The Greek are the ones who in many ways gave us what we know as the modern civilised world. They are the ones who also came up with the classification of human beings which fits aptly in the Nigerian situation.
Nigeria is a very ‘special’ country. How the country is able to survive despite the pummels it has received from those who lay claim to it and manage its affairs is a mystery.
There are three types of human beings in the world, by the classification of supporters and founders of democracy in Greece. To them every person is either an idiot, a tribesman or a citizen.
Now, idiot in the sense used by the Greek is neither a curse word nor is it used derogatorily or necessarily as someone with mental or intellectual deficiency. To them, an idiot is someone who doesn’t just care about others. He is selfish, a me, myself and I kind of person with no public philosophy or willingness to live his life in a manner that he contributes positively to the societal development. If you put an idiot in charge of public funds, he will steal. If you ask an idiot to write an examination, he must cheat. An idiot is the one who throws trash out of the window of a moving vehicle. An idiot is the one who gets to a traffic stop and continues to move even when the light is red. An idiot will rather than maintain order, try to shunt the queue and go ahead of those who got there before him. An idiot misappropriates money meant for common good while the people languish.
Cast your mind back, look around you, do some introspection. Can you identify any idiot or are you one, going by these characteristics?
The next group of people is the Tribesmen. These ones are all about their tribe, religions and other similar groupings. They view everything from this prism and their allegiance is to their tribe. They are suspicious of the motives of people outside of their tribe and so they have only people from their tribe in their circle. Tribesmen make the worst leaders.
If a tribesman is made president, he appoints only people from his tribe into positions. He does not obey the principle of fairness or equity in the distribution of the country’s patrimony. Each time a new appointment is announced, you can be rest assured that the person is from the tribe of the leader.
Tribesmen as leaders cause a lot of discontent among the people. A lot of people outside the tribe feel alienated and cheated. They begin to make all manner of demands and agitations.
A tribesman insists on having a particular person in a position even when it is obvious that the person is not the right fit for the job. Even public outcry against such appointments is not enough to deter a tribesman. The only credential you need to qualify for a job is to belong to his tribe (read tribe, political party, religion).
In Nigeria today, there have been cries of marginalisation from many Nigerians who feel left out in the scheme of things. There have been complaints of imbalance in the sharing of federal appointments. There have even been calls for the dissolution of the Nigerian union on the basis of this.
Who are our leaders? Are they tribesmen? Why do the people feel alienated? Are the actions and or inactions of our leaders raising idiots in the country?
Enter the next category of humans – the Citizen.
The citizen, to the Greek, is the ideal human being. His citizenship is not as a result of birth or some other legal status. He is a citizen because he is interested in doing the right things for public good.
A citizen is interested in promoting projects that benefit all. Unlike the idiot, he is a respecter of the law. He does not drive above specified speed limits, he does not misappropriate public funds, he does not abuse his office, he does not cheat in an examination, he does not use substandard materials to execute contracts for which he has been paid inflated bills for, he does not make laws to benefit him and his situation at the detriment of others. A citizen speaks up when things are going wrong, not consider only people from his tribe for appointments and does not litter the environment even when no one is watching. A citizen is equipped with knowledge and skills to live a life of civility and contribute towards the development of the society he lives in.
Can we confidently say we have a lot of citizens among us? How many of our leaders, current and past, can we point to as citizens?
The Greeks are an optimistic lot. They say it is possible for an idiot to become a citizen through training and constant law enforcement. They also believe that a tribesman can become a citizen through orientation.
The way I see it, they didn’t think of Nigeria when they made this conclusion. The enactment of laws, creation of several anti-corruption agencies, trial and incarceration of looters of public treasury and teaching of civic education in schools have not done much to change the breed of idiots and tribesmen we have in Nigeria. Naming and shaming of sexual crime offenders has not been enough deterrent to those who continue to violate children.
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) which should lead the orientation campaign is also a victim of idiocy and ‘tribesmanship.’ From whence will our help come?
