Political economist and Professor of Entrepreneurship, Prof. Pat Utomi writes on Nigeria’s penchant to waste public funds on adverts such as birthdays, condolences, weddings and politics. Says such fund should be expended on more pressing needs. One of such public waste is the torrents of adverts on Chief Anenih at 80…
After a twelve day absence I returned to Nigeria and had to play catch up with the aid of copies of back editions of Newspapers. It was about birthdays, condolences visits and weddings. Among them Chief Anthony Annenih at 80, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola’s father passing away and a host of weddings.
The first thought that crossed my mind was poor fellows: How will anybody be able to tell a real friend in this circus. Instead of news what the newspapers had was an orgy of advertisements celebrating Chief Annenih at 80.
It made me wonder if all those who did not have advertisements extolling the virtues of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP could be accepted as worthy associates, friends or admirers. If you were a researcher from 50 years into the future trying to construct history from today’s raw materials, of which the Newspapers are a veritable part, there seemed the likelihood of summation that Chief Annenih was somehow despised by all who failed to be listed in the flow of advertisement.
Another researcher from the future may be savvy enough to realize there were some as broke as myself who were unable to find the monies to pay for these expensive displays of love on the pages of newspapers. How would history determine those who had to love but whose pockets were too shallow or whose advert representatives were so incompetent the advertisements could not reach the newspapers in good time or manage to bump off the less deserving. I guess students of history would have more effective research methods than dimwits such as myself are given to understanding. One thing is certain they will have some way of realizing that love in today’s Nigeria had to have been a very variable commodity which tends to benefit mainly a third party involved in the affair, the newspaper.
I am, in these situations, thankful that newspapers, which have suffered from the bad economics of industry structure in that sector get a chance to exhale at times like this. I am also sure the managers of newspapers are glad most Nigerians are not like me who actively persists in seeing something wrong with this evident means of showing affection.
My problematic idiosyncratic disposition to the paid form of public adulation notwithstanding, it is healthy to burrow into this form of love which is comparable to being sere rendered. My trouble with this show of love, besides making those who avoid it look like enemies is that it damages the essence of relationships, especially its true meaning which is foundational for social order.
I have a collection of anecdotes on these public masturbations of affection. A certain friend of mine, many years ago married the daughter of a bank CEO. The “poor fellow “Bank CEO complained about the trouble of finding a truck to cart away Christmas presents. Then his tenure ended. The following year his first Christmas card came a week to Christmas and it was from his son-in-law. But my favorite anecdote comes from my friendship with Dr Chu SP Okongwu who was Minister in the Babangida Era. As Finance Minister his Bourdillion Rd residence in Ikoyi was a Mecca. The gifts at festival, Christian and Muslim were a site to behold. Then he was reassigned to Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the crowds disappeared.
Since I lived around the Corner, in 1990/91 and my family was still in Europe from a recent cross posting I had been given, I visited quite a bit with Dr. Okongwu. Our watching of old Cassius Clay boxing Video tapes in tranglicl evenings was suddenly interrupted by his redeployment to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. It led me to a disdainful view of the premium on friendships and public adulation in Nigeria. If we cannot tell who our true friends are, how can we construct relationships of trust upon which effective execution of programmes and policies are dependent. I decided very early that the practice of public education through paid adverts of praise was bad for relationship building, besides the fact that it is often an abuse of public resources because most who place these adverts do not do so from their savings. They often dip their hands in the till or use public funds to praise sing. This is double jeopardy for society in that there is corrupt use of the commonwealth with interest damage, and culture is injured by this abuse of the pillars of relationships. Let us return to the Chief Annenih celebration.
I am convinced the many sources of the advertisements hardly know Chief Annenih beyond the stereotypes of Mr. Fix it, Party Chairman Etc. I first met Chief Annenih as 24 year old doctoral candidate in the United States who had come to do field work for PHD thesis. Dr Godwin Obozmuria who was lead staff person for the then Senate President met me and identified something. As a Bendelite, he wanted me to meet some leading “Midwest” political figures. He brought me to a meeting in Victoria Island with two mythical gentlemen. They were Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia and Chief Tony Annenih. They book took me and Chief Annenih remained quite charitable to me even when I was uncomfortable with the politics of the times which they played.
To acknowledge him with a newspaper advert, would in my mind’s construct greatly lower the value of the relationship which the political opportunist craves. But that is not the way of the politics eye service.
I am glad that long ago I decided public advertising of affection was unacceptable tribute. When I turned 40 I strongly prohibited anyone close to me from advertising a birthday within a newspaper. When I heard a financial institution I was chairman of its board planning an advert I quickly stopped it. By the time I turned 50 the disposition was clearly so established that no one even looked in that direction. I have also been careful to refuse to participate in group birthday praise advertisements. To walk my talk, I have often refused to participate in awards by newspapers in which advertisements were expected from the award reception.
Sadly I do not think civil society is doing enough to showcase the cancer of paid advert adulation of a person of power. I think it is the lowest form of the low life, somewhere south of the Juju musician calling out the faithful to spray Naira in response to praise for their business and amorous exploits.
We may choose to play our politics different from engaging ideas and creating a market place of ideas and so turn to praise singing of men of the moment. But we do lasting damage to society with the orgy of self-promotion of friendship with power through paid advertisements at Birthdays and in the manner of today’s condolence visits.
It may be bad politics in Nigeria but I find it inappropriate to go to condole someone I do not know, burdening him or her with trying to be a gracious host at significant expense. When I called on the Lagos state Governor, Babatunde Fashola and met crowds I felt sorry for him. It is necessary politics but I was quick to indicate that if I had no personal relationship with him I would have sent him a nice condolence message in a letter but I took the trouble to send him a text from Honolulu and to visit on my return because of the relationship.
I worry that the circus of the politics of identifying with the powerful who are bereaved takes away from the time required of the serious business of governing and ridicules many of our office holders to ceremonial fops.
Surely we and they deserve more.
Posting Komentar