‘Nigerians: A self-organising people’

The written connection has large transformative power. And so, for the longest time, I person maintained that speechmaking and penning should beryllium encouraged and nurtured arsenic a important portion of our societal culture. I could spell connected and connected astir wherefore that’s important, however, what is wide would lone beryllium amended for it, not worse off. In my past article, I made a lawsuit for wherefore our billionaires should constitute books.

It becomes wide to the scholar that it was not truly astir billionaires, per se, oregon strictly a presumption that lone billionaires should write, but that we are failing to replicate “homegrown” successes astatine an appreciable complaint due to the fact that those who person gone up are not sharing with the ones who are coming behind.

Of course, I admit immoderate of the prevailing issues, viz the speechmaking civilization and the premium placed connected cognition amongst different society-specific concerns, but I deliberation the communicative tin beryllium radically changed with accordant effort and corporate committedness to recognise and prioritise acquisition arsenic the psyche of our society. It’s a batch of work, yes, but it’s possible.

I made notation to my past nonfiction due to the fact that the nudge to constitute it came from a book. One of the points I made was that we request “a much indigenous intelligence equity connected the African experience.”

This, successful my view, should besides use to the anticipation for Nigeria. I inactive support that position. Perhaps the question to inquire is: if our radical don’t bash it, who will? I retrieve the speech I had with Professor Akinjide Osuntokun connected the subject. It was rather spirited. And portion helium had an absorbing position connected the full idea, we are aligned connected the information that it is Nigerians that tin get the occupation done for Nigeria; Africans for Africa. We request to promote our radical to constitute more. It’s truly that simple.

I person fixed this inheritance due to the fact that it sets the code for my absorption today. The past nonfiction – “Our billionaires should constitute books” – was mostly inspired by a book. This week, I decided to reappraisal one. A fewer edits person been made to an earlier draught which I enactment unneurotic immoderate weeks ago.

I indispensable admit that by penning this, I person fulfilled a committedness I made to the co-authors of the book. But determination is an absorbing backstory I americium blessed to callback here. It was successful September and a colleague, astatine the time, during a little chat told maine astir this publication helium was precocious gifted. Even though helium was not done reading, helium thought it was a large publication and wanted maine to work it. I got to it that aforesaid day. Two days later, I met Rufai Oseni by chance. Well, this is the abbreviated mentation of however it went. There were different pleasant in-betweens which were purely providence astatine work.
Let’s get to it.

Nigerians: A Self-Organising People is simply a task brought to beingness by a affluent premix of highly achieved professionals successful their ain right, agreed by their involvement successful and cognition of a state that “refuses to fail.” The rotation call: Andrew Nevin, Uma Kymal, Seyi Agbedana, Peter Nigel Cameron, Rufai Oseni and Joke Ajao.

The 240-page publication is organised successful 3 sections and 14 chapters; an statement that allows for a systematic presumption of their ideas. Since the chapters are not attributed to immoderate circumstantial writer oregon co-authors, determination is country for the convenient presumption that the authors worked unneurotic connected everything. However, anyone acquainted with the backgrounds of the authors whitethorn bash good guessing who wrote what.

First of all, the facts. Chapter 1 (Nigeria: the State that Refuses to Fail) reintroduces Nigeria to the mundane Nigerian; calling retired little but important descriptive features (history and socio-economic markings) that galore Nigerians, interestingly, whitethorn not beryllium astatine location with. The authors besides present the ‘Self-organising’ conception which is explored to varying degrees passim the book.

In their estimation, “a self-organising strategy is 1 which functions efficiently extracurricular of authorities oregon incentive. In self-organisation, persons instrumentality initiative, marque plans and enactment initiatives and interventions successful spheres of surviving without recourse to cardinal authorities help.” There is simply a framework successful which this conceptualisation tells the communicative of Nigeria that Nigerians person to travel to presumption with.

While Chapter 1 explores what self-organising is, Chapter 2 explains what it is not. In Chapter 3 (Difficult Data: Challenging the Statistics,) the authors tally america done the numbers, which successful their estimation, are often blown retired by third-party interests to overgarment a much terrible representation of the world ‘on the ground.’

In Section 2 (A Self-organising People: Our Stories), which is fundamentally the halfway of the book, the authors bring to beingness the credentials of Nigerians arsenic ‘self-organising’ radical with the stories of efforts made successful captious sectors specified arsenic acquisition (chapter four), contributions of The Nigerians Diaspora (Chapter five) Governance (Chapter six), Energy (Chapter seven), Healthcare (Chapter eight), Modern exertion (Chapter nine), Entertainment (Chapter 10), Traditional Manufacturing (Chapter 11,) and Security (Chapter 12).

The stories, which are fundamentally evidence, constituent toward a consciousness of community, shared imaginativeness and resilience of the Nigerian tone to prosecute a passionateness against each odds. ‘Against each odds’ could person easy been different rubric for the book. In making the constituent that the ‘self-organising’ characterisation is not a uniquely Nigerian phenomenon, the authors devoted Chapter 13 to giving a database of occurrence stories elsewhere astir the world.

The past conception (Section three: Conclusion) of the publication closes the curtain but opens different model into a large gap. For example, portion the authors marque the lawsuit for Nigeria’s self-organising arsenic a strength, they besides underscore that “Nigeria would surely beryllium amended disconnected if the governance were stronger; if the societal declaration betwixt the governed and the authorities was unequivocally honoured, truthful that what each broadside gives and gets were much balanced; and Nigerians could trust connected the nationalist assemblage successful their times of top need.”

This thought boils down to the question of enactment and governance successful the nationalist space. There is lone truthful overmuch that tin beryllium done wrong the confines of a dysfunctional system. The publication acknowledges that much.

There is simply a constituent that needs to beryllium made. The spot of the halfway of this publication lies successful the lawsuit studies, oregon amended still, the hard grounds of existent Nigerians driving existent alteration crossed antithetic sectors successful spite of the much-documented arsenic good arsenic the unspoken constraints.

It makes for a relatable tracing of what has been and what tin beryllium irrespective of what is, successful the discourse of courageous Nigerians creating a bubble of alteration indigenously; and adding colour to the Nigerian experience. To my mind, Nigerians: A Self-Organising People is simply a publication for Nigerians, written by those who cognize it good capable to illustration its radical and task its potential. The authors are not each Nigerians. Nonetheless, determination is nary uncertainty that they are 1 of us.

In driving their points home, the authors adopted the cardinal thought of Nassim Taleb’s conception of “Antifragility” which posits that “some things payment from shocks; they thrive and turn erstwhile exposed to volatility, randomness, upset and stressors, and emotion adventure, risk, and uncertainty.” This suggests, successful our ain case, that immoderate benignant of chaos oregon disruption is required for america to continually enactment afloat. That’s highly debatable.

I expect that the authors volition see a sequel to the book. Some enactment has begun with the galore exertions that culminated successful this book. I don’t deliberation that enactment volition beryllium finished successful print, but carried connected by the alteration that it inspires. I anticipation that would number for something.

Akinnuga is Executive Director, The Adeyinka Adesope Foundation (TAAF.)