Burden of an Unpassing Past
by
Anthony A Kila
There is a consensus in the corporate world that
Africa as a whole and Nigeria in particular, is the market of the
future. Most researchers and investors agree that Nigerians, for
example, just need to be informed about the existence and quality of
certain goods and services and demands will come from individuals and
private organisations.
These observers point out that whilst consumers in
the West are now moving towards spending more of their income on
satisfying their wants and less their needs, in markets such as the
Nigerian market, the wants and needs of consumers are in a rapid and
parallel growth and still have a lot of scope for further growth;
Nigerians, they remark, are far ahead of their public institutions and
governments.
These were some of the convincing points presented
and commented during a recently concluded forum of international
investors, manufacturers, service providers, bankers, consultants,
regulators and academics in the City of London (UK). Participants were
there to deliberate on the challenges and opportunities of investments
and possible partnership with Africa and Asia. As chairman of one of
the sittings, I stirred the colloquium towards the Nigerian case and
contributors were quite glad to oblige my request.
Equipped with data and testimonies these observers
came up with the profile of the Nigerian consumer: a very modern
person. The Nigerian that came out is a brave, proud inventive
individualist, with a high dose of entrepreneurial spirit, (s)he is
open to innovation, happy to embrace change, very motivated by
compensation and not averse to risks; (s)he is of course also very
prone to spending. Figures of the import and sales of electronic and
communication gadgets confirmed this trait. The market loves all these
and barring factors such as instability, certainty and rule of law,
fear of fraud and the rest, business developers agree Nigeria is the
place to be.
These modern features that the market finds very
attractive in the Nigerian consumer are however lacking in the ways
and lives of the Nigerian peoples when analysed as socio-political
subjects. Rather, Nigerians seem to be socially and politically more
influenced by the past than motivated by the future. The average
Nigerian does not appear to feel like a citizen of a modern state nor
does (s)he appear capable and willing to apply available modern
resources and rules of engagement in the social and political sphere.
It is worth adding immediately here that this sway
back is not a conscious appreciation of tradition, or an organic sense
of history, rather it is more of an atavistic trait that interestingly
collides constantly with the more conscious desire to be modern and a
certain inclination to consider history useless, obsolete and to
regard local tradition as crude or primitive. The latter inclination
is slowly waning but alas the market offers mostly charlatan and
parodies of Nigerian arts, tradition and history. A random look at the
home video, music, fashion and herbalist industries with their
misplacement of mythical and legendary characters, misquotations of
proverbs, misuse of slogans, and inapt attires and settings will tell
you more than I can say.
Most Nigerian citizens originate from nations that
have been for centuries ruled by kings and chiefs, their professional
and age groups were managed by leaders with paternal and maternal
titles and status. This feature is epitomised by the Yoruba nation,
but even the Ndigbo that were once renowned for their
republican structures have caught up and now seem to have more chiefs
and kings than the Yoruba. Rulers and aspirant rulers understand how
much Nigerians are laded with the past and they exploit it for their
own ends.
Imagine just a Mr something aspiring to be Nigerian
president; that is simply not possible for now. Nobody will take him
serious, his party will let him know he stands no chance; they will
not even listen to him. In fact, out of all the candidates cleared by
INEC to contest the last presidential elections not one is without a
title. I was hoping to count on a Mr Galtima Baboyi Liman, to be the
exception that will prove the rule but they now call him Alhaji. Are
you asking who Galtima Baboyi Liman is? That is part of what can
happen when one aspires to be president of Nigeria without a title,
most pragmatic candidates have at least two titles.
It is easy but wrong to conclude that the attention
if not obsession for titles is just a Nigerian craze. In those parts
of the world where rulers and leaders appear to be content to be known
as merely Mr and even be called by their first name, it is not a sign
of humility or sobriety but an adaptation to the times they live in.
The English title, "Mr" originates from Latin the ministerium and it
was used to indicate the office of man, the French monsieur, the
Italian equivalent, Signore, and the Dutch version Mijnheer are
variations of sir, master or even Lord. These titles were reserved for
a few in the past, one had to earn them; they are now however open to
all as part of the style and rights of a modern democratic society.
These societies look into the future and are now living a post-modern
culture; the future is hence to drop titles completely. It is cool to
be simple. Nigeria on the other hand is looking behind into the past
for presentation and legitimation hence the need for titles.
The Nigerian state itself is quite young, created
just ninety-three years ago and gained independence merely forty-seven
ago. One would expect it to be automatically modern but this is not so
because Nigerians were onlookers when their country was being coined.
Let us face it, even our independence was a battle of a few and the
international atmosphere and pressures of post World War II did more
to provoke Nigerian Independence than most Nigerians did. To compound
it all, the first Nigerians to manage the Nigerian state were
certainly not the part of the few that wanted independence. How do you
manage what you did not crave or plan for? The process that led to the
formation and independence of Nigeria has left the country with
leaders without internationally tested esteem or credibility and with
citizens without a Nigerian ethos. These unresolved issues of the past
are still a burden today; it is a burden of an unpassing past that
corrupts the present and threatens the future.
The military have not helped matters with their
interference in politics. After occupying power for decades, they were
not able to provide good roads, stable power and water supply. With
all their decrees, immediate effect policies, automatically suspended
announcements and militarization, all they did is to leave the country
with weak institutions and without an independent and robust civil
service. Records now show that they are as corrupt and petty as the
politicians they forced out of office. Apart from the suspension of
the rule of law and an atmosphere of uncertainty, part of the damages
the military has left include numbing the civil society, domesticating
a middle class that rather than revendicate its central role and
rights in a modern state was forced to (and too easily succumbed)
conforming and prostrating for privileges. Today we have citizens that
can rarely look into the future in terms of creativity, merit and
competition, the trend is to look for contracts, contacts and
miracles.
After eight years of civilian administration and as
we move into another round of elections and transition, the past is
still heavy. Most Nigerians are still yet to come to terms with what
it really means to be part of a modern world, many are still yet to
grasp the essence of being a citizen in a democratic state. Put two or
more Nigerians together and listen to them talk about the past
elections, what you are likely to hear is what was being said during
the days of the Babangida- Abacha regime: "will the elections hold?"
Convince them the elections will hold and they will start to analyse
who they think will win and why. Like slaves and colonies or subject
of a despot, Nigerians still find it hard to say elections must hold
because our constitution says so and because it is our right to have
elections. They find it hard to say this is the person I want to win
because they are not used to voting and do not believe their votes
will count. Like onlookers with nothing at stake they say what we have
is selection not election.
Unlike the Nigerian consumer that will discover
what is best and go for it even it involves some risks as a modern
rational independent dynamic person, the Nigerian citizen is still
crushed by the burden of an unpassing past that does not allow people
to say enough is enough; I am free now; this is what I want and these
are my plans to make it happen.
Even many of our intellectuals and other elites are
still not bold enough to take a clear stand; they do not feel it is
their duty to guide others. They too, like caddies on a golf course
and the servants of the 1932 Gosford Park attentively watch the game
others play. They completely identify with Obasanjo against Atiku or
vice versa, they predict what will happen and wait to see who was
right or wrong forgetting to play their own part. A part, history has
shown, is imperative for a modern democracy to work.
Our democracy is far from perfect, most of our
rulers and those who aspire to lead Nigeria are less than impressive,
they are mostly men proud to be referred to as other people’s boys.
They are mostly products of an inglorious past. We the people however
have to make this past past.
