Misguided Law Enforcement

One of the first things that catch the fancy of a young person getting an opportunity to travel to a civilised country after a life completely lived in darling Nigeria is the existence of order in those communities. Apart from the beauty that results from town planning and tidy queues, there is a certain beauty effect that the maintenance of law creates.

The Police Force in civilised communities of the world is usually made up of an amazing bunch of people; respectful, organised, erudite and (I must say this again) respectful! It is amazing how a law-breaker can be ‘mirandized’: “I’m afraid you are under arrest sir; you have the right to remain silent . . .” or “I’m sorry ma’am but you would have to go back with us to the police department”. The story turns sour when you compare that with what obtains in our own community. Disdain is the treatment you get for daring to drive a nice-looking car past a police post! You are ordered out of the car and pushed around, if you allow, like a criminal who has been on the run! It gets worse if you appear to be a young achiever; I guess to them you automatically qualify as a fraudster who belongs in their coffers – paying the ‘police’ fee of your ‘business’. As people on this side put it, if power supply becomes regular at your home, you can be sure that it is the time of the month when the bill would be delivered. Just the same way, if a policeman starts smiling at you, it is likely that he would ask: “Oga, how far?” or “Madam, how we dey do weekend na?” Lagosians will not forget that black Sunday in August 2010 in a hurry, when several lives were lost in Berger as a result of a series of events starting with a police roadblock.

It is no news that corruption has an exalted place in the systems of life in Nigeria at the moment, and that it is does not only exist in the organs of government. If the corruption in the police force is taken out however, a large fraction would have been dealt with. It is with the police and other law enforcement agencies that you find cab/bus drivers as well as their okada/marwa counterparts paying their ‘dues’ several times in one day! The sadder part of the tale is how excusable the grave offenses of the regular donors become as a result of their burnt sacrifices to Oga Policeman! Of course, the police force is not the only law enforcement agency that is involved in this vice, but it seems to be most unbridled here.

The shamelessness with which these bribes are demanded for is alarming too. A friend of man who was robbed earlier in the year went to the Police station to make a statement. When he was done at had turned to take his leave, he heard the officer on duty asking him for “something for the boys”! Imagine making such a request of someone who was still dealing with the trauma of losing money and other valuables to hoodlums!! And these are the people given the responsibility of ensuring the safety of lives and property!!!

Discipline is definitely one of those things that are profoundly lacking in the Nigerian Police Force. That much can be seen from the demeanour of the regular police officer you find on the road. Many of them can be seen clad in dirty, ill-fitting uniforms that must attempt to accommodate the oversized tummy, without their berets threatening to shoot at innocent motorists who appear not to be keen on parting with bonuses for “the boys” (and the Ogas they claim to be taking returns to in the office). How can anyone in his right senses allow the impression that these people work in our interest? I was amazed when I reported a burglary in my house a while ago and the police officers began a less-than-intellectual discussion on how the spate of robberies on Sunday mornings was on the rise. Should the combatants of crime in our society speak with such hopelessness?!

Only last week, I was told of the massive traffic jam that held motorists up for more than three hours in Egbeda area of Lagos. The amazing thing is that the traffic was reported to have been started first by the scene created when two policemen in uniform took to the streets to fight. Then, it got scary when their service rifles became a part of the scuffle and everyone decided it was best to be far from the site, lest they become victims of another unsolved case of stray bullets. In addition to this, Nigerians are used to seeing men of the police force turn away to the more important business of tip extraction from okada when the road has the peak of traffic situation. It is at times like this that you see the okada riders scampering for safety from the claws of the hijackers! The police could also decide wade through the traffic by blasting the sirens of their vehicles and make room either for themselves, or some more important personality that must not suffer the effects of traffic that the rest of us mere mortals must suffer!

Speaking of the indiscipline, I have observed how residents of Ojodu-Abiodun (on the border of Ogun and Lagos states) have been made to suffer unnecessary traffic snarls as a result of the deposit of a number of accidented vehicles and impounded trucks on their already too-narrow roads. It is just amazing to think of how high (or low) the Intelligence Quotient of the source of such an idea could be. The parked trucks have taken over more than half of the road and the other cars are not helping matters. Yet, these vehicles were imported from some other places and dumped on the roads simply because the Police station does not have space within it for them. Meanwhile, day after day, and night after night residents spend endless avoidable hours in traffic because our misguided and undisciplined force of Police officers.

For a country that plans to move forward, I am unsure if much can be achieved without something drastic being done about our police force.

Stand Up for Change!

A popular saying in these parts - only a mad man would do the same things several times over and expect different outputs - comes to mind. I have heard that statement so many times it was nothing more than a cliche for me at a time. Certain other truths continually stare me in the face to jerk me awake to reality though: the circle my parents (and their parents before them) have run in for years has seen little or no alterations, and it is only normal that this result has rather reduced the quality of our experiences over the years, somewhat steadily.

I speak of the decline in the worth of the life of the African, particularly the Nigerian. Tales abound of how things used to be much better than they are now; how much more expensive things are and how life is a lot more difficult now than it used to be. It is however more worrisome how much less regard humans have for one another. I know for a fact that people on this side have grown a lot more selfish than in yester years; there are many more disrespectful young people around; corruption is a welcome ill that should be minimised at best and a white lie is the exact same thing as the truth. The world preaches safe sex, and Africa has bought that philosophy and taught it to her children in the name of westernization, so much that we forget that sex before marriage was an abomination here just a few decades ago. The things that we know as superstitution today are stories built around rules which our forefathers were guided by when they were growing, and it was not even religion. Today, Africa's battles include affirming the sanctity of our sexes as it kicks against gay marriage. But how can we succeed in our fight against a worldwide anormaly while we are deeply involved in may other dysfunctions?!

The destruction in our society goes beyond the physical; the worm has eaten deep into our sense of right and wrong. It is threatening to wipe our inner personalities and if we allow it go on, history would perhaps not even bear record to our existence, save its negative, maybe. And since we are not mad people, we would need to make an investment of a DIFFERENCE if we would reap change.

I propose that every parent would go back home and instill the discipline of values in their children; that schools will do more than prepare their students for excellence in examinations; that every individual would be responsible enough to realign with the best values and demand the same from his neighbours. If things would get better, our value system needs to be rebuilt. We need to choose not to give or take bribes, not to drive like maniacs on our roads (even when it is the norm), be responsible citizens and demand nothing short of excellence from our leaders. When we have done all that, we would be well on our way to stand up for change!

The Power of the Media

This was written in September 2009, I consider it potent still. Enjoy!

Not many people are unfamiliar with the concept of the spoken word through song. It is not uncommon to put into song things you would like to remember. Education is made a lot easier where there is a sing-along. Ask little children who are fans of the show; Barney and friends! Guardians of the children usually cannot help learning those songs and are educated in the process, or they get reminded of some facts they could have forgotten. Other children’s shows thrive by the same principle and the messages of the songs learnt stick and remain for long periods of time. I remember that it was one of those songs that helped me remember Avogadro’s law in a Chemistry examination. The power of the spoken word through songs! For you to register the information deep within you is only a part of this two-fold magic. The other part which is very important is the concurrence of unseen forces with confessions. An adage to that effect states that the things you call to yourself, you attract. So with a song, you stand a chance of committing the words to memory and attracting to yourself the things that you confess through the songs!

Just as powerful is the theory of pictures. A picture, they say, is worth a thousand words. Not much proof is needed for this as everyone has at one time or another been at the point where it was just an image that reminded them of an event, or a circumstance. Little wonder then that advertising agencies put up billboards with images of new products, all built around specific colour themes. Just a glimpse of such can seat in the viewer’s mind and not be recalled for a long period of time. This can make a product that is relatively new in the market and completely unused by a buyer become his favourite simply because the images have made their way into his sub-conscious.

The way a writer can buy his reader over in the orchestration of words is another area worthy of attention. It is almost synonymous with the way a lawyer in an American court phrases his points in his closing statements to the jury in the movies we see. The end result is that readers who do not have particularly strong views about the issues being debated could end up defending the writer in future arguments (without even having a good base knowledge of issues, in the first place). There is no doubt about the fact that it is based on these three theories that the media industry is built. The television advertisements that we see; the newspaper and billboard advertisements; and the beautifully crafted articles we read in magazines, journals and newspapers are proof of the veracity of the channels of communication.

The story turns sour when you bring yourself to the realization that the obscenities of yester years are the proud rulers of the airwaves today. If you grew up in the 70s or earlier, or were raised by old (or old-fashioned) parents, you should not have much difficulty relating to this. Almost all movies back then were decent. The television stations operated for eight hours a day, or less and you were pretty sure that the programmes being aired were family-friendly. These days you need to engage the “Parental Control” facility on your television to be sure that your children (and even you!) are protected. Yet the things you are scared of are only pictures, still or motion! Billboards are not much better: What has a half-naked woman’s photograph got to do with a motor-cycle, or fruit juice?

The musical videos that are being shot these days do not help matters at all; the existence of television channels dedicated to showing such videos is even more damaging. The daringly skimpy clothes the ladies wear, the suggestive maneuvers of the dancers and the provocative acts of the ‘stars’ are at best scary when you consider the signals being sent to young and upcoming generations, who make up a larger percentage of the audience these days. Perhaps we were not too bothered when such videos came from Hollywood only. It was easy to blame those whom we could not even hold responsible for the calamity that was befalling us then. Now that such videos and worse are being created and produced within the shores of our nation brings us to terms with the situation we have on our hands. Yet, we are easily distracted by the quality of the videos and are impressed enough to overlook the messages being passed through those ‘lovely’ videos.

A young friend of mine and I once had a conversation about the musical videos he saw. I felt uncomfortable with the images therein and I said so. The young man looked at me with an expression that asked why I was being old-fashioned and said to me, “it is only a video”! Of course it was; and its effects were far-reaching! Twenty years ago, our rich culture would not have allowed such things, but now we have become so liberal that we gather the wheat and the tares with them. Particularly worrisome for me is the fact that a children’s party these days would have a DJ who would play some of these new songs and you would see the children imitating the dance steps of the artistes in the videos. Scary!

Another trigger point is the words and messages of the songs accompanying the videos (or is it the other way round?). Again, we can pardon the songs from abroad and blame it on their culture, but what shall we say about our local artistes? Forget about the re-branding project for which some of them would like to sing and make quick money from the government, most of the songs we hear are destructive. Unfortunately, those are the songs that end up as hits and make the artistes wealthy overnight. Imagine a song that is all about a woman’s backside, or the one that speaks of how a white man was scammed and prides its writer as the successful conman who orchestrated it all. There are many more like that! It makes me wonder why clean artistry is not being celebrated. The one that gets to me the most is that which speaks of pandemonium in town. Our country being in the state it is, perhaps aggravated by such negative confessions on the lips of a large chunk of its citizenry, should be guided by all on the path of recovery. Yet, here we are condemning it and further subjecting it to depravity not only by the words we speak (and sing), but also by using the (un)popularity of these songs to promote such untoward behaviour. Where are those artistes like Funmi Adams, Princess Bunmi Olagunju, Vero Marioghae and Sunny Okosuns who ruled the airwaves with songs of patriotism and deep sense of nationalism? While parents and teachers are trying to turn their wards to hard work, preaching its numerous rewards, some elements are making success in showing the youth that get-rich-quick syndrome is real. How shameful!

The next time the National Video and Films Censors Board (NVFCB) would endorse or ban songs, the contents of such should be critically examined. As far as I am concerned, some of those songs and videos that have been put out of circulation are much better than some of those that have been allowed to stay. We must not fail to accord the media the importance of its role in developing our nation. Bad or negative press should be frustrated, and while we await the people at the top to take an action that would sweep across the nation, each citizen owes society the responsibility of screening the media items that come our way.

The Death that Waits in the Corner

Education is defined as the imparting and acquiring of knowledge through teaching and learning, especially at a school or similar institution (source: Microsoft Encarta 2009). It makes sense then to say that the lack of education is the lack of knowledge which results from lack of teaching and/or learning. "Half-education" would then be part-acquisition of knowledge - incomplete information - and could also be misinformation or disinformation.

Unlike the impression many have, anyone and everyone can be half-educated: perhaps in the middle of the attainment of a new level of knowledge, or sudden fresh discoveries in the line of one's past knowledge. So half-education by itself is a normal, temporary condition. This situation becomes a problem when the party lacking the knowledge refuses to admit their lack. Continuous lack of education is a gradual yet steady path to stagnation!

The half-education syndrome could be a result of being in a less-privileged position when compared with others. The disorder really is in the defeatist attitude the "half-bred" individual displays in reaction to their situation. Another root-cause is sheer refusal to accept the right of others to information.

As blessed as my beloved  Nigeria is, many of her citizens suffer from half-education syndrome and this unfortunate trend finds room at all levels: the leadership does not have a good grasp of the country's problem yet it strives to impress the citizenry and the international community that it has arrived; the citizens 'understand' that the system is doomed and can only be overcome by cutting corners; the 'masses' are threatened by their despondency and so they 'get back' at the more-privileged members of society jeering at them and stealing from them; the latter in turn marvels at the half-education of the 'masses' and seek to 'use' them to achieve selfish ambitions.

The twists of the situation are enormous and as a result we are deeply disturbed people: frustrated and under a lot of pressure. So the 'highly successful and educated' business executive who has been slaving at some job for a whole day, drives into traffic completely exhausted and shouts at the not-so-lucky jalopee bus driver whose spot he tries to take; the respectable middle-aged lady has to raise her skirt and climb on okada (for lack of better systems of transportation and funds) being driven by a young lad who has no real aspirations in life ( and his driver's licence is nothing more than the tickets he gets from his daily tips to agbero). The motor-cycle tries to escape being hit by an unfulfilled petrol-tanker driver and makes a somewhat indelible mark on the business executive's car, which also gets scratched by the jalopee bus. The drivers of all four vehicles (plus passengers of the bus) stand in the middle of the road and get in an unfruitful and unnecessary verbal street-fight. Root-cause: frustration out of the pangs of uneducation!

Yet education is readily available if only we would take advantage of the numerous opportunities around us, learn to place our priorities appropriately and genuinely develop an interest to grow. The internet offers information on any and every subject, and certain individuals (reserved and unsung) who have exhibited advanced levels of knowledge in certain fields dwell among us, yet pride keeps us from making use of these avenues.

While we continue to create stop-gap solutions to problems that should not exist in the first instance and get comfortable (or adaptive, as we like to term it), the decay in our system gets deeper, and the half-educated few who are making small-time benefits from the incomplete education of the larger population are getting pottier bellies. If we continue like this, one thing is sure: we shall awake only to become aware that we are truly dead!

Music and the Gospel

On my way to work this morning, I turned the radio on and I heard the voice of Sammie Okposo, one of Nigeria's 'gospel' artistes, singing a song where he stated his belief in Nigeria. I must have tuned in somewhere in the middle of the song, but the message still came strong: Nigeria can be much better than it is and that would take the commitment of all.

Mr Okposo's profession on air excited me particularly because I had been nursing some concerns about the role of christians in the area of nation-building; how restricted the doctrines of Christ are to the four walls of church; how that the salt of christianity is nothing more than a cloak that hangs on the doors of church as a ritualistic garment of spiritual rites. It is unclear which one led to the other (the restriction or the ritual), but the result is that the term 'christian' does not make much meaning anymore. It is more fashionable than responsible to be one. Politics does not recognise the brand and society lacks respect for it. The mass media's solution to the somewhat inherent problem of the christian is to further restrict him/her by the creation of such groups as 'gospel music'.

The era of certain musicians being marked 'gospel artistes' because they are Christians is fast coming to an end. Even though some kinds of music are peculiar to church (hence the tag "church music"), it is hardly the music promoted by the musicians dubbed 'gospel artistes'. You are likely to find a 'gospel artiste' in almost as many genres that exist in music, so why must you tag them 'gospel artistes' and box them into a corner? Christianity is not a religion; it is a way of life. In that same way a Christian musician is first and foremost a christian, and he comes into the music scene to air his views, communicate his ideas and speak through the peculiar creativity that is his art. What that message is, should not determine what genre his music would be classified as. Afterall, if I choose to run for political office today, would a different office be created for me in the name of "gospel presidency"?!

The era we are gradually entering into is one where artistes who have a strong belief in issues such as upholding the value system in the country and the zero-tolerance of the new Nigerian spirit for corruption would raise their voices, unencumbered by categorisations or labels, and be forces to reckon with in the task of nation-building. The message of the gospel is to change lives and not be segregated!