The Economics of Reality

It’s the custom and tradition of my family and tribe for children, young or old to sit with the aged members of the family at least once in month in order to listen to their historical narratives of events, and also to share words of wisdom with them. During my last visit to Nigeria in 2010, I was opportune to share that moment with my aged father alongside my other siblings. During our chit chat, one of my nieces asked why my grandfather had many wives and my father only married one wife.

In response to her question my father said that during the days of his great-grand fathers up to the generation of his own father (my grand-father) that the wealth of a family was measured by the numbers of wives and children. It was considered a failure if a man married only one wife both economically and socially.

How come?  I asked him.

He responded  that farming was the major occupation in those days and unlike this present  generation where there’s technological advancement whereby machineries have taken over human power which he explained was the only means and  dependable tools for farming and harvesting in those days.

So at that time it was profitable for a man that could afford a large family because as the family increase so was human power and that would result in huge harvests and revenues.

Thinking back to that response from my father and with what I’ve learnt so far in my Sociology class, I realize why Sociologists said that "sociology is the reflection of modernity.”  Intellectual revolution and rapid technological advancement has speed up the transformation of our society.

My conclusion is that marriages in the days of my ancestors were based on economic benefits and not love (or how is it possible for a man to share love with more than five women equally) and with people like my great-grandfather as one of the beneficiary ( he married many wives and bore many children). He was considered wealthy because he was able to acquired and maintained vast acres of land for farming.

Uh!!! Thank God I wasn't born in that generation...

My Licence Plate Is...

 

 Bristol Pennsylvania was the first place I stayed when I arrived to the United States. But I was born and raised in Lagos Island, Nigeria. I love Philadelphia Eagles because they are competitive and also remind me of my country’s football team which ironically is also called Super Eagles.

When I’m not in school or at work I love to listen to philosophical mosaics as they convey purposeful messages that help keep my focus.  

If I have to make one wish, I’ll have to say Peace! Peace!! Peace!!! We are all created of God’s image and there’s no reason why it should be difficult for us to live together. Please people let peace reign supreme!

Traveling is one of my favorite hobbies. Some of the countries I have visited includes South Korea, Hong-Kong, and Saudi Arabia and hopefully I will visit Europe in coming year. My goal is to travel the world one day, it’s a tall ambition but I hope to accomplish it.

 Folks! Now you know a little about me…

The Infallible Oracle

 Before the emergence of Christianity and Islamic religions to Nigeria, the only forms of religion that Africans worshipped were the ‘Idols.’ For example, Yoruba is one of the famous cultures in Western Nigeria known for having wide varieties of these Idols. Among them are Orunmila (the messenger of peace and second in command to God), Shango (the god of thunder and lightning), Ogun (god of iron) and Oshun (the river goddess). The faith of Yoruba’s solely lies on these Orisas (deities) as they are fondly called to bring prosperity, cure bareness, and heal diseases and so on. Christianity and Islam were regarded as foreign religions and were a taboo for anybody who embraced either of the religions to the extent that they could be castrated out of their communities. But today, Christianity and Islam through proper education of their teachings are the major religions embraced not only by Yoruba people but also the entire country.

 “ORUNMILA” was the most respected of all the deities as it was strongly believed to be the “spirit of wisdom” and also the “second in the command to God.”  To this day ORUNMILA is still regarded as the messenger of peace and tranquility, the idol is still worshipped by many followers with its annual celebration attracting nationalities all over the world.

I hope you find this posting interesting. Readers comments and questions are highly welcomed.

Cultural Dilemma

My first job after I arrived in the United States of America in 1999 was a waitress at one of the leading Assisted Living Residents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  Out of my colleagues that were introduced to me by my supervisor was a woman whose average age could be about 58 years.

Meet Elizabeth, said my supervisor as she pointed towards her. 

    

       I was shocked that an elderly woman like her would be addressed by her first name and by someone who obviously was at least 10 years younger than her.

How could that be? How disrespectful and lack of regards to elders? Silently I asked myself.

These thoughts echoed through my mind for a long time while working with her. What was most troubled was that the residents who were mostly as old as my grandparents were also called by their names.

     

      I found it extremely offensive and disturbing that I was driven to raise the topic one day at work. The conclusion was that older people in America liked it when they are addressed by their first names as this made them feel younger. This was contrasting to the society where I grew up. In Nigeria, the culture doesn’t allow the young ones to address any elderly person by their first names, and also to shake hands with elders, or hug them as a form of greetings.  We were taught to kneel down if you are a girl and prostrate if you are a boy as a sign of respect when greeting.  

     

      Initially I was in my “cultural cruise control.” Adjusting to the Individualism culture of American society having lived my life in a society where power struggle is eminent was very challenging but I had to find a common ground between the two cultures in order to blend with my new cultural environment.

Military Regime, a Curse!

The military regime ruled Nigeria 29 years out of 50 years since its independence in 1960, from Britain. The quest for power within the military caucus resulted in several coup d’états, corruptions and hardships on ordinary citizens.

 April 1986

       The unjust killing of Dele Giwa, a prominent veteran journalist by “Parcel Bomb” in order to silence him from exposing the alleged drug deal of Maryam Babangida, the late wife of former military junta President Babangida, made news headlines all over the country and the entire African regions. The manner of his assassination through a mailed Parcel bomb delivered to him sent shock waves and fear to the country.

Though I was only 12 years at the time of the incident but the horrific pictures of the victim which I saw on print and electronic media prompted me to stop eating beef. And also I became fearful whenever I see uniformed officers with the thought that they could harm or injured me.

The State of the Economy

      In the same year the already tagged corrupt regime of President Babangida defied all his economic advisers by taking the IMF loan. Consequently, the structural adjustment program (SAP) griped the Nigerian society and drastically downturned the economy of the country. This triggered national debate between the military regime and the economists in the country. Social advocates such as late Chief Gani Fawehinmi a renowned attorney and a social crusader was one of the leading voice against the IMF loan.

In the 1970s, the country had its best economy record with income coming from high volume of crude oil sales. There were job opportunities for college graduates and high school certificate holders, most importantly at that time, hardly would you see any citizens of Nigeria  looking for a greener pastures in foreign countries.

     

       But with unstable governance, and ruling of tyranny by the military coupled with mismanagement of public funds and mishandling of nation’s natural resources, a once buoyant economy became worst. Many lost their jobs, some fled to other Western States, Poverty rate was alarming and the country never recovered from depression.

The recent ranking of Nigeria, by Human Development Index (HDI) is 142 out of 169’s least prosperous countries in the world despite that the country is one of the oil producing countries in the world.

The unemployment rate as reported by TradingEconomics.com is 19.8% (2010).

The table below shows the estimated Unemployment rate.

Year	Rate
1985	8.7
1986	9.1
1987	9.8
1988	7.3

(Courtesy of the Office of Statistics)

How it affected me

      At that time neither the word IMF or SAP or Austerity measures meant anything to me, but the painful memory of suicide committed by a close family friend which I understood was as result of the hardship he suffered after he was retrenched from work prompted me to develop interest in Politics and Finance in order to understand how this institutions works.

Be warned that the video link below contains some graphical image that might be disturbing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNnn2u-Ln90