If we will rather die than give up the fight, will unborn generations hear our names long after we are gone and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, and how fiercely we loved our country? – Ayo Oguntola, Gender and Human Rights Advocate 

A Heart Wrenching Story 

An old woman runs towards the waves of the sea. Her head is filled with thoughts of getting a soft place to fall. She hopes that the strong currents will provide a soft place for her departure. After all, she has nothing else to live for.  Her will to live was shattered when Ciroma, Chukwuma, Adekunle and Ogehenetega, were sent on the sojourn of ghosts by a government that swore to protect them. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she asked the crowds and passers-by who wanted to stop her. “Where are my children?” she kept asking them. “Wetin I dey live for, my world don vanish, wetin remain?” (Why am I alive, my world has vanished. What else is left?) “Chaiiiii! Chinekeee! Osemudiaaa!, why you do me like this”?  (God, why have you done this to me?). Her lamentations run before her as uncontrollable tears trickle down her face. She couldn’t be stopped on her quest to be reunited with her children for a possible last time.

A Call to War

Their offence was to heed a clarion call, in solidarity with other youths. A call to protest and kick against Systematic Injustices, Wanton Corruption, Unabated Police Brutality, Extortion, Robbery, Unlawful Arrest and Detention, Extrajudicial Killing, Indiscriminate Torture. They hoped to push for Social Change, their resolve unflinching; their spirits tough. The widespread knowledge of the problem’s systemic roots has made the clamour for positive changes – a systemic revolution – both popular and non-negotiable.

A year ago, vibrant young men and women organised themselves at the barricades for days and nights across the country. The waves of a systemic revolution were sweeping through the country. The old who couldn’t join actively threw in their weight of support passively and covertly, sending words of encouragement from behind the lines. For the very first time, in a densely religious – and not very spiritual country like Nigeria – religious leaders from different religions showed their unalloyed and open support for the protesting youths. Similarly, the ethnic lines that divide Nigerians were seemingly blurred.

Public figures who usually would not participate in such activities showed their support and joined in a campaign that soon became a movement defying local borders by canvassing recognition from Nigerians in the diaspora, international organisations and the international comity of nations. Likewise, the Feminist Coalition (unpopularly called the “Feminist Coven”) pulled their weight as the vehicle of administration that managed funds, legal, medical and security issues.

The barricades became a Mosque on Friday as Muslims observed their Jumaat Prayer and non-Muslims shielded and join them in prayers. On Sunday, the Christians conducted a unified Church Service, non Christians were in attendance and shielded them as well. All these at the barricades. Never in the history of the sovereign Nigeria, not even the infamous “Ali Must Go” in 1978, the June 12 nor the #Occupy Nigeria Protest in January 2012, has this special bond, love and harmony been openly displayed.

As the bond and unity of purpose grew amongst these youths, they stayed up for almost a fortnight at the barricades shunning their daily bread and “urgent 2k”. They resolved to face their fears and confront their demons head-on because their future was far too important to be left in the hands of lifeless leadership, economic parasites and oppressive law enforcers. They mustered the courage to do what other generations failed to do. They tried to make sure unborn generations did not inherit a virus-infested and corruption-ridden society. Their mantra and name, the #Soro-Soke (speak louder) Generation indicating that they are the Woke Generation.

An Army of Songs versus an Army of Guns

Sadly, the #LekkiTollgate, the headquarters of the nationwide protests, became a Slaughterhouse on Tuesday, 20-10-20, as unarmed civilians were confronted with well trained and fully equipped Armed forces. They came with a vast arsenal to ‘fistfight’. Protesters were shot at, while they clutched national emblems like the Flag. As the Nigerian army tried to silence them with stray bullets, leading to smoke and fire, and the aftermath of the stampede left many protesters injured, and others dead. Among those who died were the children of the unnamed Old Woman. The Lekki Tollgate, an epicentre of commercial and productive activities, became the theatre of blood and home of an unrestricted massacre, #LekkiMassarce.

Media footage released after the sudden disappearance of Oghenetega, clearly stated their simple demand. “We want a Nigerian Society Where the Child of a Nobody, Can Become Somebody Without Knowing Anybody”. While weeping and hysterically smiling, the Old woman asked “were they asking for too much”? “Does it mean every youth with an iPhone, high-end laptop and luxurious car is into cybercrime?” This left bystanders speechless. They were unable to provide a rational explanation for the whereabouts of the ‘Fantastic Four’ – dead or alive. Footage recorded from an Instagram-Live Video showed where one of the children of the Old Woman identified as Adekunle, groaning in pains and agony said: “if they ever tell my story and if I don’t make it through the night, let it be known that I died fighting for freedom”. Men rise and fall, but let it be known that we did our best and died for liberty, so generations could read and tell our stories and remember us as heroes.”

The Old woman wouldn’t stop running, regardless of the brute harshness of the sea. In a loud voice, she said “take me home, I see a piece of Heaven waiting for me, I feel so heavy and I no longer feel alive”

“Oh no!” She screamed, “Take me home, home is where I belong, I can’t take this anymore”.

Truly, the mighty have fallen and the weapons of battle perished!

The blood of Adekunle, Oghenetega, Ciroma, Chukwuma Mustn’t go in vain.

Today, 20-10-2021, we have run a full circle. 365 days ago, young heroes were bled at the city wall of Lekki. After many months, the silence is deafening, we have been chasing after ghosts. The question “WhoGaveTheOrder?” has remained unanswered. No one has claimed responsibility. The Lagos reconciliation panels have turned out as predicted – A sham, and an effort in futility. The #EndSARS wasn’t intended to be a month or a week’s campaign but a social change tool to usher in the New Order in the country.

There was a Country

The resounding question is “how better have we fared since the #EndSARS?”. Unfortunately, we aren’t doing much better. We now find ourselves drowning in inflation with the prices tripling while the naira has only diminished in value and purchasing power. The government boldly speaks of borrowing to service debts. There are increasing levels of insecurity, secessionist agitations and Separationist movements have sprung up across the country, under the watchful eye of the General.

Today, as we remember our loved ones who lost their lives as well as those who sustained injuries, as we hold our candles on the anniversary of the struggle, My question to you is the same as Paul’s question to the Romans.

“Shall we continue in sin and ask for the grace to abound? I ask you today; Shall we continue with this same analogue, backward thinking, greedy rulers filled with gluttony and ask for Nigeria to thrive?”

This is a call to action. I charge you to get your PVC, register to vote, and let us come together to drive the Nigeria of the youth that we dream of.

A Prayer for the Bereaved

We pray for the bereaved families to find peace, succour, healing and tranquillity.

May our Maker Heal our Land!

God Bless Nigeria.

The post THE ECHOES OF THE VOICES OF OUR SILENCED HEROES RING LOUDLY AS GONGS FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS. appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

The Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement has beamed a light of hope in Africa because it signals a rejection of protectionist tendencies across the continent, and it represents the formulation of practical initiatives that can accelerate economic integration in Africa. As an instrument for economic integration, the AfCTA is expected to facilitate free movement (of goods and services, and people) across Africa through the removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers. It underscores the relentless efforts of African leaders to achieve Agenda 2063; a framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa.

Some many other programmes and initiatives are fundamental to the implementation of this agreement such as the Single Passport, Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), Single African currency, among others. All these initiatives are aimed at promoting inclusive and sustainable development in Africa. More importantly, they embody the spirit of Pan Africanism with the belief that it would steer collective prosperity in the continent. Despite the continent’s aged long denigrated historical trajectory, African leaders have decided to let go of the blame game and they have rolled up their sleeves to provide an African solution to the African problem.

While it is acknowledged that weak institutions (customs, immigration), poor infrastructure and lack of power, and political instability were previously responsible for some African states’ reluctance in signing and ratifying the agreement, it is hoped that the AfCFTA will reinforce weak institutions on the continent and participating states will benefit tremendously from this arrangement. Participating states, through their engagement in AfCFTA, will be compelled to “Re-possess their possession” via economic specialization and comparative advantage. For instance, oil-producing states can explore the diversification of their economies from dependence on oil, a resource whose prices keeps fluctuating.

Prof. Utomi emphatically declared that “the time has come for the adoption of the AfCFTA” because the AfCTA as a continental arrangement will lead to an increase in the volume of trade which stimulates economic growth. Indeed, trade, not aid brings about prosperity and Africa is overly dependent on aid. The AfCFTA, if successfully implemented, will enhance the creation of a single African market which will make Africa the largest free trade area in the world. Consequently, when African states trade with one another, there will be an exchange in more manufactured and processed goods and more knowledge transfer.

While the share of intra-African exports as a percentage of total African exports has increased from about 10% in 1995 to around 17% in 2017, it remains low compared to levels in Europe; 69%, Asia; 59%, and North America; 31%. Thus, the AfCFTA will be a driver for stimulating intra-African trade. It will reinforce deeper domestic reforms by states for it to materialize. It opens benefits for the manufacturing sector, small, medium and large businesses. It will create more jobs, build skill development and ensure best practices. No African states can afford to miss out on the benefit associated with this as they are in dire need of revamping their outdated and poorly maintained railroad infrastructure to compete and improve the welfare of their citizens.

Although, critics opine that the AfCFTA will be dead on arrival, the security challenges in Africa still stand tall in the continent. For some, economic integration and development will thrive only in a stable and secure society but Africa suffers from many security crises and there are concerns that the AfCFTA may proliferate the security challenges where national insecurity snowballs into trans-national insecurity. They argue that this will enhance the free flow of Small and Light Weapons (SALW) within the continent. However, proponents argue that it will be a catalyst for promoting security in Africa because it will compel African leaders to pull resources together to secure and protect the continent through joint security exercises. This aligns with the acknowledgement by the African leaders of the existence of insecurity.

This has spurred the “silencing the guns” initiative and a high-level security program at the AU level in the form of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) which determines what constitutes threats to African peace and take military and non-military action to restore continental peace. This is goes in tandem with the United Nations Charter VII provisions and works in partnership with sub-regional security outfits and western and non-western partners.

Trade is an invaluable instrument for addressing the multiple challenges of insecurity and there is a positive correlation between poverty and political instability. Poverty reinforces frustration, which in turn births aggression and ultimately leads to social vices and crime. Poverty aids recruitment for the insurgent groups, and ethnic and religious profiteers can easily lure people out of jobs into ethnoreligious bigotry.

Trade boosting as envisioned by AfCFTA will compel national reforms as previously enunciated. These domestic reforms will be a game-changer in addressing poverty-related issues. It is thus not an end in itself but a means to an end.

The post An Expose on African Continental Free Trade Agreement appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

It was a free fell,

down the abyss, I went.

My body drove against gravitation,

or gravitation drove against my body;

my thoughts fell without hold.

Dangling at the precipice,

felling, feeling:

Someone or something pushed.

Act! I kept acting.

Stop; I could not stop myself.

On a steep slope,

Chemicals charged in one direction,

Toppling scalar on its head,

my head stayed still,

my body suspended motion.

As the currents charged,

I could not sing:

“My anchor holds”

I was sinking

Yet, I am not in motion”

The post Poetry – Inertia appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

The only way poverty and brain drain can be curbed in Nigeria is for the government to invest more technical in education, SME and private sector involvement in infrastructure financing – Taiwo Akerele, country Representative of Policy House International 

The “Nigeria at 61” lecture held at the University of Ibadan on the 1st of October 2021 was an intellectually rich program that featured prominent scholars and policymakers who debated on the best means to move Nigeria forward in terms of economic development and citizen engagement in the processes of government. The lecture was well attended by students, civil society organizations, members of the diplomatic community and the media.

Professor Emmanuel Remi Aiyede, the current Head of the Department of Political Science, University of Ibadan, kickstarted the program. In his opening remarks, he identified dwindling interests in general political participation; the lack of political efficacy among young people and the distrust in the weak electoral system as the bane of Nigerian politics.

Ambassador Adedotun Adepoju explored diplomatic relations and a robust foreign policy as means through which Nigeria could jumpstart economic gains. He argued that placing Africa as the centrepiece of Nigeria’s foreign policy has yielded goodwill among nations and Nigeria must be strategically poised to reap its economic advantages.

Taiwo Akerele who is the Country Representative (Nigeria), Policy House International and the Chairman of the Abuja chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), presented a paper titled “Nigeria at 61: Reflections on Governance, Economy and The Challenges before the Next Generation”. In his paper, he challenged Nigerian youths and encouraged them to intensify their efforts as they try to contribute to Nigeria’s development. He believes the groundwork has been set with youth agitations and the recent “Not-Too-Young-To-Run bill that has been passed by the National Assembly.

On the part of the government, he believes that government must work to revive the educational and agricultural sector. Activities must be geared towards reviving the reading culture by increasing its investment in basic education. In the agricultural sector, the government must invest in mechanised farming and encourage youth participation in agriculture. He insists that a change in national spending to investment in human capital – especially in the technical education sector of the economy – is the only way to achieve economic development and a better society.

The panellists agreed that young people must be creative and watchful to seize government opportunities for capacity development when they arise.

The post Event Report – After 61 Years of Independence, Nigeria Needs Economic Diversification now more than Ever appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

the city of medieval global power and influence,

Africa, the land that gave birth to damsel Lake Victoria, the beauty of the great lakes region,

Africa, where is thy spear?

The son of wealthy Mansa Musa, the prince of the Benin Empire,

the son of Emperor Haile Selassie,

the land of the Cape of Good Hope Zulu personified!

Africa, where is thy spear?

Oh, the magnificent continent, set between two beautiful oceans

of Indian and Atlantic! the land of diamond, gold, salt, beautiful oils and ointments,

Africa, you gave and never borrowed,

You were fruitful,

Africa, where is thy spear?

The continent of beautiful cultures, dances and festivals and great

carnivals of strong princesses,

the land of the brave Northern Sahara star, Queen Amina,

the land of historic Queen Sheba and warrior Queen Idia,

Africa, where is thy spear?

Africa, where is thy spear?

Where is your cocoa, rubber, oil palm, yams and groundnuts?

Africa, where is your strong agile hand of productivity?

Are you now prodigious? Are you still valiant, courageous and conquering in nature?

Africa, where is thy pride and spear?

Africa, the land of Ubuntu, the father of Kwame Nkrumah,

Africa, oh, you produced Mandela and Kofi Annan, the father of Julius Nyerere,

Africa, you gave us the spirit of Ujama!

Africa, where is thy spear?

Where is thy spear?

Do we need to remind you of the battle of Adowa?

Oh, Italy is alive to tell the story,

Where is Ethiopia your brave son?

Remember El Kanemi, your son, Ashanti Kotoko of the Gold Coast,

Africa where is thy spear?

Africa, where is thy spear?

The indomitable spirit of the Cameroons and its green luscious forests,

Dakar, is cold, fresh from breeze of the Atlantic,

Africa, are you not nearly there?

Assuredly, Morocco is thriving, Kigali your son has risen,

Accra your son is up and Gaborone is lightened up,

Cape Town remains beautiful

Africa, where is thy spear?

Africa where is thy spear?

The great River Niger, the Limpopo, Zambezi, the Nile and Mediterranean Sea pass

through your beautiful bowels,

Africa, your own the resources at Mambila plateau,

and the entire Congo archipelago belongs to you,

Africa the father of the Gulf of Guinea, you are priceless.

Africa get up, set up on the journey to stardom.

Africa where is thy spear?

A tribute to David Diop (1927-1960),

Author of Africa my Africa

The post Africa Where is Thy Spear – A Poem by Taiwo Akerele appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

She was innocent but never naïve, blessed with abundant natural and non-natural endowments, her wealth and fertility weren’t mentioned enough. She would bear fruits even when her seeds were seated on rocks. She was the Most Beautiful Bride. It seemed she had all the makings for success. Her former landlords knew not that She had all the requirements for prosperity with her rich cultural, and economic prowess, she would dominate her new environment for a long time to come. She became the dominant force in her environment; helping nations through financial throes while rescuing others from tyranny and oppression. She aided the emancipation of many of her kind.

Among many, she had an unparalleled vision equipped with the foresight to achieve a peculiar mission and promote an Afrocentric objective. She was the pearl and the Giant of Africa. Many called her the ‘Big Brother’ in her continent, she transcended gender descriptions. You just said Amazon woman right? You aren’t far from the truth.

She performed exceptionally in different sectors with technocrats and political leaders ready to serve regardless of ethnic and religious differences. She gained respect and recognition among the comity of States within her continent and diaspora. She became a new light from the African Continent, eclipsing the achievement of nations before her. Her Oil which was rich in many natural contents further endeared her to the global market. Her borders became wide open to many investors. Many came to take and rip between the thighs, many came to close the thighs.

Out of the blue, the unexpected happened, the “Gentlemen in Khaki” took control of her land, raped her constitution, pillaged her fertile back. It was obvious, they also wanted to have a taste of the juicy savour everyone had enjoyed. Her growth and development came to a halt, the projection for advancement stagnated, her expectation was shattered. These Men in Khaki uniform, who claimed all they wanted was a “revolution”, would soon become the beneficiary of a revolting nation, time proved us right. This event, perhaps, was the genesis of her predicament, as her life gradually decimated in the hands of selfish Soldiers with the barrel of guns and shenanigan politicians, who were nothing but mere masters of facades.

From 1^st to 4^th Republic, it has been a tale of motion without movement with little or no success. Political avarice, greed, favouritism, tribalism and ethnic bigotry became the mainstay of the socio-political and economic landscape, the masses on the receiving end of the ladder continue to bear the burden of this unfortunate incident; wallowing in abject poverty and swimming in impoverishment as crises continue to loom, which has further shrunk the development from a size of a G-wagon to that of a Wheel-barrow.

Her life became miserable as the majority of her children became less privileged who have been stripped of freedom and liberty, compelled to work for their paymasters under unfavourable environments of pain and agony. Even as her children are passing through a painful passage along a pin-full path, a divided procession, dancing through blooming thorns walking on glass chips towards the forest of cactus on their bare soles; with the exemption of their slave masters sitting on thorn-filled cushions- a situation of the Haves and Have nots prevailed.

She puzzled, with her lisping lips and gnashed with her changing teeth as she cried out her name in a loud voice, “Oh Nigeria, what have they done to you, where’s your vision”? “Why has thou glory become a shame”? At 61, unable to achieve the dreams of her founding fathers.

When hope began to gather clouds again, one of her own promised her and her children CHANGE they fell for it and were chained to the NEXT LEVEL of slavery and oppression. As the hardship seems to become unbearable, corruption and embezzlement blossom in her land, hypocrites and sinners blaming sinners for sinning differently, a situation of the pot calling kettle black and robbing Peter to pay Paul, her calabash is full of nothing but problems, lies, deceits, dishonesty and debts.

With a deep sigh, as she celebrates another anniversary of freedom, she ponders on her lost hubris; it feels surreal to accept, she may never recover her lost glory. Sadly the biblical allusion appears to be on reverse engineering since later glories have failed to surpass their former.

Her only hope is to look to the Heavens and ask the Maker to heal her Land, flush out the oppressors and destroyers, grant strength to the weak and give her children the victory they deserve; perhaps, one day her youngsters would be an asset and no longer a liability.

Knowing it will take unrelenting unity and solidarity, regardless of tribe, ethnicity, religion and cultural division for her children to achieve the ideals of her founding fathers and recover her lost glory, likewise for growth and development to triumph, she prayed to the Heavens for them to realize this as she whispers, “So help me God”! If and only if this would be made manifest, only time will tell!!!

The post The Lost Glory of the Beautiful Bride appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

“Tread softly because you tread on my dreams”
– W. B. Yeats

I hear voices and I meet frequently with words. Each of whom has poured their souls into my ears as they squeeze through the walls, gates and crevices of my mind. I have developed a relationship with each word and at their
behest, I have placed them delicately, side-by-side, as I try to show them my utmost respect.

I learned that my father, like I, endured this uncanny fascination with words. I believe this was an impregnable
sign to devote myself to poetry. So, I write because I am compelled to hold on to an intrinsic part of myself.

“Omogbolahan Bello has crafted something unique where tradition confronts modernity and spirituality intersects with the questions of daily existence. The result is deep and beautiful!” – Uzezi Ologe

 

“Profundity unveils itself in esoteric dimensions, culminating in experiences through which the fingers of time have tinkered. This brilliant collection is not just entirely enthralling; with soulful engagement, it mildly guides the mind into unleashing its harness. Logue is a debut worthy of literary honours.” – Carter Ford

 

Download Logue Here:

Logue – The Unexpected Voices of City Masquerades

The post Logue – The Unexpected Voices of City Masquerades appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership…. The Nigerian Problem is the unwillingness or liability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility; to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership” – Chinua Achebe (The Trouble with Nigeria)

(A Cursory Reading of ‘Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century’ by Richard Bourne)

In August 2017, a few months after I enrolled for my PhD degree at the University of Ibadan, I got funding from the University’s Postgraduate School to attend the 30th West African Linguistics Conference at the University of Education, Winneba, Ghana. This was my first outing as a budding academic. Little did I know how much that experience will shape my engagement with rhetoric and discourses of power in my work. I find it worthwhile to share some insights that I gained from that platform to shape the ongoing conversations on restructuring in Nigeria and as a retrospect of a book review event I attended at the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP) that year.

I must say that the experience at Winneba was an exhilarating one, especially for an academic neophyte like me. The conference which was themed Language as an Integration and Development Factor within the West African Region brought together African linguistic experts of indigenous and international extractions in a single room (and sometimes classrooms too), to brainstorm on innovative strategies for preserving African linguistic heritage and scholarship as well as, engage the prospects of deploying language as a medium of development. It was there that idea of political linguistics first resonated in me.

In a paper presentation titled, “Language as Political Metaphor: Deconstructing the Change Mantra in Nigeria’s Political Lexicon”, I argued that flamboyant linguistic lexicons and catch-phrases have been deliberately and derisively misapplied by politicians in their speeches or press interviews to obfuscate the intelligibility of the common man, and thus shield themselves from social accountability and complicity in misgovernance. As was expected, I got a lot of critical feedbacks which got me thinking about re-conceptualizing the paper, and even my doctoral research, along a multidisciplinary plane (as most doctoral students in this 21st Century should do too) but perhaps, most resounding of all was Nancy Henaku’s post-presentation comment about the dialectics of power and hegemony in African political rhetoric, which according to her, situates and structures social relations along particular ethnic, gender and class divides (see works by Foucault, Derrida, Van Dyke and Edelman for early insights on the concepts of discourse and rhetoric). What this means is that the potency of nation-building and development efforts, especially in desperate times such as these when we are confronted with the national question, lies in the sensitivity and viability of our leaders’ body language. Their willingness to not just talk-the-walk, but also temper-the-talk; develop-the-walk; and walk-the-talk will ultimately deliver the anticipated change. Sadly, this remains to be seen in Nigeria.

As I flipped through the pages of Richard Bourne’s classic on Nigeria (Nigeria: A New History of a Turbulent Century published by Zed Books Ltd., republished for Africa by Bookcraft) some two months after my return from the Winneba conference, I felt a wind of nostalgia surge through me and I couldn’t help but ignore the not-to-do list I was working with that day to skim through the 275-page volume that sat comfortably on my palms. Glancing past the glossy cover page, I suspended my sceptic instincts when I read an excerpt of Toyin Falola’s comments on the blurb page. If anyone alive now should say the first thing about Nigeria’s history, it should be him (he’s literally Nigeria history’s living legend), and for him to have talked about the book in such a manner, there must really be something else about Nigeria than (post)colonial historians had told us. I quickly dabbled to the folder I created for African writers on my laptop to cross-reference the book with that of Toyin Falola’s and I sure found something. Bourne’s chronological assortment of landmark events in Nigeria from 1914 to 2015, interspaced by 25 years for each chapter, was a novel attempt at re-imagining the discourse on the 1914 amalgamation that seems to have dominated interventions on Nigeria’s continued corporate existence, in recent times.

In the first chapter, the author opens up conversations about what is known as the ‘1914 amalgamation experiment‘. It was interesting to discover that the key argument for ‘One Nigeria’ according to Fredrick Lugard in a speech he delivered in Lagos (and likely the banalest one) was to provide for a unified railway policy (can you imagine that? and think that Nigeria is yet to have a coherent railway policy, more than a century after), Lord Lugard argues that there was a need for a railway system:

“which will prove, not only a new departure in material prosperity but also that the coming years will increase the individual happiness and freedom from oppression and raise the standard of civilization and comfort of the many millions who inhabit this large country …” (page 3).

 

This singular event was soon to arouse a cacophony of lies and contradictions in the succeeding period after independence. What really caught my attention in this chapter was the author’s referral to Lugard’s political and linguistic brilliance, who had married a skilled journalist and propagandist – Flora Shaw, and was himself a historian who wrote his own autobiography, deployed his intellectual prowess to advertise his ideology in Northern Nigeria to the natives of Nigeria and the British imperial government. Despite the opposition he faced from educated natives, he still succeeded in entrenching the indirect-rule system, a system “which did not leave traditional structures unchanged’, in the North and parts of the South. When he left office in 1919, Lugard reported to the Parliament that his re-organizational strategies were what brought about the end of slavery, separate despotisms, and peasant injustice in the North; barbarism, witchcraft and fetish worship in the South; as well as indiscriminate killing of twins and primitive savagery in the East, all which were the former hallmarks of pre-colonial Nigeria. Those were the supposed gains of Fredrick Lugard’s restructuring campaign.

Nigeria is now 107 years since the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated and is yet to hear the last of the restructuring debate. Several political and constitutional *confabs have been convened to arbitrate among the disparate voices dispersed across the 923,700 square kilometres landscape of Nigeria, all to no avail. The bane of the Nigerian tragedy has been linked to the incoherence of her leaders in communicating and delivering their electoral promises. This is not difficult to discern, a simple interrogation of most political aspirants vying for elective offices at each level in Nigeria would reveal the mediocre mindset that has come to characterize our political space. A case in point was a 2014 gubernatorial debate facilitated by the Graduate Students of the Department of Political Science, the University of Ibadan for candidates vying for the governorship position in Oyo State. It was quite interesting to know that not only are most Nigerian, and I dare say African, politicians averse to intellectual debates, they are almost completely at loss on what governance is about (what else can be said of an aspirant that promised to provide ‘ice-cream’ for educational institutions if elected into office? Who does that?). Needless to say, there is no better safeguard to determine the quality of a political aspirant’s proposals for office than the quality of the campaign speeches made by such an aspirant, and except, of course, his/her political antecedents (even this may fail sometimes). That was, perhaps, why a politically inexperienced conservative republican like Donald Trump ‘trumped’ a veteran liberal democrat like Hillary Clinton in the 2016 US Presidential debates. Who would have imagined that ever happening in the United States – a bastion of liberal democracy in the world?

What politicians of the Nigerian ilk should probably do before setting the agenda for restructuring the country is to undergo rigorous training in public policy analysis and development communication at a specialised institution focused almost exclusively on governance and policy education. Doing that might serve the dual benefits of re-orientating the political class on the dynamics of leading political transformations in a transition economy such as ours, and help them leverage politics to create a conducive ambience for trans-regional dialogues on national unity and development. Without this, it would be unrealistic, to put in the words of Richard Bourne, to suppose that a change of government alone would have any miraculous result for Nigeria.

As Nigerian politicians justle for power ahead of 2023, it is high time they move beyond highfalutin rhetoric and crass mediocrity, at least for once in Nigeria’s post-transition history

*confabs refer to the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference and the 2014 National Conference

You can read a more detailed review of the book by LSE’s Bronwen Manby here

You can follow my essays and blog posts here

The post OF POLITICAL RHETORIC AND THE CULTURE OF MEDIOCRITY AMONG NIGERIA’S POLITICAL CLASS appeared first on ThePalmWineWriter.

Nigeria, my birth country, has a very flawed notion of the things that matter in life, nowhere is this more evident than in our relationship with power.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility… Well, Usually.

In Nigeria power is where you go to escape responsibility. A man in a position of power, regardless of how he got there, is accountable to no one, especially not to the maggots that elected him to office. Most of our leaders hide behind the immunity their political appointments confer when it’s time to be held accountable.

Power Creates Value… Tueh!

Power in Nigerian society lies not in the ability to give but to take. The powerful man isn’t one because he adds value, he is powerful because he can take, he can take your land, take your job, take your dignity, take your life.

It’s little wonder many politicians see our franchise as a fair exchange for a bag of rice with images of their face and party insignia plastered all over. A 1-litre bottle of groundnut oil in exchange for your vote is completely fair in their estimation, after all, they’re giving you something at all, aren’t they? And of course, many people take this “sweet deal,” that’s one bag of rice and one bottle of oil more than they’ll see from this government for the next four years.

Your professor’s power doesn’t lie in his ability to give you a valuable education, his power lies in his ability to take away your grades. You may never get the mentorship you need, he may not help you with your research, you’ll probably never win a Nobel prize under his tutelage, but remember, he can always turn your A into a C, he can make you repeat a class. He will take your grades, he will take your time and give you nothing in return unless of course, he decides to.

This is the nature of power in Nigeria, it will never increase you, it is nothing without its ability to leave you with less. Without the ability to abuse, degrade and destroy, their power is empty and useless. Such is the nature of power in my country, it’s only true function lies in its ability to create dysfunction.

I’ve often wondered why our elders are so adamant about respect, can’t they see that the youth have nothing to be grateful for? Nigeria has been in decline since 1960, each year more hopeless than the last, yet the people to whom the nation was entrusted to take no responsibility for the decay, all that concerns them is our praise and worship, even as we continue to watch them flush our future down the toilet.

I fear my generation would replicate these pathologies, I fear we will become the politicians, professors and elders we despise today and I don’t know what I can do to stop this. I no longer allow my younger ones to do my dishes anymore, I don’t expect greetings from my driver’s children, what have I ever done for them?

If an elite cannot leverage its power to create and transfer value, then it is not worthy of respect.

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The chiefs, who mostly belonged to influential landholding families employed the use of manpower in slaves and indentured serfs to increase their economic influence in the areas under their jurisdiction, and in the state by extension. This form of slavery, however, was quite different from the chattel slavery that was practised by plantation owners in the United States. Slavery in Lagos—and most of Yorubaland in the 19th century—allowed some room for upward mobility for the slaves and indentured servants.

These classes of people—the kings, chiefs, slaves, and indentured servants—were the active players in a complicated financial system that was in operation in Lagos in the 19th century. This system came about as a result of centuries of intra-city, and inter-city trade and was largely based on credit. 

A Credit Based System.

DUE to the wars that effectively signalled the end of the great Oyo Empire at the beginning of the 19th century, there was a lot of migration into Lagos from the surrounding war-torn areas. This meant an increase in business for professional slavers and slave traders. Lagos, a city largely built off the ignoble trade, would come to experience an economic boom at this time. It is important to note that Lagosians themselves were not slavers in the real sense of the word, they mostly served as middlemen and facilitators for the slavers further inland, and the traders at the coast. Slavery aside, emigres who wanted to start a new life after their homelands had been ravaged also ventured into Lagos in flocks. 

This class of emigres understood that the only way to move up in their new area of settlement—just like where they were coming from—was through relationships. At the core of their financial system was a web of credit and patronage, facilitated by relationships. It was largely an agrarian economy, and to practice agriculture, more than anything, they needed land. Since most of the land to be obtained belonged to the various land-owning families, they had to attach themselves to these families through marriage, patronage, and other indigenous relationships that brought outsiders into established households. Thus, on touching down in Lagos, the first point of call of an immigrant—whether slave or freeman—was at the house of an influential person that could serve as a patron or overlord.

Once an immigrant accepts a patron as his overlord, they work out a deal whereby the immigrant is dependent on the overlord for a roof over his head, land to farm on, and in some cases, daily sustenance. In exchange, the immigrant works on the overlord’s farms as free labour for a specified amount of time, as a form of payment for the land which he has been given. The patron-client relationship is mutually beneficial as the client might also be required to follow his patron to war, or see to other menial duties within the city. The work done for the overlord is seen as payment for the political, financial, and sometimes judicial cover that the patron gives the client. This way, the patrons increase their political and economic stand, while the clients find their feet.

In the case of more established townspeople who were also deeply entrenched in this credit system, they would go the route of the emigres and place themselves under the authority and protection of an overlord, or request for a more direct system of credit. Like it was stated earlier, this system is heavily dependent on the strength of relationships, as the creditors need to have faith in the ability of the impending debtors to pay back their debts with interest. 

For traders who needed a line of credit, they would approach rich people with whom they had some form of relationship and request goods to sell at an interest. For others, it was direct money-for-money transactions, but this was very rare. As such, there was very little direct exchange of currency until the monetization of the local economy through the importation of cowries, dollars, and British coins. Even European businessmen that arrived at the shores of Lagos for business rarely exchanged goods for cash. Instead, they would give the Lagosians their goods to trade in the interior of the country, in exchange for agricultural produce, palm oil and slaves. In the words of H. S. Freeman, Lagos’s first governor, credit was the “great genius of the African trade.”

One man, Daniel Conrad Taiwo, alias Taiwo Olowo (Taiwo, the rich) embodied that system and used it, perhaps ruthlessly, to take himself from the utter dredges of society to the upper echelons of the Lagos financial class.

Rags to Riches

Daniel Conrad Taiwo was born Isheri, a suburb of Lagos, around 1781. At a young age, he became indentured as a slave to one Chief Ogunmade. He worked as a farmhand and a war boy till around the 1840s when he became a protégé of Kosoko, the King’s son. From this vantage point, he launched himself into a world of political and economic influence. He leveraged on his closeness to the prince for material gain, cultivating relationships with European and Brazilian merchants. 

When Lagos came under the administration of the British around 1862, he became well acquainted with the British governor at the time, Governor Glover, who took a liking to him and established a political and economic partnership with him. The Governor appointed Taiwo as the Baba Isale (patron and representative) of Isheri and some other parts of the mainland and introduced him to British and German firms to conduct business with, exclusively. There are also instances when the governor helped him to enforce the repayment of debts.

These appointments established Taiwo as a power broker and economic powerhouse for the average Lagosian under his jurisdiction, hence he became deeply entrenched in, and a symbol of the credit system in Lagos. Slowly, he and other influential Lagosians began to play the role of financial institutions as we know them today, and soon enough, he came to be named—colloquially—Taiwo Olowo ele (Taiwo, Owner of money lent at interest). As such, he owned lots of slaves and indentured serfs and servants, and of course, money. 

After the monetization of the economy, when cash currency became more stable and desirable, Taiwo, along with his peers transitioned into the real estate business. Kristin Mann noted in her treatise on Lagos, titled Slavery and the Birth of an African City, that, “As Lagos grew and developed in the second half of the nineteenth century, a market for rental property emerged. In addition to providing collateral for credit, real estate acquired new use and value as a source of rental income during these years.”

Taiwo quickly adapted this system into his business model and by 1867, he already owned seventeen properties, many of them in prime locations around Lagos. He also incorporated the model into his money lending business by emphasizing a preference for land or landed property as collateral for loans Taiwo would go on to die in 1901 as of the richest men in Lagos, having come up as a commodity in the financial system as a slave, and risen to be the biggest broker of his generation.

Banking essentially refers to the business conducted by a bank, which includes, but is not limited to safeguarding and lending money out. There were no banks in Nigeria until the tail end of the century, but people still needed to have access to loans and credit facilities, so individuals like Taiwo Olowo bridged the gap. It is often noted that a lot of Taiwo’s dealings were fraught with fraud and that he made most of his wealth off nepotistic sentiments, but in his times, all that did not matter very much. If you were in Lagos in the mid-1900s and you needed access to money, you would have approached Taiwo and other creditors like him. Taiwo, more than anything, is a reminder that the institutions that we see today, were in existence in different forms, they just carried different names.  

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