Africa in Transition

Africa in Transition

On March 31 Africa in Transition posted a statement about “Nigerian Democracy in Peril.” The article highlights the country as it “Descents into Lawlessness.”

It is meaningful to me, a former resident of Nigeria. it seems that today the leaders of the country are more concerned about their own pockets. Nowadays even the police and the military are among those corrupted. I don’t believe that anyone is exempt – maybe the leader and vice-president Yemi Osinbajo, although I can’t be sure of him.

I have watched him deliver an address to those in attendance at a Health Watch event. I believe it was about the long-awaited Lancet Commission on public health.

When describing the lawlessness in the previous administration, he “disclosed (that) about fifteen billion dollars were stolen from the fight against Islamists under the previous Goodluck Jonathan administration.” He hasn’t mentioned more recent comments, though I am sure they are too many to count!

But what does it say about the country which is near the top or at the top of lawlessness?

Violence in Nigeria is multidimensional and pervasive, ranging from perennial herder-farmer clashes to gang violence, armed robbery, attacks on state infrastructure, especially police stations, airports and power transformers, intercommunal violence, lynching, ritual killings, mob justice, and casual intimidation of ordinary citizens by law enforcement.

I cannot believe those living in Lagos (like my sons) are immune to these threats. But they do continue to ignore them. Sam just moved into a building with 24/7 electricity. It has tennis courts, a gym, and a swimming pool. He says his kids will enjoy these amenities. Chinaku lives in a high-rise penthouse with the same 24/7 electricity and view of the ocean.

It is like Lagos is on its own. The rest of the country is engulfed in illegal activity carried on by supposed leaders!

Even my cousin Isaiah, 82, succumbed to the lawlessness carried out by thieves and bandits. He was shot and killed on the trip from Enugu (the capital of the east) to Nanka, our home town! His wife was with him, but not harmed. I cannot imagine how she coped.

Isaiah was apparently questioned on the issue of Biafra. Whatever answer he gave was not enough to save him!

Essays on Race

On Monday April 4 I went to the ceremony for the winners of the essay contest. Dan Woog, the blog writer of 06880, posted all the winning essays on April 5 (at 5:00 am!) You can read them here. I sat next to him at the event, and he was busily writing notes about the essays. He didn’t comment on them.

He also watched the video with Judy Hamer’s thoughts about the way she and others judge.

All three of the winning essays were beautifully written and heart-felt. All of them proposed solutions to the problems of racism. One talked about bringing the ideas into the open so they can fruitfully discussed. Another said being in the majority just means being able to ignore issues of race. They do not need to be discussed, though he did not recommend that! The third said he is a member of the white and a minority race. He said that people who are faced with issues of the founding fathers somehow feel threatened by race.

I do know Judy Hamer. She is in my group of Grannies who write about their daily lives or examples we chose. For a taste, this month we wrote about “Say Yes to the Dress”. Next month we’re writing about our parents. She’s also in my book group which reads fiction for a month, and then non-fiction for the next month. So we have many experiences together.

New Friends

I met a new friend in the last couple of weeks. She is Nneka. I assumed she was Igbo from her name. She just showed that in the Zoom list. But when I talked to her, she said no, her parents just chose that among other names in a list! She has never been to Nigeria.

She is an associate director of the Yale Fund. She doesn’t raise money from my class at the Yale School of Management. Instead she concentrates on the classes of ’69 to ’72, and the classes of ’79 to ’82.

We had a good discussion on Monday and will probably have another one soon!