“When we were small, we were told that education is the key. As we grew, we discover that the society has replaced the key with entertainment and leisure.” The time when the social dictum was “business before leisure” seem to have passed. Leisure is now the business in Nigeria, yielding 30 billion for the account. Your ability to entertain people on a commercial level determines your success in Nigeria. Your ability to provide the maximum leisure, even at the cost of social morals determines your success.
A comparison between the developed and developing nations shows that developed nations have strong systems of scientific production. They produce what they use (business before leisure); while the developing nations imports and struggle to distribute what others produce (leisure as business). Developing nations depend on the developed ones to get goods and infrastructure. Most of the roads, bridges, airports, seaports and refineries are produced and maintained by foreigners. The developed nations give loans to African nations, and quickly collect it back as payment for the installation and maintenance of infrastructure.
Apart from South Africa’s dual economy, the whole of sub-Saharan Africa fall under the classification of developing nations. The developed Western and Asian nations set up branches of their firms in Nigeria and employ few Nigerians. They provide infrastructure to import and distribute their national products. In return, they get government access to the mineral resources to which Nigerian students and researchers are restricted. In the end, the Nigerian student only learns how to read, write and count. He does not learn how to produce. Not because he cannot learn, but because he is denied access to the natural resources upon which he is to practice his scientific production.
The capacity of scientific-production in Nigeria is crippled by the policy of government ownership of all mineral resource in Nigeria. Nigerians are very industrious but the policy to deny their access to their mineral resources is unfavourable to their productivity. Nigeria may never produce anything meaningful until the ethnic communities and individuals take back the control and ownership of their mineral resources. Then they can produce what they want.
In the absence of their natural resources for production, Nigerian brains struggle to entertain the multinationals for funds. Politicians entertain the multinationals for grants and shallow investments. Pastors entertain politicians and congregation with a mild touch of spirituality. Musicians, comedians and actors have the stage to provide more leisure and entertainment to cover up our suffering.
Leisure and entertainment are necessary tonic for a healthy life. Spiritual uplifting is inevitable for a healthy society. But when they are made to overshadow industry, they become distractions. Presently, they have become distractions from the most important aspect of the Nigerian society, which is cooperation for productivity. And cooperation for productivity is the basis upon which a society solves its problems.
The effort at physical/scientific production is met with serious threats by the multinationals who have high support. Nigerian entrepreneurs continue to confuse grammar in struggling for cheaper products from “Yankee” and selling for some profit. Yet, the more you entertain, the more money you get from the distractors, and the more famous you become.
A smart kid tells you to your face, “Business before leisure kor, leisure is now the business”. After all, there is 30 billion for the account.