By Samuel Oluwole Ogundele
Nigeria, probably the most populous black geopolitical, is a multiplicity of ethnicities that embody languages and different cultural types of various levels of sophistication. These cultural expressions are the unwritten ethical and authorized mechanisms that information the content material and morphology of improvement grammar on a sustainable scale, particularly through the pre-European interval. Suffice it to say that these experiences and methods of life will not be mounted as soon as and for all. In numerous senses, they discuss with shared / blended inheritance or cultural hybridization that results in new group identities. Sadly, Nigeria has not been capable of efficiently handle hybridization.
Nigerian indigenous values embody onerous work, respect for elders / leaders, honesty, cooperation, mutual respect, and self-confidence. The above factors are intricately interwoven with spirituality. These values paved the way in which for big progress in information techniques reminiscent of metallurgy (iron foundry and blacksmithing), bark material making, basketry, structure, cleaning soap making, and ceramic know-how. There was an excessive amount of self-reliance. It’s recorded that large-scale metallurgical iron manufacturing was happening within the Nok Valley space of central Nigeria as early as 500 BC. . The locals didn’t depend upon overseas metallurgists.
In reality, most of Europe was nonetheless within the Stone Age interval. Nigeria was as soon as forward of many of the Western world in science and know-how. Issues began to collapse in a short time from the second half of the 15th century, after our encounters with Europe. Many values and worth techniques had been systematically overshadowed or bastards. Nonetheless, the bastarization and / or gradual erosion started greater than a thousand years in the past with Arabization. Islamic and Christian cultures collided with Nigerianization. These encounters spoiled the secular native spirituality of compassion or the sensation of companionship, the central guideline in economics, politics and environmental administration. This seems to be the foundation explanation for Nigeria’s management failure to this point.
Globalization because the finish of the 15th century thus far has been an train in marginalization and disaster. The weakest international locations, together with Nigeria, are the victims. Western schooling clouds a deep understanding and information of our pre-European previous. This was / was performed by means of the lens of proselytism arising from the inaccurate assumption that Africans are genetically inferior and with out historical past. The unique scientific, technological and inventive achievements of the territory that they later christened Nigeria had been / are missed in most speeches. The top results of this intrigue was the crushing of African self-confidence, the premise of improvements in all their ramifications.
Unsurprisingly, Nigeria stays a wealthy farmland for the West and, just lately, elements of Asia. Paradoxically, Nigeria is enormously rich, whereas its inhabitants of some 200 million is desperately poor. The nation is unable to free itself from the slavery of the financial and political machinations of monopoly lending companies such because the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF), the Worldwide Financial institution for Reconstruction and Improvement (IBRD) and the World Commerce Group (WTO). The above organizations characterize the substitute contours of our extremely aggressive trendy world, which Nigeria should navigate with warning. Other than this exterior issue, there’s a nice lack of preparation of the leaders, because the eve of political independence in October 1960, to take the bull by the horns. They had been / are all the time wanting to take each toxic and wrinkled carrot that hung in entrance of them, by the West or Asia. Nigerian political leaders do not give a rattling about the truth that no overseas assist is nugatory. Right now, the nation is groaning underneath the burden of native and overseas money owed. No patriotism!
The interventionist philosophy of globalization has all the time been abused by world capitalist economies. Subsequently, it is rather tough to attract clear traces of demarcation between globalization and financial neocolonialism / imperialism. Nigeria should start the method of political engineering of its universe. For Africa to belief the fashionable world system, the movers and shakers of this order should admire and personal the existence and significance of a various vary of sociocultural universes, regardless of the unity of humanity. Nigeria has all the pieces to lose if it continues to discard basic components of its ancestral values, worth techniques and / or mental productions. We have to be taught many classes from numerous Asian international locations reminiscent of Japan, China, India, and Singapore.
The event insurance policies and applications of those Asian geo-policies had been / are largely enshrined of their socio-cultural heritages and histories. Thus, for instance, their indigenous languages, the complicated engine of human cultural id and improvement, are within the foreground. The alternative is true in Nigeria, the place indigenous values, together with languages, are eliminated each day. We merely imitate the West. Nigerians (with a number of exceptions) don’t emulate Euro-American behavioral traits reminiscent of punctuality, respect for the rule of legislation or institutional frameworks, and dealing on the forefront of technological improvements. Painfully, most Nigerians, particularly the younger, have embraced immoral overseas values reminiscent of pornography and near-complete nudity on tv and different public areas. It is a manifestation of sociocultural disorientation, an obstacle to progress.
Huge Brother Naija (BB Naija) is likely one of the illnesses afflicting modern Nigeria. Immorality and recklessness had been institutionalized. Our leaders look the opposite method as insanity reigns supreme. A few of them even bathe BB Naija winners with vainness awards, after weeks of bingeing and doing all types of printable issues with their friends. In my view, tv and radio stations ought to pay far more consideration to applications embedded within the sides of our indigenous epistemologies, together with information techniques reminiscent of iron metallurgy, wooden carving, and soap-making. We have to hear and / or watch documentaries on the rise and fall of a number of the early empires and kingdoms. They embody Outdated Oyo, Benin, Birni Garzagamo, Ashante, Begho, and Buganda. We will solely ignore the previous at our personal danger.
It’s crucial to begin firing the creativeness of Nigerians by means of the lenses of historic / cultural schooling. Sufficient of violent motion pictures and pornographic movies, the foundations of a sick society.
It’s not information that state governors are planning to borrow the pensions of harmless Nigerian public employees to construct roads. This displays a comparatively new management tradition rooted in callousness, unbridled conceitedness, and lack of spirit. What did they do with the quite a few loans taken out and in of Nigeria prior to now? With out duty and with out honesty! It is a disgrace.
The federal ministries of schooling and tradition in collaboration with our universities should provoke a revolution for schooling. This means a whole however gradual reorientation of Nigerians from main faculty to school stage. Our curricula and pedagogy should be revised with out ignoring the usable sides of overseas cultures. That is schooling as if self-reliance issues. Extremely competent and upright resourceful folks have to take part reasonably than blatantly persevering with the present tradition of rampant nepotism that smacks of mental and religious poverty. Nigeria should defend its dignity in any respect prices for the sake of our wholesome survival and progress.
- Professor Ogundele is from the Division of Archeology and Anthropology on the College of Ibadan.
