Pointing Fingers
As the popular saying goes, “when you point 1 finger at someone, 3 other fingers are pointing back at you.” I am a Nigerian who has lived in Nigeria all my life and while many talk about our grit, intelligence, positivism, etc one thing I can’t help but notice almost everyday is our propensity to pass on blame. Be it from the market women who blame fuel price for the price of commodities, Lagos bus drivers who blame Ambode for the traffic, newspaper stand analysts who blame Buhari for the economy, students who blame wicked lecturers for poor grades, the list goes on and on. While the majority of these cases are totally justified, I posit that much more of the blame is owed to our collective impatience, seeking quick fixes; myopic, short term thinking; laziness, unwillingness to put in the work for the results we desire; and a mentality to look outwards for blame rather than inwards. I’ll give a few examples.
#BBNaija
Just yesterday, someone on my secondary school whatsapp group posted one of these BCs about Big Brother Naija being indecent, satanic, immoral, etc and how we are a wasted generation for patronizing such a show. Most, rightly rebuffed the post and its biased, shallow message. This message is just another example of Nigerians leaving the real issue and trying to sensationalize fluff.
The above message condemns the show’s high viewership numbers arguing that the show represents gross moral decadence in our society because no ‘educational’ show currently boasts such viewership numbers or prize money. To that I ask:
- Has #BBNaija committed any crimes? Is there anything wrong with a business man figuring out a way to maximize public interest to make an honest buck, especially if he hasn’t committed any crimes other than be misaligned with some people’s idea of morality (and the show is clearly rated 18)?
- Do you know how much work goes into the production of the #BBNaija show? From the auditions across Nigeria, to setting up the house, figuring out creative tasks for the contestants, the live shows, etc.
- Do you think it is easy managing 20 adults from very differing backgrounds for 3 months? or to be one of those 20 adults and have every aspect of your daily life for 3 months become public knowledge and scrutinized for years to come?
- Is it the fault of #BBNaija that the ‘intellectuals’ can’t create a show that will best its viewership numbers? Doesn’t it even stand to question how smart these ‘intellectuals’ really are if we [yes, I consider myself a part of this group] cannot figure an ‘educational’ show that will usurp this ‘notorious program’ from the peak of investor interest and media relevance?
- And finally, as Jide cleverly put it, “the primary role of mathematics isn’t entertainment.” The #BBNaija show is specifically for entertainment. If you want something mentally stimulating, visit Coursera, Khan academy, Udemy, etc, watch robot wars, the apprentice, who wants to be a millionaire, etc. or, you know, create your own educationally entertaining show.
Traffic
In Lagos, traffic is a mainstay. Very often, trucks, tankers and trailers line the roads from Apapa, along Apapa-Oshodi expressway beyond mile 2 and along Eko bridge beyond Ojuelegba leading to mind numbing congestion. Virtually anyone you ask blame it almost exclusively on the pathetic state of the roads and scarcity of petroleum products. While these are very valid reasons, there is another factor at play:
- Ever so often, you will see an abandoned truck unmanned along a major road. This is usually because the truck has broken down as a result of poor maintenance or simply gross nonchalance of the driver who left his truck in the middle of the road to eat, piss, visit his girlfriends or God-knows-what-else.
- Late last year, at the peak of the traffic congestion, trucks were directed to move along some specific lanes in a long queue to allow room for the much faster cars and buses to get to their destinations quicker. However, many truck drivers flouted this directive, increasing the congestion. Can this be blamed on the price of fuel or diesel?
- I ply the Lagos-Badagry expressway very often when I visit at my parents’ place. The traffic at Iyana-Iba is almost a constant, irrespective of the time of day. This traffic is first a result of the bad road, ongoing construction and a poorly located diversion into Iba estate. However, this is multiply compounded by impatient drivers taking ‘one ways’ and making 4 lanes where there should be 2 (sometimes, even at the advise of traffic wardens who are after a 50 or 100 Naira tip). While the first few impatient ones will go through the traffic marginally quicker, their actions quickly worsen the situation overall and we all pay the steep price [if you successfully drive past Iyana-Iba without your car getting scratched, no matter how careful you are, you’re not only a great but also a really lucky driver].
Yes, the roads are pathetic. Fuel scarcity and outrageous queues in filling stations don’t help matters. However, if we look inwards and change our attitudes while on the road, we can significantly reduce overall time spent in traffic.
Industry
Africa’s richest man is a Nigerian. He has been a beneficiary of favorable government policies which banned importation of cement ‘to boost local production’, among other ‘interventions’. He responded by selling one of the world’s most premium priced and most profitable cement. It is telling we continually are unable to export cement. How can we when ‘our’ cement can’t compete on quality and prices globally?
This highlights the problem with government interventions in industry, the way it works in Nigeria. In Nigeria, government interventions seems to be a way to reward mediocrity. This explains why so many Nigerian businesses seem to seek government patronage or contracts as the holy grail.
Granted, the Nigerian government has a big role to play in the development of our industries and improving the business landscape in Nigeria. However, as history has proven time and again, the true solution isn’t ‘government interventions’. This has proven to do Nigerians more harm than good as evidenced by Dangote, Fuel subsidy cabals, etc. The true blame lies with our mentality of seeking rewards for mediocrity and riches without innovation. This is why the #BuyNaijaToGrowTheNaira campaign, a bullshit fallacious attempt to mass celebrate mediocrity by playing on people’s sense of patriotism, was such a big hit. The solution is a mindset shift from seeking government patronage and support to an innovation mindset with a goal to consistently deliver world class products and services.
This isn’t to absolve the government of responsibility in the development of industries. Not even close. The ‘support’ of the government can be better maximized if, rather than implementing policies with a high propensity for abuse, the government fixes structural challenges plaguing these industries. Challenges such as electricity, good access roads, education (to improve the quality of the available talent pool), etc. These interventions have a much less likelihood of abuse. That way, the government support can act as a true enabler of the individual businesses, industries and the economy at large rather than a detriment to growth and fair competition.
There are many more examples of this habit of pointing fingers and seeking reward for mediocrity in our society. Alas, am I not pointing fingers with this article? I agree I am. However, I am also acutely aware of the 3 fingers pointing right back at me, telling me that I’m a part of the problem (we all are to different degrees) and therefore, have to pull at least 3 times my weight. That, dear friends, is how the change begins.
