THE REAL TRIBE TROUBLING NIGERIA - 2

Before We Build a New Nigeria, We May Need a New Nigerian

If you missed the part 1 then you need to go back and read from the begining because a new Nigeria can’t be another cliché where those destroying the nation are the ones loudest in clamouring for that new Nigera. I will examine more branches of the family.

MEET THE EMPLOYER BRANCH

This branch owes workers’ salaries for months, yet the owner is flying business class. The children are studying abroad. There is another luxury vehicle and another holiday or celebration with top influencers

Meanwhile, an employee cannot pay rent.

But the employer says: “Nigeria is difficult.”

No. Sometimes Nigeria is not what happened to you; Nigeria is what you are doing to somebody else.

MEET THE TRADITIONAL AND SPIRITUAL EXPLOITATION BRANCH

Here, desperation for wealth meets dangerous superstition. Human dignity can be sacrificed at the altar of money, power and ritual claims.

People who should be protected become commodities. And somewhere behind it is the same philosophy: My prosperity matters more than your humanity.

That philosophy may wear traditional clothes in one place, a suit somewhere else and religious garments somewhere else.

The costume changes but the operating system does not.

MEET THE DIASPORA BRANCH

Unfortunately, The Family travels well. Some people escape dysfunctional systems only to export the same dysfunction. From fraud to false documentation. Exploitative immigration arrangements to Illicit businesses. Cult-related violence and manipulation of systems.

Even fellow Nigerians desperate to regularize their status can sometimes become customers to be exploited rather than brothers and sisters to be helped.

Then one person’s misconduct contributes to suspicion toward thousands of innocent Nigerians. The honest Nigerian professional pays a reputational tax for crimes they never committed.

That is one of the great tragedies of dysfunctional citizenship: Your behavior can close doors you will never personally need to walk through.

MEET THE CONTRACTOR BRANCH

Give them money to build your house. The specification says one thing and they quietly deliver another. Reduce the cement, manipulate quantities, substitute materials, inflate invoices and pocket the difference. Then they complain that politicians steal government contracts. But what exactly would happen if this same person became Minister of Works tomorrow?

Perhaps we would simply have transferred the same operating system to a bigger budget.

MEET THE EVERYDAY HUSTLE BRANCH

Give someone a platform to work honestly and ingenuity is sometimes redirected toward manipulating the system. A loophole is discovered, the app is manipulated like I experienced on my last visit where uber drivers charge something different from what the app says. An unofficial arrangement is created and rules become inconveniences to outsmart. Then we celebrate the person for being sharp.

And that brings us to perhaps the most dangerous branch of The Family.

THE CHEERING BRANCH

These are the people who explain away wrongdoing. “Leave him. Everybody is hustling.” “Do you know how poorly they pay them?”

“At least he is helping people.” “Government itself is corrupt.”

“Everybody does it.” “Don’t judge her we listen we don’t judge.” And gradually, criminality becomes creativity while dishonesty becomes survival. Fraud becomes hustle and exploitation becomes business.

Corruption becomes acceptable as long as our person is the beneficiary.

A society does not collapse merely because evil people do evil things; It becomes endangered when ordinary people develop sophisticated explanations for why wrongdoing should be tolerated.

AND NOW, MEET THE INFLUENCER BRANCH

The Family has entered the digital age. A person can build enormous social credibility through giveaways, philanthropy and public generosity.

But generosity is not automatically evidence of integrity. Followers can be converted into trust and trust can be converted into influence while Influence can be converted into transactions. And transactions can be converted into exploitation.

So we must learn an important lesson: Never confuse visibility with virtue.

A person can give publicly and steal privately and character must matter again.

BUT EVERYBODY BLAMES THE POLITICAL BRANCH

This is the fascinating part. Every branch of The Family hates the political branch. The fake-product merchant hates corrupt politicians; the dishonest contractor hates corrupt politicians. The exploitative lecturer hates corrupt politicians and the fraudulent businessperson hates corrupt politicians.

The religious hypocrite hates corrupt politicians. The employer exploiting workers hates corrupt politicians.

Everybody wants better leadership but very few people ask:

Better leaders from where?

Politicians do not fall from the sky; They emerge from families. Schools. religious institutions, businesses, communities and professional associations. They are in our Universities and define our national culture.

POLITICS MAY SIMPLY BE THE MOST VISIBLE BRANCH OF A MUCH LARGER TREE. SO WHO WILL SAVE NIGERIA?

This is where the Messiah problem begins. We keep waiting for one extraordinary leader who will save Nigeria. But imagine that leader arrives. He shuts down the counterfeit network - The Family protests.

He enforces building standards- The Family says he hates their tribe.

He closes regulatory loopholes- The Family says businesses are being persecuted. He demands taxes - The Family becomes angry.

He prosecutes corruption - The Family asks why their own person was targeted.

He removes fraudulent workers- The Family calls a press conference.

He insists on merit- The beneficiaries of favoritism become his enemies.

And eventually, some of the same people shouting:

“Hosanna! Give us a New Nigeria!” may become the people shouting: ”Crucify him!” when the New Nigeria begins to cost them their old privileges.

That is why I increasingly believe:

NIGERIA CANNOT BE SAVED ONLY FROM THE TOP.

Transformation must also happen from the inside out.

THE REAL QUESTION IS NOT: WHO WILL FIX NIGERIA? The more uncomfortable question is: WHICH BRANCH OF THE FAMILY DO I BELONG TO?

When nobody is watching, what kind of Nigerian am I? When someone’s money enters my hands, am I trustworthy? When I employ people, am I just? When I sell something, do I tell the truth? When I teach students, do I use power responsibly? When I lead a religious institution, can money buy my silence?

When I receive a contract, do I deliver what I promised? When I enter public service, do I serve the public? When my tribe is wrong, can I still call wrong wrong? When my political party is wrong, can I say so? When my Presidential candidate consistently tell lies do I call it a lie or claim it was a slip of tongue?

When my religious leader is wrong, does my moral compass still work? When dishonesty benefits me, do I suddenly rename it grace, favor, connection or hustle?

That is where the New Nigeria begins.

BEFORE THERE CAN BE A NEW NIGERIA, THERE MUST BE A NEW NIGERIAN

Nigeria certainly needs institutional reform. We need competent government, Independent institutions, accountability among many other things. But institutions are ultimately operated by human beings.

So perhaps our national conversation needs another dimension.

Not only: “Who is our next president?” But: “Who are we becoming as a people?” Because changing the driver without changing the operating system eventually reproduces the same journey.

The New Nigeria will not be created merely by people who can identify corruption in Abuja; It will be built by Nigerians who refuse to reproduce corruption wherever they have power.

In their shop, offices, religious spaces, University, profession, whatsapp groups, businesses, family and even diaspora community.

So the next time you hear someone passionately shouting about a New Nigeria, don’t only ask which politician they support.

Ask a more important question: What kind of Nigeria does this person’s daily behavior create? And before you ask them, ask yourself.

Because perhaps the most important revolution Nigeria needs is not another slogan; It is a new operating system.And that revolution begins with one brutally personal question:

AM I REALLY READY FOR THE NEW NIGERIA I KEEP ASKING FOR? Or am I simply asking for a Nigeria where everybody else changes except me?

Think about it.

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Have a reflective week.

Praise Fowowe

#nigeria #newnigeria #politics #religion #tribal