Judging All By The Acts Of A Few "Bad" Eggs; 

How True, How Fair, How Natural? 

-  Editorial (Open Paper)

By Oliver O. Mbamara

PART 1

The Stigma
It is not unusual that the mention of the word “Nigeria” strikes a note of interest to many people around the world; the question is, in what way? Business men put up their fraud detection censors whenever they are about to encounter Nigerians in a business related activity. Soccer nations all over the world shiver when they learn that they will encounter Nigeria at any level of the soccer competition. Some Foreigners approach Nigeria and Nigerians with a greed-driven zest hoping to fill their greedy-large pockets with the wealth of the oil-rich nation whose citizens continue to suffer economic hardship and low per-capita income despite the vast revenue that the large oil-producing economy is supposed to generate. Many still respect Nigerians for their intelligence and resourcefulness as well as persevering manpower. Employers and even co-employees around the world are sometimes puzzled by the discipline, focus, and efficiency exhibited by Nigerians in the work place (explains why many want to higher them, regardless). First world countries recognize the importance of Nigeria in the Africa geo-political structure as a nation blessed with abundant natural resources from which neighboring countries and even the big Western nations continue to benefit. There are indeed quite a lot of positive and negative reasons why Nigeria is a notable nation. Unfortunately, the later seems to be the more prominent. Is this perspective true, fair, or justified? Is there more to it?

As Nigerians or Africans, there is perhaps nothing wrong in pointing out our shortcomings as a people when necessary, but also we must continue to remind ourselves not to allow our thinking to be motivated or influenced mainly by foreign media or how the West has portrayed and continues to portray us in most cases. We should endeavor to tell our stories ourselves if we want to encourage the rest of the world to appreciate us for who we are and not for how we have been painted to appear. Some of us sometimes remain silent when to cry out would cause more damage than good to the image of our country or continent. Yet again, sometimes the best way to cure a shameful habit is to openly address such shamefulness. It may sometimes be very difficult to write about the good image of our country or continent because one is encountered by many sad examples of the negative, which tend to overshadow the positive. Be that as it may, we need not give up on ourselves. A perfect state/country or continent (just like a human state of consciousness) is unattainable on earth but there has to be that genuine effort to improve. 

The Challenge of Making The Point While Defending Our Image
I always thought of devoting a piece to this topic but I was forced to put pen to paper without further delay on the morning of July 31, 2005, when a New York resident (we will call “Mr. T” for anonymity) from Trinidad and Tobago called me to inquire about a new film (THIS AMERICA) that I have been involved with. After I gave him the information he needed on how to obtain a copy of the DVD, Mr. T noticed that I was African and he started complaining about how disappointed he was with all African countries. When I mentioned that I was from Nigeria, he politely but specifically harped on how corrupt Nigeria is as a nation. He went on to say that he reads a lot of African literature and that he had read a popular Nigerian Professor who said, “Nigerians love bribery more than anything else.” At that point, it occurred to me that this man believed in such scholars of Africa and that statements from such giants of African literature could be of immense significance and influence and if read out of context and therefore misunderstood or misinterpreted, could propagate impressions perhaps distant from what the writers or speakers actually meant. That is the challenge of literature and other forms of expression. They are subject to variable interpretations depending on the consumer’s former impression, exposure, or present consciousness. This will be addressed later in this paper.

I knew Mr. T was embittered because he wants to be proud of his African roots, heritage, or ancestral lineage and he is disappointed in what he has been reading or hearing about Africa. I allowed him to completely vent his anger about corrupt Africans and their leaders whom he blames so much for misappropriating the resources of these countries. He went ahead and mentioned that while African leaders are begging for debt relief, they are hoping to exploit such relief to satisfy their selfish needs.

Much as Mr. T may or may not have his points, his generalization of Africans and Nigerians as fraudulent and corrupt people was very discomforting. This was more so when he mentioned that he “will never let any Nigerian into his house.” Wow! That was a tough one to endure. It was tough to let the man continue with that impression since I know by personal experience that majority of Nigerians and other Africans are very good people. Caring, loving, selfless, upright, hardworking, educated, humble, ambitious, and persevering. This is no praise-song. It is practical truth.

The Overshadowed Fact And The Available Impression
An independent survey has revealed that the negative image conferred on Nigeria as a nation (or on Nigerians as a people) is as a result of the negative acts of a very minor percentage of Nigerians. Probably, many of those who share the impression of Mr. T are not aware of such surveys or they prefer to disregard them. It is a fact that in most cases, these critics have never been to any African country. So, why would they base the criticism of Africans COMPLETELY on the impression of what was and is being read or heard in the news? This might seem to be begging the question, but again, except for their dwelling on prejudice, it is hard to seriously blame such critics since they are mostly working on what they have been fed about Nigerians and Africans, which incidentally overshadows the practical truth. 

The Long Versus The Short Run In A Material World
No doubt, negative news makes more headlines than positive news. Though positive news and good deeds are more sustaining and eventually long lasting, negative news and events sell in the short run. In a world where worldly things easily sway peoples’ minds and materiality, negative news and unfortunate events sell better in the short run. They engulf and entangle the average mind in a web of external impressions that satisfy the present expectations. It is therefore no doubt that negative news tends to attract and leave more impression than the positive, hence its propensity to overshadow and dominate the positive at least momentarily. It is perhaps human nature

If in disappointment and provocation, members of the African media and spokespersons keep dwelling on the strife and conflicts in Africa or they only devote their works to the occurrence of fraudulent ventures involving Nigerians, the tendency is that the information market and channels will be saturated with negative African or Nigerian news. The implication here is that the average foreigner or stranger (like Mr. T, the gentleman from Trinidad) who is interested in Africa and Africans, will only find negative information on Africa every time he goes looking for some information on Africa, Africans, or Nigerians. Africans who have the avenue to do so ought to help by letting those interested in Africa realize that there are many other aspects of Africa that one can positively identify with. This is not a call to stop reporting negative news, rather it is a call to apply discrimination and foresight. News and information has to be balanced.

The Challenge of Balancing Our News and Stories
As long as we continue to let strangers and foreigners feed the rest of the world with diluted or biased information about who we are, we will continue to be denied our rightful place as one of the most hardworking and caring people on earth. The preceding statement is not predicated on any patriotic or pan-African influence as a Nigerian or African. It is a simple fact. African societal structure is built around selfness communal principles. The child belongs to the community and is raised by the community under the supervision of the parents with the guidance of the community for the good of the whole. Under the “extended family systems” well-to-do members of every family are enjoined to care and protect the weak and poor of other individual families. Many African customs and conventions accord the greatest hospitality, care, and protection to a stranger. Customs and tradition require individuals and relatives who have issues and disagreements to resolve them within the immediate families before bringing them outside the family circles for public or community mediation (or adjudication as we have them today in western courts). Forgiveness is considered paramount to co-existence; conscience is an essential part of human interaction, while honesty is the mark of greatness.

Is There Perhaps A Pious Angle To It All?
How then did we get to a point where the mention of our country or continent strikes more of a negative note than the positive? How did we get to a point where some of us are no longer proud of being called Nigerians or Africans? Should we therefore regret being who we are? Will our denial of our background erase our tie and responsibility to our family, our society, our nation, or our continent? Many may answer these questions by simply saying that it is man’s nature to identify with the “good” and deny the “evil.” Others may say life is not fair. Yet, others may say that life is a balancing of accounts taking into consideration the manifestation of our past in the present towards creating an improved future. In this regard, the family, society, nation, or continent that a man is born is all part of the equation of the balancing of the account of man’s life. Perhaps then, the earlier man starts accepting who he is, the earlier he is on his way towards living life to the fullest (potential) as Soul regardless of what others may think of him or his background. Perhaps to embrace the preceding concept is to embrace freedom from the negative judgment and condemnation of others. This is only my understanding.

IIn Part two of this paper, we will look at this topic from the perspective of the perfect society, the unsung heroes, the impressed minds, the menace of 419, and the middle path.

© Oliver O. Mbamara, September 2005

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Oliver Mbamara is an Administrative Law Judge with the State of New York. He is the author of several published books, the publisher of several online magazines and a columnist with several journals and magazines some of which are published internationally including England and the Netherlands. He is a Filmmaker, an independent Producer, and a performing artist. Oliver is in America's Who's Who and also in Africa's Who's Who. He is presently based in New York. For more on Oliver please visit www.OliverMbamara.com     Contact Him