Category: Arts & Life

Book review

Title: Rich country, Poor people

Nigeria’s story of poverty in the midst of plenty

Author: Prof Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka

Reviewer: Prof Kayode Soremekun

This book by Professor Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka speaks to these times. The book, titled: Rich Country, Poor People, has a familiar ring. In a sense, it is an echo of street wisdom on one hand and what can be called a particular version of another book by Terry Lynn Karl, who has done a much more generalised study-titled: The Paradox of Plenty: Oil Booms and Petro-States.

Another difference is that Karl can be viewed as an outsider. Certainly, one cannot say the same thing for Professor Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka. Indeed, if he must be described, one can view him as an outsider and insider. This much is evident from his own admission in the book’s acknowledgement, when he contends that this work is the outcome of his research experience and reflections over several years of working and teaching in Nigeria and within the international system, especially the UN system.

Thus, flowing from the above, what runs through the book is the anguished voice of a patriot who incidentally and unconsciously admits to his patriotism by contending that he has been motivated in large part by a deep love for Nigeria. This is understandable if only because even if he does not admit it, there is a sense in which throughout the book we cannot but sense the comparative phenomenon. By comparative phenomenon, we refer to a situation in which from his base, Professor Oyeyinka in the course of his studies and work experiences has seen diverse social formations in their respective primary contexts.

But clearly, Oyeyinka has done more than seeing, courtesy of his training and work experiences in places like Sussex, Maastricht and Nairobi, the question of the contrast between Nigeria’s opulence and her poverty must have been tugging at his mind. I have gone into his mind, but this familiar phrase must have been bugging at his mind: “why are we so cursed?” For those who are familiar with literature, the phrase, why are we so cursed is really a play on another phrase, why are we so blest. And talking of literature, what came to the mind of this reviewer in the course of reading this book is, Wole Soyinka’s book entitled: “The Interpreters”. For those who do not know “The Interpreters” as depicted by Wole Soyinka were members of the emergent and cynical elite in the early years of post independent Nigeria. If I may take into account generational dynamics, I can safely assume here that given the anguish and I dare-say vibrant pessimism of Professor Oyeyinka, one can easily assume that Professor Banji Oyeyinka is a member of the generation that can easily be called: The Post Interpreters. Unfortunately for the author, he could not unlike a Soyinka, take refuge in the world of fiction.

Rather, and as can be seen in this book, what he has done, is to virtually confront head-long, the various indices of the brutalising reality in contemporary Nigeria.

It is, therefore, not surprising to note that in the opening chapter with the title: Paradox of Penury in the Midst of Plenty, the author highlights factors like colonial legacy and what he described as the deepening poverty in the Nigeria social formation over the years. With facts and figures, it was revealed that between 1980 and 1996 Nigeria’s poverty level rose from 23 to 66 percent. In the same vein, it was demonstrated that GDP per person was 860 dollars while in 1996, it was 230 dollars. At the moment, it has been reported to be 290 dollars. Meanwhile, in numerical terms, 17.7 million people lived in poverty in 1980. Such a population rose to 67.1 million in 1996.

As a follow-up, the author contends that in qualitative terms what has occurred is really a failure of development. But he quickly corrects himself by arguing that development has not really failed. Rather and according to him, development was not really on the agenda in the first instance! As true as the immediate foregoing may seem, I do not want to agree with the author. This is because, a close reading of the literature on our founding fathers and mothers, will reveal that they were indeed committed to development. Sure, there were free-loaders and carpet baggers among them, still some of them put in place some of the structures which constitute an integral part of modern Nigeria. I refer here to institutions like: the University of Lagos, the extension of the Railway line in the North and the building of the Ports in Apapa. In saying this, I am not attempting to take anything away from the narrative of the author, this is because in  subsequent sections, he goes on to dwell on what can be called the regression of the Nigerian state. In this respect, he argues that the notion of the developmental state routinely associated with East Asia is less of a phenomenon in Africa and by implication Nigeria.

This regression coupled with the crisis of governance is, according to the author, mainly responsible for Nigeria’s failure to come to terms with her manifest destiny. Indeed, far from being a developmental state, it was revealed that ours is indeed a fragile state. This fragility is best exemplified in contemporary times by that fact that the on-going drama of the abducted Chibok girls has drawn in various indices of the International community. Meanwhile, and in another vein, the consequence of the industrial decline and low-level agriculture has given rise to a contagious issue: unemployment.

According to the author Prof Oyeyinka symptomatic of the lack of industrial dynamism are the level and rates of unemployment rate. It was further revealed that the unemployment rate is seven times the population growth rate; meaning that not only is there dearth of opportunity for the newly employable but existing industries is also shedding jobs.

The immigration test tragedy in which nobody has been brought to book till date aptly illustrates the deposition of the author. What is particularly instructive in this section of the book is the author’s intellectual pre-occupation and wrestling with the notion of poverty. Here he begins by giving us Seebohm Rowntrees’ definition of poverty … which according to him is a situation where total earnings are insufficient to obtain the minimum necessities for the maintenance of mere physical efficiency. He goes on to state that despite the controversy among scholars about the concept of poverty, all are agreed, that the poor exist in a state of deprivation, that to quote the author, “poverty is a condition in which the standard” of living of the individual poor falls below minimum acceptable standard. In this same section, we are treated to very comprehensive and novel conceptions of poverty.

According to the author, and since Rowntrees definition, it is indeed possible to effect a taxonomy of poverty. Specifically here, the author has disaggregated the notion of poverty into various forms. These include: relative poverty, absolute poverty, the dollar-per-day measure of poverty; and subjective poverty. For this reviewer and particularly from the perspective of what can be called the national question; the most interesting of intriguing dimension is relative poverty. It was revealed that, the Northwest part of the country recorded the highest poverty rate in the country. This is something of a paradox because in a way, it speaks to the counter-productive nature of the Lugardian scheme. In more explicit terms, my puzzle here is this; in view of the data provided by Professor Oyeyinka and given the privileged access of the Northern elite to power at the centre, why and how have these areas turned out to be the poorest zones in contemporary Nigeria.

Beyond the nature and content of poverty, is another interesting and abiding concern in the work. This time, the emphasis is on the elusive sociological cum economic animal: The Nigerian middle class.

In this respect, the Nigeria in middle class as defined by the author is characterised by an average monthly income of N75, 000 – N100, 000 naira.

And the profile of this middle-class was disaggregated along the following lines: education and work, attitude, car ownership, banking habits; spending habits, ownership of household appliances; travel habits, sources of information and perception about Nigeria. I am not too comfortable however with aspects of the quantitative identification as regards what constitutes the middle-class. That lower base of N75,000, as far as I am concerned is very unrealistic. In a context like Lagos, a salary of 75,000 naira for a family of four really puts that family on the edge of poverty. In the subsequent chapter, the author focused on a numbing and plaintive note by contending that Nigeria’s power elite has blocked every attempt at Nigeria’s industrialisation and the attendant structural transformation by corruptive actions that result in widespread abandoned projects. Such projects include: the iron and steel plants; sugar factories, expensive dams and fertilizer plants.

                                   Book review

Title:                      NGOR: A Historical, Cultural, Pol;itical and Socio-Economic Analysis

 Author:                Jossy Nkwocha, Ph.D

Pagination:         120 Pages

Publisher:            Igbo Heritage Foundation Publishers Inc.

 Reviewer:           Chikodi Okereocha

As a history graduate and a journalist, I was quite curious to read this book entitled NGOR: A Historical, Cultural, Political and Socio-Economic Analysis, authored by Dr. Jossy Nkwocha, former General Editor of Newswatch magazine.

Books of this nature are usually very controversial because to x-ray the historical, cultural, political and socio-economic analysis of a community will involve stepping on many toes.

In a very crafty manner, Jossy meandered the minefield of Ngor history and politics. As a senior journalist, Jossy deployed seductive prose to make the book quite compelling to explore his community, Ngor, one of the 28 autonomous communities in Ngor-Okpala Local Government Area of Imo State and the ancestral headquarters of the Ngor-Okpala people, the acclaimed food basket of Imo State.

I must confess that after reading the book, I came to the conclusion that Jossy Nkwocha wrote a great book that has the potential to transform Ngor community positively. The book is divided into three parts, namely the historical, cultural and socio-economic analysis; historical events to remember; and a 13-pont roadmap for development.

Part one begins with a map of the community  the first of such. From the historical perspective, the author traced about 500 years of Ngor’s existence to show that the ancestors were brave warriors that were feared by neighbours. This gave rise to the saying, “Onye je Ngor nga chi jiri”, meaning “who will go to Ngor at night to commit crime.”

Ngor was so prominent that it became the foundation stone of naming the clan called Ngor-Okpala. The book showed why Ngor people are self-esteemed people who usually introduce themselves as “Nwa Ngor Eze-Ogboro”, meaning “prince or princess of the Ngor royal dynasty.” The book also brought out, for the first time, the history of Umuneke Ngor, the headquarters of Ngor-Okpala-Okpala, which is fondly called “Ekeneze” — a people known for their aggressive lifestyle.

From the cultural viewpoint, the book projected the rich cultural heritage of the Ngor people. It threw up an intriguing ceremony called “Akaraka Ngor” an annual event at which a jar of palmwine goes round the entire celebrants of about 350 persons.

The political dimension is likely to arouse the greatest interest of most readers. Jossy depicted Ngor community as being politically backward, and suffering from dire political exclusion. He extrapolated his thesis to include the fact that Ngor-Okpala is supposed to be three or four LGAs as some other clans in Imo State.  A map of Ngor-Okpala vis-à-vis that of Imo State provided in the book is eloquent evidence that indeed Ngor-Okpala is being marginalised politically.

In the social sphere, Jossy’s book explored the traditional marriage system in the community, the traditional criminal justice system, resolution of disputes, and security through community policing. The author proved that in the olden days, Ngor people had a good social system that ensured peaceful co-existence.

Part two of the book, chronicled the emergence of Christianity and western education in the community, the Biafran war as it affected Ngor people, the Umuohie-Umuanyika wars tht claimed many lives in the community and the biography of a great man called Okere-Onyeoma who single-handedly built a road to link Ngor to Aba-Owerri highway.

Part three of the book is perhaps the greatest contribution of Dr. Jossy Nkwocha to the Ngor community. He outlines 13 areas of intervention needed to transform the community economically, politically and socially.  According to him, these include functional education, entrepreneurship development, a positive mindset, community mobilisation, market development, the power of Diaspora indigenes, and so on. Jossy concluded by proposing what he calls Ngor community anthem, dripping with fervent Ngor spirit and consciousness.

Finally, the book contains some historical photographs that would certainly excite many Ngor people, especially the pictures of their first university graduates, the man whose action stopped the Umuanyika-Umuohie war and the legendry Okere-Onyeoma.

The book, NGOR: A historical, cultural, political and socio-economic analysis exposes Jossy’s deep sense of Ngor-ness in him, his uncommon love for his community, and his rare capacity for research and seductive prose. With this book, Jossy Nkwocha has put his Ngor community on internet and global literature. Apart from a few typographical errors, I find Jossy’s book quite readable, and commendable to all and sundry. Indeed, Ngor will surely be better!

One of Nigeria’s foremost design artists and a lecturer at the School of Arts, Design and Printing, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) in Lagos, Mr Raqib Bashorun, has said most of his exhibitions were influenced by the prevailing socio-political and economic situations in the country. Such challenges fuel his creative energy to produce works of art, he said.

“Touched by our indifference to our wasteful life styles, I embarked on this Evolving through Waste journey to advance through works produced, the gospel of cleansing all aspects of our life of this cancerous attitude. Believe it or not, we waste everything in this country; spiritual, material, labour, manpower, lives, energy, time, mind, money, words; the list is inexhaustible. How does one see a scenario at traffic lights point where you find three police officers, four traffic wardens, two LASMA officials, four neighborhood watch officers, all waiting for traffic light offenders…

“At takeoff, I was not thinking of the popular expressions such as waste to wealth or trash to treasure, rather, I saw waste in the artistic sense of ‘art form’ and I sourced for some, which readily or through modifications I could connect with forms I created in wood to further my mission. My approach to employing these forms was that of exploration, experimentation, commitment and passion,” he said.

Bashorun who spoke at a sneak preview of his on-going art exhibition, Evolving through waste at the Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi Lagos, stated that many Nigerian artists have been producing art works that threw up issues of national concern as captured in some of his works. He noted that maybe Nigerians have not looked beyond the aesthetics of the works to assimilate the messages therein.

He recalled that since 1997, when his attention was first enveloped by the degree of waste polluting his visual fields, his quest has always been on ‘power of number’. This, he said, led him to create a piece titled, Full Moon on Waste Station; which was how he saw the society at that time.

Bashorun finds wood very interesting to work with. In fact, he loves the challenges of also working with found objects such as soda can, metal and aluminum.

“I particularly loved the challenge of working with the soda can tabs considering their sizes and the quantity required to create a piece. What I enjoyed most however, was the innovative and time consuming technique of stapling them one after the other to the supporting forms. This technique gives me the confidence of durability and I hoped that over time, the anticipated changes in appearance of the staple pins if any will enhance the depth of the works. I also hoped that the dazzling visual sensation created by the nature of aluminum will draw viewers into the pieces and create a web of connection for them,” he said. The found objects are symbolic of the everyday waste of man, labour, time and other resources in the country.

The exhibits include Black gold, Cat walk, Charm, Frozen promise, Greed, Peace meal, Ripples, bubbles and rhythm, Seek and hide, What’s your story? Waste gift, Transparency, Stars in my city, Ebb, Treasure mine and Re-construction. Most of the exhibits are very instructive of the present situations in the country. For instance, Frozen promise (aluminum and glass) is a critique of the state of the nation’s human and material resources that are seemingly trapped and in a standstill position.

Greed (aluminum, metal and wood) is a visual commentary on the corruption tendencies in the society, which constitute the greatest obstacle to national development.  With his Peace meal (1 and 11) he lends his voice to the on-going crusade for peace to reign in the country.  Apart from the strong  messages, Bashorun’s wood works are done with utmost finesse, which continues to sign post all his exhibitions. In fact, he takes precision and finishing more serious than conception.

On why he has no studio assistants working with him, Bashorun said raising studio artists as disciples is difficult these days because most youths don’t have enough patience. “As long as I have the energy, I will continue to do my work without studio assistants. However, I am not happy that I have no studio assistants and disciples I am training. Unfortunately, the youths don’t have my patience,” he said.

The Yabatech lecturer observed that art works such as painting will not enhance the country’s technological advancement unlike design works that involve concept of assemblage and fitting together of pieces of woods and metals. “Government must look at design, technology and architecture to explore their skills for national development,” he added.  Evolving through waste will run till May 30 at Omenka Gallery, Ikoyi Lagos.

The coastal town of Koko in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State is famous for its sea port and the free export processing zone. In 1987, it however got media attention when an Italian firm dumped some ‘drums of death’- toxic waste on a piece of land in Koko owned by Mr. Sunday Nana.

But, there seems to be a new lease of life in the coastal town as the Nanna Living Museum, in Koko was declared a national monument in 1990 by the Federal Government. The designated monument is to serve as a treasure house of Chief Nanna of Itsekiri where all the relics are stored and exhibited for the public education, research and enjoyment.

Considering the contributions of the late Chief Nana of Itsekiri to trade development in the Niger Delta area of the country in pre-independence Nigeria, one would appreciate the richness of his collections in the 24-year-old Nanna Living History Museum.

As part of efforts to reposition the museum, the Mallam Abdallah Yusuf Usman- led management of National Commission for Museums and Monuments last month appointed Mr. Wilson Onime as the new curator of Nanna Living History Museum, Koko. Until the new appointment, Mr. Onime was at the National Museum, Onikan Lagos as a chief curator in documentation department. He is highly experienced, professionally skilled officer who has received training both within and outside the country such as at the British Museum, United Kingdom and the Museum of Anthropology and Archeology, Cambridge. While at the National Museum, he coordinated several programmes such as the yearly national painting competition for physically challenged children.

Since resumption, Mr. Onime has found the new environment exciting especially the volume and quality of collections within the museum. He is hopeful of making the best of the situations on ground as Koko indigenes are ready to collaborate with the curator in promoting the museum. “I hope God gives me the courage, wisdom and power to make the positive changes the station needs,” Onime said.