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Yaw the writer and producer of this play is a Renaissance man, co-traveller who brings Africa alive in her majesty anywhere he goes. Lets support him as he opens a new path for others to follow with this project. If you can get to Milton Keynes, England join us at this celebration of life. More postings soon.

Election is not democracy.

"At this juncture one is tempted to ask, who is the Nigerian? My answer will not be for your comfort because I see the Nigerian as a materialist with yearnings for spiritual uplifment; a capitalist with socialist pretentions; a democrat with dictatorial traits of insufferable guile and intolerance, a welfarist with traits of sado-masochistic junketing who has raised philandering to an art form; he is a guru who dines with the devil, he is an intellectual with fear of flying beyond the horizon of mediocre intellectual aspirations; he is proud but has a sickening awareness of his inadequacies. He is, in short, a very normal person and a personality all of his own, which makes him stand out anywhere in the world as a Nigerian, regardless of his ethnic background".

by Phillip Effiong in Re-integration True or False.

A successful election is primarily a truimph of organisation and management not strictly speaking a moral process. The recent Nigerian elections were an honest reflection of the true organisational capacity of the country as a whole (not just government). Too much credit gets given to the the ruling party and the outgoing government for rigging the election while quite honestly they could not have organised it so well that the effort was that blantant. The questions critics never answer is that were they responsible for the many lives of Police officers lost? Did they organise the attempt to bomb their so called 'allies' in the INEC? A good friend once said to me when things fail in human affairs your character is reflected in your choice of the two options or explanation whether you choose, the Conspiracy or the Cock up. I see unfailingly that this was a traditional Nigerian cock up, fashioned by incompetence, grown by hyper competition and crowned by corruption. When you read the foriegn press especially the economist you read a lazy analysis and editorial that seems to equate successful elections with demoocracy. By that very token Iraq had a successful election which by all iintents and purpose was free and fair but so what? The only exception was the recent New York Times article that acknowledges that the institutional progress from the Supreme Court to the Military they all suggest that there are independent organizations that do not fold towards the creation or coronation of individuals. Successful countries are not just democracies but places where institutions represent the spirit of the people, protect their aspirations and embody their energies at its most productive. For many of us China has shown that success is not only western but it is actually about authenticity. In Nigeria as much as I dislike them the almost forever hysterical and incoherent Nigerian press which seems to have decided against the Obasanjo regime at any cost and gave so much free space to any innuendo or gossip, is an example of the health of the emerging country.

Nigerians made a choice even if they did not vote it. We all signed up for stability at any cost if not things would have been different. The many middle class people who did not register to vote, the many elites who jumped ship going abroad for premature summer holidays. Those who just could not be bothered to cast their vote at all. Many were tired of the hyper competition of the win at any cost political classes. Nothing in the election is different in fundamental nature from how election happens in many countries across the world even in Scotland where over 100,000 ballots were spoiled. The matrix for disorganisation was already in place from the hyper competitive politicos;the neopythe electorate; delayed list of candidates; the extreme lack of logistics, project and management capacity ; culture of owambe optmism or unrealistic last minute hopefulness; the fear of CIA break up prediction. It is in this cocktail of melodrama and incomptenece that many expected a open and free election? I often wonder where such expectations spring from. So is it as the Economist says it is or as the Chicage Tribune describes that Obasanjo is a disappointment and Nigeria an embarrasment?

In the 1960s India was all the hallmark of a failing state and would fall apart according to western press. The same people now cannot stop praising but then they used similar descriptions as they use for Nigeria. My view of Nigeria is as a work in progress. In some things we are worse than even our worst critics think, for one the failure to have a serious Vocational eduction regime and the fact that about 56 million young people have disappeared out of any education development after secondary and primary schools. On the other hand we wiped out nearly all of National debts, Per capita GDP growth of three folds passing the $1000 mark for the first time in over two decades, growth of GDP over 6% in the last two years, the fastest growing telecoms market in Africa, more than tripling of foriegn reserves and doubling of the record levels of Foriegn Direct Investment. In fact the remittances of Nigerian Diaspora far exceeded the levels of FDI and probably for the first time is rivalling the levels of Capital flight from the country. If that is not a vote of confidence then I wonder what is?

Something has changed forever and it might not show in the ballot but it shows in people getting motgages for the first time ever, safe enough to take money from cash points in the middle of the night, Nigerian businesses in aquisitions across West Africa , the middle class re emerging and the fastest growth of the non oil sector in nearly three decades.

So elections were not up to International standards so sue me. Lets get our country truly working through building capacity to truly organize and manage then eventually elections will be deliverered to the same international standards where rigging will be more sophisticated. Then we will debate hanging chards and computer glitches and not killing police officer and stealing ballot boxes. Then we would have achieved the international standards to the satisfaction of the Economist and its Nigerian acolytes.

Intellectual Laziness of tradition

Another quick note as I watch the Don Imus Lynching here in USA. The posse is out and their prey is quite deserving of the punishment that is coming his way. However the embarassing thing is that the same script of protest and boycott are being played out through the usual suspects whose civil rights successes make them prisoners of this one trick pony show. There is one thing that is true Imus must face the consequences of his choices part of that might well being losing his show on both MSNBC and CBS. Is Imus a racist and sexist? Mute point he disrespected people who in no way deserved it and stereotyped them in ways that open them to indignities. He is from a racialised society and could not imagine him being immune from that orientation. There is often this mistake that 'Good people' cannot be racist. Take our own Prime Minister Tony Blair an all round good egg who continues to base policy on stereotypes from different communities that are not indegenuously English. He uses the excuse of challenging Political correctness to tar Muslims with terrorist disposition and now we are back to black boys and a culture of gangster mentality. Never mind that when he was on his war against yobs their ethnicity was never mentioned. This is not as a result of being good or bad but intellectual laziness. People label because of traditions of viewing things or solving things a particular way. This leads to constant rendering of positions that are outdated, inappropraite and even downright unjust. When so called African American leaders question Senator Obamas identity as a 'true black' , when British government meets with certain nominees as community leaders, when the New York Times labels the Nigerian elections in a derogatory way and positions the president as another 'African Big man' do these truly address the complexity of the situation? The desire for simplicity and demand for the tried as well as tested are all poor excuse for unsustainable or ineffective positions and choices.

In this vein the real issue is what does it say when the only time African Americans are given so much coverage is when they shout victimhood? Why should anyone persons respect for us be more important that the respect we give ourselves? Is the civil rights approach of protest and boycott not now so predictable that it has no transformative value? If so called leaders are trapped in this cycle of response are there no other alternative approaches? What is the systemic change that can be achieved as a result of sacking Imus? What is the likely effect of this sacking on his main audience of white males especially if they view him as victimized?

In Nigeria people like Wole Soyinka, Gani Fawehimi et al play the same role over and over again with little transformative effect. They are addicted to one response and servants of a particular tradition and indifferent to the many possible solutions that life can provide. It is time to seek fit for purpose solutions rather that perpetuate setiment and be paralysed by addiction to a prefered approach.

Vacancy for Heroes, Saints need not apply.

Stuck in Reno, Nevada in pursuit of subsistence. The past few weeks have been very challenging what with huge tax bills, slowing business and regular diet of cynics. I fantasize about writing one of my long epistles about the many black boys dying in England from acts of gratitous violence. On the other hand issues raised by the vibrant candidacy of Barack Obama, Senator and an Omoluwabi if I ever saw one. There is also exciting stuff from my Sensei, Zeth Moberg about a concept called Fudoshin which emerges from Budo training. Here in the Plains and cold of Nevada the only topic is Don Imus and his now over exposed 'Nappy Head Hoes ' comment about the Rutgers University womens basketball team which is mostly African American. It raises issues of whether being a bad person is a prerequisite for being racist. Never mind there will be hopefully a lot of chances to come back to this.

This week many people I grew up with and know are running for political office in Nigeria. This week someone I dearly love and respect is aiming to become the next Govenor of Ekiti State in the heart of the green rain forest in South West Nigeria. Dr Kayode Fayemi is a man of many parts and in fact a global citizen. A little shy but a Policy wonk, an ideas man. A genuine hero who stands up for the things that matter. A man of immense moral courage and great affection for the Nigerian populace. He is thankfully not a saint, he is flawed in ways that make him quite a special human one who evolves himself in his effort to serve other people. A genuine Nigerian hero. As all Nigerians go to the post they need to ignore the cynical amongst them whose fear paralyse us, who make good the enemy of excellent, who are fixated by how others might not have met the standard. Nigerians need to seek those who flawed as they might be would fight for them and their children with every ounce of their imperfection as well as passion. The time has come to stand for heroes again.

There are isome heroes n this outgoing government who have helped raised GDP per head from $400 dollars in the 1990s to $1000 today , not enough but in the right direction. They have also wiped out all foriegn debt and built a platform for the next group of heros. I applaud them and anticipate the next group.

In the meantime vote your dreams not your fears.

Reminisce 2001

For many 2001 was a seminal year and so it was for me too. In my case there was two reasons, the performance and tour of my first play Abyssinia and the consequences of the World Conference Against Racism in Durban South Africa. Both came to critical eruption in September that year . This year one of those seeds showed shoots again. The issue of slavery is abroad again. In the UK we focus on 200 years of legislation to stop the traficking of Africans. I commend a related article written to honour the complexity of the issue but simplifying the process to achieve the prescribed balm of reparations. I am not really sure anymore where I stand but present a view from that time.

September 2001 , Bristol, United Kingdom

REPARATION FOR SLAVERY AND COLONISATION

“ We acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade, including the transatlantic slave trade, were appalling tragedies in the history of humanity not only because of their abhorrent barbarism but also in terms of their magnitude, organized nature and especially their negation of the essence of the victim, and further acknowledge that slavery and the slave trade are a crime against humanity and should always have been so, especially the transatlantic slave trade and are among the major sources and manifestation of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and that African s and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent and indigenous peoples were victims of these acts and continue to be victims of their consequences…”

WCAR Durban 2001 Para 13 Declaration

The world met in Durban to explore through common humanity how we have and intend to respond to our cultural differences. I packed my bag a pragmatic Diversity consultant; sceptical of activists and mindful that the press had declared the Durban conference a non starter as the powerful queued up to punch holes in the two balloons up in the air i.e. Reparations and Zionism as a form of Racism. I wondered about reparations and thought it to be a pie in the sky. Certain that it did not matter since in my head it was an excuse for those who did not want to accept responsibility of how Africans have squandered opportunities. As the United States threatened boycott it seemed that Durban was destined to become a fruitless exercise of left wing windbags’ self indulgence, maybe I should not bother I thought.

In Durban, my world view changed as I came to understand on a physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual level what reparation means. At the very least recognising the dialogue that it will generate is a much needed form of catharsis for our collective humanity. Perhaps more profoundly, it represents an opportunity to fundamentally change the relationship of African peoples and their descendants to a more sustainable and healthy one. This process is essential to improving our collective self esteem and prompting a more assertive and interdependent relationship with other cultures. Whilst the media focused on the walkout by the United States and Israel, the issue of reparation started to generate disequilibrium especially for the EU delegations. It brought home how little consideration is ever given to the collective pain and suffering engendered by the transatlantic slave trade, its legacy of European cultural supremacy and its pervasive by-product, institutionalized racism.

So lets talk Reparations, many of you probably come from the Condeleeza Rice School of thought, reparation she says “Given the fact that there is plenty blame to go round for slavery, plenty of blame to go around among African and Arab states and plenty of blame to go around among Western states, we are better to look forward and not point fingers backward”. Yes Condi and all those who have a bit of Condi in them, there is blame to go to all but the degrees are different. Heck this no simple blame game, I wonder how we can go forward when a substantial population of the world carry around a gaping sociopychic wound.

The wounds are deep and personal yet we want to gloss over it and move on. Those who were sold, abused and killed are not anonymous. For nearly four centuries, the Ibo, Oyo, Madinka, Benin, Ashanti, Hausa, Angola, Krahn, Wolof, Kalabari, Ibibio, Calabar, Ijaw, Itshekiri, Nupe, Igbira, amongst many other nations were thorn apart and institutions destroyed because of the transatlantic slave trade. Many individuals where subdued through sheer brutality and a few rose out of the adversity, Equanoh Oludah, Toussaint L’overture, Fredrick Douglas, Denmark Vessey, Soujourner Truth. These people’s lives were sacrificed to build great wealth from Tobacco, cotton, Sugar et al which greased the wheels of Global commerce and fuelled the industrial revolution. Whilst the Europeans used free African labour to accelerate their development , African societies were being weakened by depopulation, corrupted through its role in the wholesale dehumanization of its own people, damaged its institutions credibility and its long term viability . The spiritual structure was being laid for Colonization of the entire continent the seeds for the Berlin conference of 1885 was planted in the triangular trade.

There is no doubt there is blame to be shared and Africa holds a big share of that. I cannot absolve my ancestors from their complicity in this tragedy and its continuing consequences. As a proud Oyo man, I know the wars my people fought and their ascendancy in the 17th Century helped fuel the transatlantic Slave trade. We sold our people in a short sighted and greedy endeavour. Slavery existed from antiquity and was used in civilizations from Eygpt, Rome, Greece to Axum and Kush. It is also true that slavery in the African, Continent as it was in Europe was a benign and redemptive process. In Africa it meant slaves married into families and became Kings. Whilst all these mitigates African culpability there was enough learnt in the first century of the Triangular slave trade to have prevented any well meaning African from being involved in the trade. There is no doubt that the wealth from human sales generated greed and corruption which kept this trade going for the next 200 years. Many Kings rebelled and fought the trade but very serious consequences befell them from forced abdication and exile to coup d’etats. Every effort was made to stop the trade by the many who were against it including amongst my people the facial disfigurement that became so called ‘ tribal marks ‘ which still persists today. The many stories of disappeared family members that become the mythical stories of being carried off by the whirlwind. Yes in celebrating my ancestors I must agree their complicity in the triangular trade this means we are also culpable for reparations and the need to give account for the role of African nations in the dehumanisation of our own people. The transatlantic slave trade is unique in the human experience not only in its brutality but the systematic, institutional and efficient subjugation of humanity for generating great wealth and industrial growth. The work of slaves gave their masters space to pursue political, cultural, intellectual and scientific development to accelerate their socio economic expansion which they used to affirm their supposed superiority.
Take the much celebrated Thomas Jefferson whose words embodied in The American constitution are a source of great pride to every American. His words should be juxtaposed with his book on the Notes on the State of Virginia. This great American on art , science, beauty thought the African so inferior he comments “ Add to these , flowing hair, a more elegant symmetry of form, their judgement in favour of whites, declared their preference of them, as uniformly as is the preference of the Oran-ootan for the black woman over those of his own species. This heartfelt analysis of a man who will father children through Sally Hemming his slave. If we must celebrate his industry in nation building we must acknowledge how minute his humanity was and how underdeveloped his morality was even for those times.

The gaping wound on the soul of the world is the lack of conscience exhibited by European and American nations for the callousness with which their civilisation and development exploited Africans and their descendants as the labourers for their economic growth and expansion. While in Durban we heard the EU countries argue that Transatlantic Slave Trade cannot be a crime against humanity because such a principle did not exist during the period of its practice. I am sure Hugo Grotius the father of International Law would do a twist in his grave. Does this mean the principles of Jus Cogens the customary laws of nations can now be ignored? The fact that many accepted slavery to be a crime against humanity even then for example Lord Palmerston said

“If all the crimes which the human race has committed from the creation down to the present day were added together in one vast aggregate they would scarcely equal the amount of guilt which has been incurred by mankind in connection with this diabolical slave trade"

Let me be direct, the perpetrators knew the moral repugnance of their trade and were very calculating to maintain the economic advantage that slavery gave them. Even the Queen Elizabeth 1 who started with a strong anti-slavery position sold her soul to the economic riches which it brought. The grand design of what we call racism was laid, piloted and perfected as propaganda to defend the benefits of slavery. In fact from the building of cities, railroads to rearing of husbandry, cash crops, domestic and child rearing amongst many other slaves built the USA for free. In recognition of their economic importance, many insurance companies including Lloyds of London and Aetna of the USA issued slaves policies. There are many modern companies and institution which have the foundation of their wealth and greatness on the blood of slaves, the many newspapers Gannett publishers of USA Today, Tribune and Knight Rider. The likes of Fleet Boston descended from Browns bank owned by Mr Brown an active slave trader and founder. The Cotton trade financers such as Barings Bank and Rosthchilds which compensated slave owners after the abolition of slavery in England. What ensured both brutality and longetivity of Slavery were the economic benefits it provided.

It is against this backdrop the walkout of the USA government is particularly galling. An amazing disrespect for 13 million or more African Americans on the pretext that the walkout was in solidarity with Israel. So the interest of a foreign ally and a net recipient of national handout are prioritised over those of millions of taxpayers? It is obvious who has more influence. In spite contributions that started as early Jamestown 1619 if the dead could talk the thoughts of Antonio the Negro belatedly Anthony Johnson who worked his indenture with his white colleagues. In spite of achieving freedom and owning 230 acres of land and the respect of his community how Massachusetts’s legalisation of slavery in 1641 must have been a cruel joke. Unlike the white indentured servants who would have achieved respectability, tenure and social status probably as founding pioneers for Anthony and his people their way was strewn with severe adversity, constitutionally 3/5 of a human by 1787. The 1857 Supreme Courts finding in Dred Scott “we have come to the decision that the African race….. was not intended to be included in the constitution for enjoyment of any personal rights”. His pain must reach a high point at the disappointment that emancipation, promises of 40 acres and a mule and reconstruction were replaced with vilification and death, Jim Crow and segregation. The blood, sweat, bravery and assassination of the civil rights era till today’s mandatory incarceration. It is enough pain to drive anyone mad.

Over the years the seeds planted in the transatlantic slave trade have survived in many poisonous guises especially in the wholesale partition and colonisation of the African continent. The pain of subjugation was whitewashed into alleged efforts at civilisation and development. The structure and finishing touches were being put to the greatest and most enduring con job in the history of the world, the myth of African inferiority. Ancient and effective institutions were replaced by administrative shells for processing raw materials for European economic expansion. Africans were actively brainwashed to view anything African as a primitive and unsophisticated expression of underdeveloped minds. Those who rebelled were killed or expelled; genocide was practised as part of the process of keeping the natives in check. The Colonial administration was in effect the overseers of the Great African plantation project and it worked a treat. By the end of colonisation all the Institutions that were left standing were cheap European imitation guided by pseudo-European elites clamouring for the same unearned luxury with the brutal exercise of unchecked power. From European laws, education and clothing which are ill fitting clothes metaphorically and literarily. As ever we come cap in hand to the front door of the Worlds Institutions like the IMF and World Bank seeking handouts and occasionally throwing pebbles at windows. A once proud people reduced in meaning and ideas of self.

This is not just about history but about how these dynamics underpin how Africa and her dependants are understood and treated in all parts of the world. In many ways the world is viewed from European eyes and meaning making system. Let’s borrow African eyes for a few moments and see the world through another perspective. In the Worlds most successful economy in spite of notable exceptions the descendants of those people whose unrewarded efforts built the nation are randomly vilified and treated with worst indignities even by the most recent immigrants. Take the disparity of sentencing in death penalty to differences in crack and powder cocaine mandatory sentencing they are subject to disproportionate incarceration in privately owned and run prisons. Major American corporations making profits out of their humiliation and exploitation. The G8 industrialised nations contains 4 major benefactors from the transatlantic slave trade and 34 of the 48 least developed countries are those forged out of the ravages of slavery and colonialism in Africa. The relations have scarcely changed the largest single destination for African exports is the EU and it is mainly primary products and few Europeans know that most if not all Francophone African countries use a cheap imitation of the Euro in the revised CFA as their currency. The brutal wars fought in Liberia and Sierra Leone two nations created for repatriated slaves seems to have their root cause in the enduring strength of the dynamics unleashed through the triangular trade. We relive the legacy of slavery and colonialism not because of the failure to blame but because of the disdain with which we treat its consequences.

The most remarkable aspect of the sorry process is the majesty of spirit and grace of slaves and their descendants so far. There is a remarkable ability to rise against adversity, to deal with daily and insipid injustices and ignorance rising to the challenge, often excelling when given the limited opportunities. This story disappears in a media industry that thrives on simple stereotypes and jaundiced self expression. All over the world every people are allowed the space to express anger, despair before translating into ambivalence and finally hope. For Africans the world worries and fears any attempt to have real catharsis we are so used to it that we give lessons through Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King et al on forgiveness and getting over pain. Compare the grinding humiliation, subjugation and murder that was Apartheid and explore how it would be received by any European country.
Reparations is about us exploring our pain, legitimising our anger, dignifying our ancestors and learning to build a new future. It is about sharpening our humanity and education posterity.

Whilst this not been about money, what made slavery endure to my mind is the economic advantages. I think there should be some financial restitution, allow me to suggest how any agreement of restitution can work. The first point is that African, European and American countries should give restitution. Africans should have a system of dual nationality for any person of African descent whose ancestors were sold or kidnapped. African countries should prioritise their limited International investments and partnerships with communities and organisations of such descendants Africans sold into Slavery.
Europeans should return all African cultural treasures and documents taken as part of their colonial pillage. Europeans and Americans should develop school curriculum that explore the issues of racism, its roots and consequences especially the primacy of the transatlantic slave trade. A major museum and monument be built on the Western Coast of Africa with sister structures in the Caribbean naming as far as possible those taken and telling their story as human beings possibly housing African treasures to celebrate their achievements and civilisation. Education Trust be set up for a free university education programme for anyone who is descended from those sold and kidnapped. Most importantly all interests paid on current African debts be used to develop economic plans for any area in the African Diaspora that needs long term development.

The first step will be that all Great powers were involved in the transatlantic slave trade should follow the brave lead of the French Parliament which in May 2000 stated
“We recognise that slavery and the slave trade have contributed to the existence of contemporary forms of racism and racial discrimination. They have also contributed to poverty, under- development, marginalisation, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability and insecurity which affect many people of the world.”

In Durban we stood children of Africa three and four deep candlelight burning, song in our throats, we spoke Spanish, French, English, Portuguese and Dutch officially as we translated bullhorn song intermingled. It was a beautiful sight our diversity in full display in honour of our ancestors. Of course this was the only demonstration that will be officially stopped. In spite of that and how little we knew of the tragedy to come in a few days, one thing was certain, the time for reparation is here and it is no longer whether it is possible it is how it will be fully achieved.

The Gidi Grind

Everyone with any depth of analysis about the 21st century acknowledge that the combination of speed, abundance, interaction and choices makes many people bewildered rendering their Linear and planned world appear Chaotic. I call it the Adaptive Age but if I have any ounce of courage I will name it the Gidi Age. Gidi is an affectionate name for Lagos as a representation of Nigeria. The Adaptive possibilities that Rem Koolhaas sees in the city of Lagos is the same that the Nigerian Extractive Elite deride in the daily 'bitch' about the chaos or failure of their National experience. In Gidi the world has a nation living the Adaptive reality but it is the last to know or turn it into the Laboratory for Excellence in the 21st Century. The question of how the worlds most inventive people are citizens of one of the least innovative countries? Using the Omoluwabi concepts lets review Nigeria as it enters its make or break year again. Somehow the so called 'Third most complex society on earth ' seems to perpetually relive Deja vu all over again. Well lets start reviewing Gidi against the Omoluwabi elements:

Isiju or Olaju which is about exploring the many possible ways of seeing the Gidi reality. For most part people see a failing chaotic place, corrupt and decaying. Often they see a failure of leadership. This choice of reality is mostly designed to disempower and paralyse the ability of people to dream. It always finds someone to blame rather than acknowledge co-creative capacity of all the forces in the country. In the salons of Lekki and the beer parlours of Asokoro they pontificate and argue about the Nolywood drama of the failing political marriage of Obasanjo and Atiku. The stifled evolution of Gidi has a lot to do with the addiction to competition and its peoples ineptitude at cooperation. As I indicated under my view on Mzansi you need effective use of the dynamic equilibrium of both competition and cooperation to evolve. Nigeria or Gidi is a society where people compete perpetually even when they are signed up to cooperate. Even when there is collective self interest they just bid their time and cooperate under a flag of convenience. There are too many examples to list but the current President and Vice President fighting is a classic`example. It means inevitably that in spite of innovation and entrepreneurial overdrive society never develops the institutional capacity to evolve. The formal systems only provide and are used as platforms for never ending rivalries and competition. It is impossible to organise people who do not cooperate meaningfully.

Many view Nigerian under-performance as a failure of leadership but it can be simply described as a failure of cooperation. As a result of this competition everything is personalised. There is rarely a use of scale to observe how the system or dynamics is operating so problems are located in individuals and falsely so are solutions especially in the changing of the guards. This often demands drastic sackings e.g military coups. In fact a simple observation of the dynamics will reveal that cooperation occurs more consistently within informal interactions that are embedded in the local cultures such as extended families for social services and celebrations; ethnic groupings for socio-political development. However these mediums are degraded by years of lack of focus or intervention to consciously evolve them.Gidi is living through a very momentous period and the question is whether the Elites will stop at the brink of their voracious competition to cooperate for the benefit of the overwelhming majority of Nigerians who are under 18 and powerless to protect their future. A focus on the new possibilities will leverage the fastest growing telecoms market in Africa, the second most innovative society in the continent, the largest educated pool of Black people in the world, the biggest consumer market in Africa and the largest middle class population in the continent into a platform for evolving abundance for its people and partners. On the contrary the focus on the current simplistic reality will continue to elevate extractive resources over productive energy, increase the entitlement criminality as shown in the Niger delta, will reduce National census to competitive numbers game rather than socio economic data for evolution. It will continue to reward 'Agencratic rent seekers 'rather than genuine wealth creation as well as productivity.

Oju Inu provides us with the insight as to why there is this constant choice of reality. Why people like Soyinka, Abati et al who are celebrated commentators on Gidi perpetually feed us their nightmares and rarely share their dreams. For most part Gidi is a triumph of Ego over logic, where confrontation replaces dialogue and power is used to achieve everything. I remember watching the Dog Whisperer (my favourite programme) and Milan the expert Dog trainer always draws the difference between dogs and human saying that the former are pack animals exclusively so. Treating them like humans leads to psychological problems for both the dogs and arguably the owners. In the West people treat dogs like humans and in Gidi humans are treated like dogs. Not in just a simply derogatory way but just as pack animals and they comply for survival but use their ever present humanity to undermine, subvert or disengage inventively. Two things emerge out of this that the core of current Nigerian disposition is a value system of 'Survival at any cost, prosperity by luck'. The second point is the addiction to authority , power and ego as problem solving tools over leadership, organisation and ideas. How does one of the most complex societies in the world seek the simplicity of a messiah to solve its co-created problems? How does it perceive transformation can occur in its public spaces when it hangs onto borrowed tradition of management like a crack whore to a smoking pipe? Simply the Agencratic elite would rather destroy or split up the country than let any new dispensation occur. Even though they appear to fight each other they are all wedded to the same thing, holding onto their colonial inheritance. For why will a new political party adopt Mr Atiku at least under suspicion of corruption in Nigeria and the US as its presidential candidate? How do two candidates for election brief the US government on sensitive national issues as if reporting to their mentor? Why do Nigerians set up NGOs to pimp their nationally pathologies for International pay off? Why are Nigerians the only people with no websites for problem solving only regular and convulsive bouts of critical analysis? Why are Gidi people so obsessed with academic titles with no system for vocational education? Gidi is the home of the Alpha male on steroids and the Nigerian male at his best and worst is world class with all its implication. The sheer arrogance of overdose of testosterone is abusive sexuality, failure of leveraging and partnering with female capacity and unrelenting or even unmitigated aggressiveness. Gidi needs a new approach from women not hampered by orientation for marriage or addiction to social mobility nor prisoner to religious catechism but a crop of worthy an honourable warriors who would fight for a win-win with men on behalf of the next generation.

In exploring Ami we see the patterns and omens on the horizon. Most people are looking at the elections as the main issue along with the tragedy emerging in the Niger delta. For most part these are already consequences rather than trends. With most of the reputed 140 million Nigerians under working age or thereabout the main thing is employment. Since most are male the primary worry is crime. Look out for whether the focus of 2007 remains politics or economics. The main thing that matters is whether the private sector takes responsibility for evolving cooperation and providing employment in their 10s of millions. Watch for whether the incredibly large, super-dynamic and ever present informal sectors from the Bukka to the Vulcaniser and Tailors are facilitated into the formal economic sector through the micro credit or other institutional support systems. Look out for the evolution of Intra Africa trade especially if Mzansi (South Africa) recognises the potential synergy and liberalises its immigration approach to Nigerian capital and business. The same goes for Kenya and Tanzania amongst others. It is especially possible for Mzansi to make a mint out of the perpetual Gidi need for Academic recognition as well as phenomenal entrepreneurial desires.The stock market provides one of the largest returns on investment in the world and as one is seeing in Kenya it is capturing the imagination of everyday Nigerians watch out for full liberation of pension investment beyond government bonds to deliver a new powerhouse in African markets. The engine for change is the unempowered majority of women and young people who are yet to use their numbers to produce a new agenda. The power of technology especially co-creative aspects of telecoms will increase complexity and destroy hierarchy's like in the rest of the world. It is time to explore new possibilities and risk for dreams rather than paralysed by fear of failure.

The choice of Gidi reality is reflected in behaviours that often appear to be pathologies but can easily been explained by 'survival at any cost' mentality and operating in an hyper competitive world. So Iwalewa affords us a look at behaviour and attitudes that can evolve Gidi and her people:

1) Take responsibility wherever you are for intervening and creating the society of your dreams

2) Check your Egos and power to cooperate for collective progress

3) Your financial success is depended on a productive economy not just your bank balance

4) Having a Phd does not mean that you are capable or have any original ideas

5) Teach critical thinking and problem solving in schools from Nursery

6) Educate for conscious evolution not for passing exams as well as complying with rules

7) Develop participatory business models based on indigenous culture

8) Challenge and evolve unproductive traditions and norms

9) Open public space to the world of dreams and possibilities not cynicism and criticism.

10) Stop substituting real spiritual and dynamic relations with God with religiosity and lining pockets of Pastors and Imams.

Enyan Lasomi for Gidi is ultimately about acknowledging that its destiny is linked to the realisation of the potential of its Daughters. Its power is in respecting the possibilities of its youth . Its future is in embracing the possibility for diversity as a powerhouse of creativity and innovation linking the over 250 meaning making system for a new original world that redefines how the rest can handle complexity. Then truly it can earn the title 'heart of Africa'. A truly African Renissance.

Mzansi Rocks

I can honestly say that Mzansi or South Africa is the most beautiful country I have ever been too. It inhabits all the landscape that makes my heart blossom. I remember a visit to Durban and staying on the coast in Umlhanga and Amaxinthoti. I often relive the effect of looking at the southern most tip of Africa where supposedly three oceans meet. Whether it is the beauty of Veldt of the Eastern cape or the lush grapevines overlooked by the Table mountain. It is truly Gods own country and this is not just a marketing strapline.The most awesome love pitch is President Mbeki speech on this issue titled 'I am African'. It is truly as he says. However in the middle of all of this is a nation with an amazing challenge because it refuses to come to terms with elements of its character that is the cornerstone of its uniqueness. Its Africaness.

Lets use the Omoluwabi elements to take a systematic view.

The first point is the Isiju or Olaju element. What are the revealations that emerge from seeing Mzansi with fresh eyes? It is one angry nation who in an attempt at respectability and western decorum stops itself from acting out like it feels other African nation have done. Somehow she tries to earn as well as keep the infracstructure and industrialisation by distancing itself from the premevial nature of what it sees as its Africaness. It is so rare to hear the noise, smell or even the colours of the rest of Africa in a city as large as Johannesburg. So it takes the noble course, rainbow nation, truth and reconcilation commission, model c schools. In spite of that, the duality plays itself out. The township protects the soul of the land, the blind unquenched anger of the young toughs, the possibility of a Zuma presidency, the loneliness of voluptous sisters waiting to exhale with dignity. The ever nagging doubt that maybe the masterminds of Aparthied might be right, exercebated by the glaring reward that is still bestowed on their benefactors whose inheritance are not being diminished but legitimised by BE programs.

Lets review another element called Oju Inu, the insight into the dynamics. The very things that helped the Black South Africans fight aparthied are now becoming burdens. The obsession for Social Justice is congealing into ever present sense of entitlement. A nation that protest incessantly that even the whites have no shame bleating discrimination even though they are largely a priviledged minority. At the top of the pecking order is an Activocracy always protesting one thing or the other. The highlight being the unions and their role in society. A society that focuses incessantly on cooperation treating her partner in evolution, competition with contempt. Its industrial development and infrastructure convinces her that life is linear and processed unlike the chaos in her sister countries to the north. Enter Ama Nigerians , brash, loud and big. Finding an angle in everything as well as bending rules everywhere, taking advantage through their sheer gall . All the insecurity of Mzansi finds a scape goat in them. Never mind the stereotypes of Hillbrow drug dealers it is the professional class in every university, hospital et al that is the real driver for insecurity. The Nigerian to use their individuality competitively sets them apart in a world that abhors confrontation and is easily embarrased to collude in its own timidity.

So what does this forecast or what are the signs or Ami of what is on the horizon. Everyone talks ceasellesly about HIV or AIDs and even Crime. The more sophisticated focus on the landless and the potential revolution in the manner of Zimbabwe. They lose sight that Mzansi has more powerful omens playing out. Watch out for the wealth at the bottom of the pyramid especially in the townships. Do not miss out on the drama of the Nigeria, South Africa investment and labour market twinning. What happens when South African Xenophobia becomes Nigerian anger? Does anyone remember 'Ghana must go' ? Also what will happen when the emerging , empowered South African women fight against the raw deal that seems to come with unaccountable males? Mzansi is where most of Africa meets and works in an urbane space, what trans african lessons emerge from that platform? Are white south africans a dying breed of Africans or a genuine and authentic representation of how everyone can embrace the Africa in them? Watch out for whether Mzansi acknowledges the heavyweight that Thabo Mbeki really is. Also watch how honestly it handles the Xhosa hateing green monster that is leading to the Zuma candidacy as well as support. Especially look at how inclusive the World Cup plays out either as a Pan African spectacle or an exclusive self congratulatory soiree.

The issue of Iwalewa i.e. the behaviours that can help evolve Mzansi are very specific and potentially liberating. In fact some are happening already:

- Reclaim the many African elements of its culture

- Allow itself to confront and compete openly and honestly

- Recognise the many sacrifices other Africans made to facilitate its current liberation. An historic amnesia that has to be corrected.

- Use the opportunity of townships to create a Renaissance

- Define differences beyond Race into culture

In trying to do these things she must recognise another element Eniyan Laso mi. Her success is dependent on the quality of its relationships. In defining itself a rainbow nation it must recognise the potential of mass migration to diffuse current unplesant ethno national rivalries. It must develop a more honest relationship between all its ethnic nationalities. It needs to develop a relatioship with other African countries that is mutually respectful rather than reward the wealth of the Western tourist.

It is difficult to see where the shift for the future will come from since the young South Africans need to be the force for their country as a new African possibility or as their President describe it a backbone for a new African Renaissance.