On xenophilia in our society
- Details
- Category: Notes from Atlanta
- Written by Farooq Kperogi
- Hits: 1212
What follows is a thought-provoking response to my article on the fake lecturer who was sacked at the Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. I provide a short intervention after the letter.
I am a keen follower of your writings in Weekly Trust newspaper possibly due to their deep intellectual content compared to other writers in our newspapers.
One issue that compelled me to write this small note to you is the salient point you raised in your last week’s article titled “On Bauchi’s fake lecturer--and what should be done”. You mentioned xenophilia which you define as “excessive idolization of anything foreign” as one of the possible reasons why ATBU’s authorities gullibly accepted and employed Mr Owoademi as a lecturer in the institution simply because he paraded what turned out to be a fake American Higher National Diploma (it turns out, according to your revelation, that there is no such thing as HND in the American educational system).
I am sure you will agree with me, sir, that Africans, especially Nigerians, have over the years become afflicted with xenophilia for a variety of reasons. I have to confess here, sir, that I am one of those afflicted with this plague hence want you to please cure me if possible. I will try to explain to you why the disease is spreading so fast that it might threaten the existence of our society.
I have read widely from fiction to non fiction books about the Western societies as I grow up. I have watched countless movies from the West and have grown up to adore the efficiency of their societies, their beautiful cities, their discipline (of course not morality) and so on. In fact, one of the elders in my village, Dambatta, in Kano was called Bello ‘Nasara’ ( Nasara in Hausa, derived from Arabic Nasara for Christian, means a white man) because he attended to functions on time, fulfilled his promises and had no time for frivolities. I can recall, as a kid, hearing from my parents about how good things were during the colonial era due to the efficiency of the then colonial rulers.
Later on in my adult years I worked at PTF as a consultant where in we worked along side multiple of foreign and local contractors rehabilitating Nigerian roads. In the course of this job, I came to discover that though paid the same money, the foreign contractors were more reliable, honest and offered hassle-free services compared to our local contractors. Of particular interest was when I worked directly with Julius Berger Plc. I found their word their bond and had one of my most memorable working experiences with them.
I have travelled to 7 countries in different continents and have keenly studied their habits, work ethics, morality, in fact, everything about them. I have come to the conclusion that they are still more efficient, timely, serious, in short, better in everything than us. I had cause to warn a taxi driver supporting Julius Malema in South Africa about the trouble their country might face if they sack the whites. I told him about our experience in Nigeria; how we are now fare worse compared to the colonial era. Many Nigerians that attended the recent World Cup in South Africa, while marveling at their excellent infrastructure, wished we had never gotten independence as South Africa reached its present status courtesy of the whites in their midst.
I presently manage several construction jobs with Nigerians and the experience is really terrible. From grossly inefficient workers, shoddy jobs, carelessness, you name it. Hence even our local companies are now going out of the country to hire foreign workers for their firms. Everything in Nigeria from cement companies (Dangote, etc), to hotels, super markets, and telecoms are now under the operation of foreign managers. Anybody that desires efficiency in his operations is taking this path for obvious reasons.
I recall a time when we were marketing some houses with a beautifully printed flier showing a very glossy 3-dimensional image of the proposed houses. A woman sarcastically asked me whether we (Nigerians) are going to build such beautiful houses.
I don’t have to belabor you with my experiences here as you are tasting the two worlds I am painfully trying to compare for you. Please compare the services at our airports on your arrival from America or even Dubai if you are in transit.
What I want you to please answer me is why the glaring difference in work ethics, timeliness, vision, intellect, etc?
Do you ever believe that James Watson was right in his hypothesis? What is the way out of this intractable problem please?
Thank you.
Engineer Rabiu Said
(08023341080).
My Response
You are absolutely right on most of the issues you raised. I will only add that our seeming incompetence in comparison to foreigners is more systemic than genetic. So, I think Watson is dead wrong. Black people who find themselves in the West are just as efficient, effective, and competent just as anybody else. Some of the best surgeons and engineers in America, for instance, are Nigerians. But I wager that were these foreign-based Nigerians to be based in Nigeria, they might not have been different from their peers.
Why? Because expectations for excellence are low in our country. Our system does not reward excellence and hard work, which denudes people of the motivation to excel or work hard. So it’s not genetic. We are victims of deep systemic decay that started since our very founding. The solution to our problem would have to be really drastic if we must make progress. We need a complete systemic overhaul, which would roll many heads. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening in my lifetime, which is really depressing.
But I agree with you entirely that the source of our xenophilic national culture can be found in our appreciation of the efficiency of foreigners. So, in a way, it’s not misplaced. But my point is that people take advantage of this well-justified reverence for the efficiency of foreigners to deceive the system by claiming to be products of the foreign system. Again, just as not all that glitters is gold, not all that is foreign or Western is great or effective.
Articles
On xenophilia in our society
Category: Notes from Atlanta Written by Farooq Kperogi Hits: 1212
What follows is a thought-provoking response to my article on the fake lecturer who was sacked at the Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. I provide a short intervention after the letter.
I am a keen follower of your writings in Weekly Trust newspaper possibly due to their deep intellectual content compared to other writers in our newspapers.
One issue that compelled me to write this small note to you is the salient point you raised in your last week’s article titled “On Bauchi’s fake lecturer--and what should be done”. You mentioned xenophilia which you define as “excessive idolization of anything foreign” as one of the possible reasons why ATBU’s authorities gullibly accepted and employed Mr Owoademi as a lecturer in the institution simply because he paraded what turned out to be a fake American Higher National Diploma (it turns out, according to your revelation, that there is no such thing as HND in the American educational system).
I am sure you will agree with me, sir, that Africans, especially Nigerians, have over the years become afflicted with xenophilia for a variety of reasons. I have to confess here, sir, that I am one of those afflicted with this plague hence want you to please cure me if possible. I will try to explain to you why the disease is spreading so fast that it might threaten the existence of our society.
I have read widely from fiction to non fiction books about the Western societies as I grow up. I have watched countless movies from the West and have grown up to adore the efficiency of their societies, their beautiful cities, their discipline (of course not morality) and so on. In fact, one of the elders in my village, Dambatta, in Kano was called Bello ‘Nasara’ ( Nasara in Hausa, derived from Arabic Nasara for Christian, means a white man) because he attended to functions on time, fulfilled his promises and had no time for frivolities. I can recall, as a kid, hearing from my parents about how good things were during the colonial era due to the efficiency of the then colonial rulers.
Later on in my adult years I worked at PTF as a consultant where in we worked along side multiple of foreign and local contractors rehabilitating Nigerian roads. In the course of this job, I came to discover that though paid the same money, the foreign contractors were more reliable, honest and offered hassle-free services compared to our local contractors. Of particular interest was when I worked directly with Julius Berger Plc. I found their word their bond and had one of my most memorable working experiences with them.
I have travelled to 7 countries in different continents and have keenly studied their habits, work ethics, morality, in fact, everything about them. I have come to the conclusion that they are still more efficient, timely, serious, in short, better in everything than us. I had cause to warn a taxi driver supporting Julius Malema in South Africa about the trouble their country might face if they sack the whites. I told him about our experience in Nigeria; how we are now fare worse compared to the colonial era. Many Nigerians that attended the recent World Cup in South Africa, while marveling at their excellent infrastructure, wished we had never gotten independence as South Africa reached its present status courtesy of the whites in their midst.
I presently manage several construction jobs with Nigerians and the experience is really terrible. From grossly inefficient workers, shoddy jobs, carelessness, you name it. Hence even our local companies are now going out of the country to hire foreign workers for their firms. Everything in Nigeria from cement companies (Dangote, etc), to hotels, super markets, and telecoms are now under the operation of foreign managers. Anybody that desires efficiency in his operations is taking this path for obvious reasons.
I recall a time when we were marketing some houses with a beautifully printed flier showing a very glossy 3-dimensional image of the proposed houses. A woman sarcastically asked me whether we (Nigerians) are going to build such beautiful houses.
I don’t have to belabor you with my experiences here as you are tasting the two worlds I am painfully trying to compare for you. Please compare the services at our airports on your arrival from America or even Dubai if you are in transit.
What I want you to please answer me is why the glaring difference in work ethics, timeliness, vision, intellect, etc?
Do you ever believe that James Watson was right in his hypothesis? What is the way out of this intractable problem please?
Thank you.
Engineer Rabiu Said
(08023341080).
My Response
You are absolutely right on most of the issues you raised. I will only add that our seeming incompetence in comparison to foreigners is more systemic than genetic. So, I think Watson is dead wrong. Black people who find themselves in the West are just as efficient, effective, and competent just as anybody else. Some of the best surgeons and engineers in America, for instance, are Nigerians. But I wager that were these foreign-based Nigerians to be based in Nigeria, they might not have been different from their peers.
Why? Because expectations for excellence are low in our country. Our system does not reward excellence and hard work, which denudes people of the motivation to excel or work hard. So it’s not genetic. We are victims of deep systemic decay that started since our very founding. The solution to our problem would have to be really drastic if we must make progress. We need a complete systemic overhaul, which would roll many heads. Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening in my lifetime, which is really depressing.
But I agree with you entirely that the source of our xenophilic national culture can be found in our appreciation of the efficiency of foreigners. So, in a way, it’s not misplaced. But my point is that people take advantage of this well-justified reverence for the efficiency of foreigners to deceive the system by claiming to be products of the foreign system. Again, just as not all that glitters is gold, not all that is foreign or Western is great or effective.