike thought why should Transparency International rank our country as one of the most corrupt countries in the world? You could go online and see the position of Nigeria for 2008. Why should Nigeria be so low on the list of industrial development index IDI?

He also asserted that Nigerians are unpatriotic for demanding good governance and change. He forgot that Nigeria is a democracy, where citizens have the right to question, disagree, criticize and even challenge the actions of policy makers if the occasion warrants it. The fact that social critics are questioning and seeking action is an encouraging development to advance democracy and freedom of speech a trend that was brutally suppressed during past military governments of Gen Babangida and his crony Sanni Abacha whose transitions to democracy were almost to infinity. And led to many patriotic pro democratic leaders including Chief MKO Abiola to pay the highest prize to plant the seed of democracy. For social critics to challenge those saddled with the responsibility of leadership to step up and move the country forward is truly good for our aspirations. That is the essence of democracy to exchange ideas and to introspect about the dimension of national development. Persistent criticism of our leaders could potentially spur the federal government and some redundant governors to wake up and perform.

According to Alphonsus social critics who criticize Nigerian leadership are insincere, untrue or have no fear of God. On the contrary, it is criminal to cast aspersions on critics of the Nigerian government because their interest helps the yearnings of ordinary Nigerians who have been pushed to the brink of hunger deprivation, high rents, homelessness, poverty, unemployment inflation and despondency. A God fearing critique will still critique the misdeeds of any inept government, just as the prophets of old were fervent in their attack on Jewish leaders and their cronies who were oppressing the poor. Such prophets were critical in obedience to God because social justice was trampled and the rich who had no empathy for them endlessly exploited the poor. The Old Testament books of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah and Amos are examples where God demanded accountability and social justice against heartless rulers who had no conscience in the ancient world. Refer to the citation below

Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the LORD, "Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ezekiel: 45: 9 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people," declares the Lord GOD.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Micah 6: 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly

Amos 5: 24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

From the above Old Testament texts, it clearly shows that it is not unusual for the weak to clamour for social justice. Nigerians who criticize their government do so not out of hatred for their motherland, but out of genuine concern that countries that were colonies and contemporaries of Nigeria are far ahead on any indices of development. I shall name such countries; Singapore independence 1963, Malaysia 1957, Ghana 1957, South Korea, 1945, India 1950, Israel created 1948 with Hong Kong just twelve years ago in 1997. Apart from Ghana which is still a Third World country struggling with poverty as Nigeria, the rest of those countries have taken a huge leap in science and technology with the Koreans almost attaining the industrial level of Japan and G7 countries with the export of electronics, diverse home made cars, shipping vessels, computer softwares/personal computers, construction of dams and petrochemical complexes across the Third World countries including the one at Eleme in Rivers state. Yet S. Korea had a lower GDP than Ghana and Nigeria in the 1950-1960s and suffered from the worse form of colonialism and brutality from Japan.

It is wrong to be resentful and write against social critics because many of them are not currently residing in Nigeria to bear the brunt of the brutal conditions and inflation, which has reduced the standard of living to an opprobrious level. If they were so patriotic they would not abandon their professions to reside in North America or the European countries. They would rather stay in Nigeria and contribute their quota so that others resident abroad can join in that effort of development.

Although we cannot compare our country with the developed world of North America and Europe, I doubt if the current social problems of kidnappings, armed robbery, high level of corruption and maladministration, hunger and starvation with the worship of money were prominent when the founding fathers of USA left the British Isles to settle in the new world. Apart from that troubling trends just mentioned, supporters of Nigeria�s status quo have forgotten that nations that derived independence at the same time or slightly before Nigeria got hers in 1960 have achieved the level of industrial development that tantalizes any shameless Nigerian leader.

In conclusion, what we have are two extreme positions held by critics of Nigerian government on the one hand and praise-singers on the other. Praise singers and critics both err on not looking at the other side of the coin but those who critique give consideration of good qualities and bad ones. In my view critics of Nigeria love their country are patriots and desire to see change in a positive light. Those who are very patriotic ought to be careful how they attack fellow patriots. The idea of vacating Nigeria to North America Asia and Europe or perennially playing US lottery to win and immigrate to the USA raises a lot of questions mostly if such individuals claim to be too patriotic and are resentful of social critics. Those who choose to reside overseas must be tolerant of social critics who prefer change or return to Nigeria and stop harassing Nigerians on this medium. After all patriotism is not exclusive to anyone and cannot be measured. No one including military generals can claim to be more patriotic than a social critic. What we need is tolerance and not insulting articles in Nigerian world. The over-riding fact is that Nigerians deserve to see progress because we cannot mark time for two hundred years before life becomes better for ordinary Nigerians.

Ejuks is a theologian and a clinical social worker currently on vacation in Nigeria

advertisement
IMAGES IN THE NEWS