A Windfall Mentality

Every element of progress comes with a corresponding responsibility. During the days of that infamous historical injustice, colonialism, our nationalist leaders, with a deafening din, clamored for independence. As we attained independence, it became incontrovertibly clear that we lacked the discipline, cultural skills and political maturity to handle the added responsibilities of that political emancipation. Oil boom is a phenomenon worth being grateful for. To watch gleefully as the wealth you have neither toiled nor sweated for tumbles into your hands is miraculously, a magnificent blessing. Regrettably, we proved that we lack the moral restraint and ethical elevation to uphold the concomitant responsibilities of this blessing.

The oil boom, if handled maturely by a disciplined and visionary leadership would have been wonderful for Nigeria. It would have raised the standard of living for every Nigerian, and nudged the country inexorably towards joining the advanced countries of the world. Unfortunately, due to a reprehensible fusion of oil wealth and disgraceful leaders, oil boom blighted the country. It resulted to, among other evils, a hideous mutation of our mentality.

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Trapped in the brute and viciousness, vanity and narcissism, narrow-mindedness and regimentation of military life, the soldiers that held sway at the advent of oil boom, failed to rise to higher issues of governance; they were stuck in the petty, prosaic and pedestrian. By their every act, they repudiated the society’s long held values, principles and convictions. They extolled avarice, profligacy, corruption and outright stealing of public funds. From their actions, the society learnt that to earn a living through honest, hard work was the jinx of little minds. That wealth comes from dishonesty, disrespect for the law and the abuse of the system. That glory comes not from achievement, but from falsehood, image manipulation and the exploitation of others. This new found knowledge distorted our attitude towards work, money, honesty, commitment, etc; we developed a windfall mentality. This mentality breeds opportunism and the propensity to seek harvest without plowing.

For example, in our universities, some students desire good grades but are not prepared to work for them.   Not content with the inherently scholarly and prestigious, but modest lifestyle of their profession, lecturers and professors covet the colorful and opulent way of life of the business tycoon. The inglorious confluence of these two strains of the windfall mentality, the students’ need for good grades without study, and the professors’ desire to live above his means, became the bane of the Nigerian universities. “Sort out”, the euphemism for students bribing the professors for good grades, is now a norm in the universities. The payments for this bribe can be in cash or kind (as sexual favors). “Sort out” makes it possible for students who did not study to end up with outstanding grades. And for those who could not “sort out”, their devotion to their studies may not guarantee them success. Consequently, over the years, these institutions degraded from havens of erudition and intellectual excellence to awful centers of mediocrity, cult violence, intellectual flabbiness and sexual harassment.

In the past, individuals, associations, and communities banded together and through communal efforts solved problems and improved lives. Through such endeavors, scholarship programs were started; schools, hospitals and community centers were built; roads and drainage systems were constructed; etc. Then, we had the spirit of volunteerism that allowed us to volunteer our time and resources for the collective good. The windfall mentality made us greedy, self-centered, and obsessed with instant self-gratification. Consequently, we lost our sense of community and the will to devote our time and money for the general good. So, our response to communal problems became to murmur, complain, do nothing and expect them to magically sort them selves out.

For example, over the years we witnessed series of fire disasters in many of the nation’s markets. Each of these fires took phenomenal toll on the traders and the community. Property and goods in tune of (sometimes) billions of naira were lost to the fire, sources of livelihood destroyed, hopes frustrated, dreams shattered, and lives lost. Lamentably, after each of the fire calamities, no resolute effort is made by traders in the affected markets to prevent future fire occurrences, or to contain them if they ever occur. They do not ensure that the markets have running water and anti-fire gadgets and accessories, like smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and sprinklers. Before the last fire outbreak at the Tejuosho market in December 2007, the market had experienced three prior fire disasters. Still, at the time of the fourth fire catastrophe, the market had no running water, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and sprinklers.

The traders in these markets have associations. These market organizations hold meetings and collect dues from their members. They elect officials, and their officials exercise their powers, strut around and flaunt the trappings of their offices. But what can reasonably be the objectives and functions of these market organizations if they cannot provide absolute necessities, such as water, smoke detectors, and fire extinguishers to make the markets safe for their members and protect their sources of livelihood from repeated destruction by fire?

Misconstruing the source of glory, thinking that it comes from false image projection and not achievement, the officials of these associations find fulfillment in the frills and flourishes of office and not in diligence to duty. Shackled by a retrograde mindset, they cannot take the initiative and work in concert with the traders to address this issue of repeated fire disaster. They keep expecting a windfall, a resolution to the problem to drop from above. Not surprisingly, they keep appealing and waiting on the government “to provide the markets with fire hydrants and smoke detectors”.

I was once directed to a nearby restaurant that supposedly serves good food. As I got to the restaurant, I was bowled over by the stench that pervaded the whole place. The gutter in front of the restaurant was clogged with all sorts of filth and was just oozing. To my amazement, the place was bustling. Some of its patrons were seated outside, right next to the fetid gutter, relaxing, talking, eating and drinking; completely oblivious the odor and surrounding dirt. On the same street are a number of other small businesses, restaurants, hair dressing salons, convenient stores, churches, etc. Why cannot these business owners collectively clean out these stinking, stopped-up gutters in front of their businesses? What will it take for a group of business owners to clean smelly squalid gutters? It will not take very much, except for a little motivation, a sense of community and the spirit of volunteerism. Unfortunately, the windfall mentality negates all these qualities.

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Following the psychological and attitudinal ravages visited on this country by that evil union of oil wealth   and unscrupulous leaderships, the Nigerian populace is in a desperate need for re-orientation. Democracy in itself is a wonderful institution. Generally, it provides the enabling environment for the sublimation of societal emotions, attitudes and proclivities. That is, it can galvanize and channel them to more refined and enlightened manifestations. However, for this to happen, there must be an enriching blend of the institution with exemplary leadership. Unfortunately, what we have for leaders are election riggers and thieves of public funds that suffuse the Nigerian political scene.

 

By Tochukwu Ezukanma

Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
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