Time For Africa to Put Away Childish Things

Op-ed, West Africa  |  02.03.10   By Kingsley Ewetuya

The biblical Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians said, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

This phrase albeit biblical has resonated through all faiths and creeds.

Indeed even those who are agnostic cannot refute the idea that with age comes physical, mental, and as such intellectual growth.

If one spots a toddler playing with a ragged doll and rolling in a sandbox, one would smile and say “how cute.”

But if one should find a grown man or woman who ought to be preoccupied with more mature things doing likewise, one would assume that the person has taken leave of his or her mental faculties.

Such a person would be branded as childish; a man-child whose intellect isn’t directly proportional to his or her physiological growth.

That person would be rightly scorned and be the object of widespread ridicule.

As I read the news of the recent assassination of Nigeria’s Otunba Dipo Dina who had opposed the incumbent Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel in 2007, what came to mind was how childishly medieval our so-called democracy is.

This is the 21st century, the information age.

The developed world has entered into a digital renaissance whereby people rise and fall on the basis of their ideas.

We are at a point in time where according to Alvin Toffle, “the illiterate are not those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Developed countries don’t turn to bullets as the basis for societal revolution, rather a simple YouTube video with the right ideas from the right person can go viral thereby raising up someone from the smallest hamlet while simultaneously bringing down a person at the greatest heights.

With that in mind, why then are we Nigerians still resorting to techniques of the Dark Ages? Why is the concept of governance still archaic in Nigeria?

If Dipo Dina was not the right man for the job, all he needed to do was speak and the people would hear him and laugh him out of the ballot box.

Is our system of government so childish that it cannot tolerate the idea of different candidates expressing their ideas? When will we grow up politically?

This has gone from being tragic to downright laughable and the joke is on us.

I think of the many bright minds in Nigeria and in Diaspora who are waiting for their time in the sun.

People who are incubating Nigeria’s greatness in their minds and hearts and waiting for the right time to birth them.

Why would they want to stand up and be counted knowing that they will be blown to smithereens upon utterance of their first progressive syllable?

Chief Bola Ige, the Attorney-General of the Federation was gunned down in his house nine years ago. Till date, the murderers have not been uncovered or faced justice.

The same goes for the killers of Marshall Sokari Harry, Funsho Williams and countless others. How long will Nigeria continue this macabre dance of democracy?

I wish Nigeria was the only African country involved in this macabre dance. The Republic of Guinea is likewise involved in this morbid dance step.

Captain Moussa Dadis Camara who seized power on the 24th of December, 2008 in a coup after the death of Lansana Conté has been recovering in Burkina Faso after facing an assassination attempt himself.

He was shot on December 3rd by soldiers acting under the command of his aide-de-camp Abubakar “Toumba” Diakite.

What is tragic about this is that coups and counter coups in Africa are all but expected, or as Fela Anikulapo Kuti inimitably put it “Soldier go, Soldier come.”

Considering that Ghana became the first sub-Saharan nation in Africa to achieve independence fifty three years ago, the idea of coups should be a childish concept not tolerated by any African country.

Yet, the African Union proudly aids and abets “leaders” like José Eduardo Dos Santos, President of Angola since 1979, Paul Biya, President of Cameroun since 1987, and Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt since 1981 after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

Gnassingbé Eyadéma had governed Togo since 1967 until his death  in 2005 when his son Faure succeeded him.

How long will Africa tolerate totalitarian leaders who impose themselves on the people?

Is it not childish for one to call himself a president after twenty years of incumbency?

I remember someone telling me a few years ago how then General Olusegun Obasanjo visited his primary school during the seventies and told the assembled pupils that they were the leaders of tomorrow.

Fast forward to 2005 when my friend was working on his masters degree in the University of Ife in western Nigeria.

Obasanjo visited and likewise told the students that they were the leaders of tomorrow. When will tomorrow come?

Anthropologists have discovered many fossils in Africa that date back seven million years.

It is time for Africans to introspect and put away childish things.

We have played in the sandbox of history long enough

Share it