MADNESS IN THE AIR

Going through the newspapers in recent times, I’ve been coming across so many
strange things that force me to make the sad but inevitable conclusion that there is
‘madness in the air.’ It is madness because it does not occur among the dregs of
society from whom one has come to expect wild behaviour, and not even from among
the ranks of the upper class from whom one can expect anything. The madness I
speak about stems from one of the most respected classes of society: the Academia
and the Professors in particular
Some days ago, I read with amazement in The Guardian of the
recommendation of one of the confab committees headed by Prof. Albert Ogunsola
for rotational presidency and governorship. The article took my mind back to another
article I had previously read in the Financial Standard about the campaign by Prof.
Babatunde Fafunwa for the use of indigenous languages as the languages of
instruction in Nigerian schools. These are not new concepts but the fact that they are
being championed by those who are supposed to be terribly learned is new. This
brings to mind the words of Elihu in the Bible “Great men are not always wise:
neither do the aged understand judgment.”
The idea of teaching in indigenous languages is not feasible for two reasons.
First of all, the logistics are incredible. It would mean translating all the current
nursery, primary, secondary, and university textbooks into a large percentage of the
over 500 languages spoken in Nigeria. The cost of doing this simultaneously and with
enough speed such that we can keep up with all the revisions simply does not make
sense. It also means that that scholar who moves from one state to another, and
sometimes even within the same state, must begin to learn another language anew
before he/she can continue with his/her education, and all this within the same
country! It simply doesn’t make sense.
The writer erred in citing countries that use their indigenous languages in
teaching and research. Apparently, the fact that each of these countries all had ONE
indigenous official language did not strike him: Germany (German), Japan (Japanese),
China (Mandarin), France (French) and Russia (Russian), unlike Nigeria with over
500 languages and non official. Does it not make sense then to continue with English,
the nearest thing to an official language?
 Secondly, even if the idea were to be feasible, it would be a disaster. Right
from day one, the differences among the numerous tribes would become pronounced.
The capacity to move from place to place and so intermingle with other tribes would
also be greatly curtailed since in most families, you can find at least one scholar.
Already, the country is so fragmented by the sharp differences in geography and
religion. Must we now scrap English, one of our major rallying points, and add the
language-education barrier to it?
And not to be myopic, we must remember that the international community is
there and as the world becomes more and more of a global village, our interaction
with them would increase in importance. ECOWAS and the EU are today seeking a
common currency and this trend would spread. The significance: In years to come, it
is the things we hold in common together that would determine how fast and how
well we develop. English is the most widely spoken language in the world today,
followed by French which is spoken in over 50 countries. As trade and interaction
among nations of the world increase, there would be a shift towards these two
languages and the shrewd thing to do would be to embrace them now. A lesson from
the Chinese: mandarin is spoken by the largest number of people in the world, but
even they label their goods both in Chinese and English.
More important is the issue of a rotational presidency. The idea, though
appealing at first glance, is a greater evil. But I believe our president is too smart to
take such idle talk seriously. The underlying motivation behind the idea is one that
has contributed to the terrible state of the nation today and that threatens to ruin us
should we not desist. I speak of the lack of trust among the various tribes. To the
typical Yoruba man, all Hausas are dumb, blood-thirsty and power drunk while the
Igbos (all easterners) are fraudulent, aggressive, and immoral. The Hausas and Igbos
also harbour such feelings for each other and towards the Yorubas. After decades of
living together, the older generation has been blind to and so unable to resolve this
problem and this is seen in the kinds of advice given to we the youth: “Don’t come
home with an Igbo girl!”; “Never do business with an Igbo man”; “A Hausa man in
power? Never”; “You want to marry a Modakeke girl? Over my dead body!” Now the
time of the older generation is up, and this is to be our inheritance: A new improved
legalized distrust for our fellow Nigerians simply because they are of different tribes.
Why must we rotate the post of the president among the different ethnic
groups? Obviously, the wise elders believe it is impossible to find a Hausa president
that would be unable to resist eating the whole of the national cake. They believe that
an Igbo man in power would favour only his own people at the expense of the nation.
But this is not true and while I cannot speak for the older generation, I can certainly
speak for those of my generation. A new generation is coming up that would see
themselves first as Nigerians before anything else.
But even if it were not so, even if we cannot find true Nigerians, then a
rotational presidency would not solve anything. Instead, it would hasten the
disintegration of this fragile entity called Nigeria. The Yorubas would wait furiously
for the Hausa president to get out so they can get in and reverse all his policies to
favour themselves. Meanwhile the Igbos would be warming up on the sidelines,
scheming and waiting to install their own man, worthy or not, to show that “blood is
thicker than water”. And we must not forget the Ijaws and Itsekiris and Fulanis etc
who would want their own turn sooner or later. All these shouldn’t be so. If it is a
Fulani man who proves himself worthy time after time, then it is our duty to accept
him irrespective of where he comes from. If our nation is to last, then it is high time
we begin to build up on the things we have in common and de-emphasize our
differences.
The academia should be the think-tank of any society and when the best they
can offer us are such ill thought-out ideas, then we have a major problem. No wonder
the graduates of these days are nothing to write home about. It is my hope that in days
to come, they may have something better to show for their years of learning.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!

BEECROFT John Oluwafemi

Obafemi Awolowo University,
Ile-Ife.