Capitalism has all but set in carvenously into every sphere of the Nigerian clime, socially, economically, politically and psychologically, eating deep into the very fabric that binds us together as a people. As the word implies on its own, capitalism always seeks to take advantage of people. It is the antithesis of mankind as it encourages one man’s bestiality to another.
**The state is an integration of all living within it, and the indigenes therein abide by the structure that is established.
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The Nigerian state is one that naturally embraced capitalism post-independence, a structure which is now the root cause of our woes. Capitalism always sieves the populace; it classifies individuals, creating a pseudo-food chain with the larger populace at the bottom. There is this falsehood and ill-pretence by several obsequious western-driven economists who always make capitalism synonymous with humanity or democracy. It is in fact an antonym to those two latter words as the greater part of humanity always suffer oppression and slavery from the powerful-few, or ‘‘opportunists’’ the Nigerian social structure has all but crumbled under the feet of capitalism. There is the insalubrious need for greed by almost everyone now. The oppressor continues to be insatiable, and surprisingly as you shall soon find out a strata of the oppressed inhibits and most often exhibits a mutated form of greed that further seeks to re-classify the poor.
Structures at the lower-end of the social ladder.
First I would want to make clear that the bourgeois middle-class represents but a thin fine line in the social structure, and can at best be considered as non-existent. At the top are the ’’ elite’’; who are those in political power, those that have multiple-monopoly of businesses, and of course, the illegal dealers in oil and its derivatives; we have a few Bank MD’s and some CEO’S of private companies leading the fight for a middle-class sustainability and existence. The third structure wherein resides the poor and larger percentage of the Nigerian masses is further classified as a result of this capitalist-greed that has seeped down to the ‘’oppressed’’ masses.
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The Poor Ones!
Starting this chain are the ordinary workers both in private and public sectors, who earn just enough to get them a car, habitable house, provide the necessary feeding requirements for his\her household, and cater for his\her extravagant needs (fallout of capitalism). This first class of the third reich is where, unfortunately, most of the bourgeois’ have descended into. There is a freefall into this first casement of poverty. Most socialists would disagree on the enlistment of these classes of people by me into the poor casement. I would adduce reasons much later, which would of course etiolate the otherwise unstable social framework of the country.
A few steps below these quasi-bourgeouis are the second-class poor people. Their existence or the lack of it is a direct function of ability to keep the miserable job they have at hand. A few of them try to be enterprising and dabble into a menial trade or two, something here and there to push up their income (or yet again sustain a new extravagance), but as long as they are beneficiaries of the minimum wage debacle they are still second-class paupers of the reactionary government.
A step down, just fortunately above the “wretched of the earth’’ are the third-class poor people. These include the jobless and those that involve in menial jobs to sustain a livelihood (if it can still qualify to be called that) their activities are without form and style. They could be seen at point A in a second their feet claim eternal possession of point B. They can hardly entertain the demands of their belly, and more often than not labour their lungs with cheap burnt-sacrifices. The feminine individuals are mostly call-girls and only virtuous ones slave their lives doing men’s jobs. T Most of the men engage in armed robbery and several other social vices. These form or class of people have a much better chance of dropping to the next zone than rising a notch up, as their educational ability is in serious lack.
The last rung is the hopeless and damned ones? They seem cursed beyond eternal damnation. They are those we sneer at at public places, and when meekness overshadows us, we drop a few coins to keep their obsequities away from. From this class also we find those that constantly live in isolation, away from the complexities of man’s thoughts. They take on theirs and forget our ways. But they are still human! And form to a great extent a part of our social framework. Each class sneers at the others above, and oppresses any below it.
The Rich Ones!
Amongst the elite class comes a not too evident stratification, it is one that now divides the mortal beings from the demigods.
For the Demigods, wealth and affluence become means and not ends at this stage. The craze to equate with “god’’ becomes the driving force of the Top-elites. The elites in the lower echelon are somewhat content with just getting on with their lives running their cartels and investing more in real estates. They keep several foreign accounts, and have their foreign bank managers flown into the country every week to discuss with them. They have their private jets and comfort comes at the snap of a finger.
The top- elites (or demigods) are never satisfied with just being affluent, they seek influence. This could only come with political power, and this power they must get. The feeling one gets from knowing he has power (legal or illegal) over millions of people, knowing millions depend on your sound-judgement for survival is quite immense. It is one that transcends that feeling of owning millions in the bank.
These demigods, of course still loot public funds, but the greater joy they derive is that which their political positions give them. These individuals in the top-elite class always seek separation from everyone else. They develop a psychological condition which sees them having no regard for human lives. Dead people become statistics for their perusal; more often than not they have little or no reverence for their personal family life. In forsooth, they have crossed the threshold of humanity and burden themselves solely with responsibilities of a greater calling. Every man would rather be feared than loved. Every individual has an innate urge for power, but few have the ability, opportunity and will to cease this power, this philosophy they have imbibed and accepted fully.
General Sani Abacha is a classic example of a top-elite. He derived utmost joy in his ability to exert power on individuals. He looted the state quite alright, but I think he had more pleasure watching Saro-wiwa Beeson Kenule die than reading his bank account statement. The fact that he could decide the fate of his subjects was something he cherished.
Obasanjo Olusegun could easily have had the indigenes of Odi and Zaki Biam tried and sentenced (if found wanting) to various degree of jail terms for their unbecoming actions, he rather chose to exercise that feeling and shed some blood to satiate that powerful feeling that drew him to the position.
The Tribal Beast Awakes!
In as much as a greater part of the Nigerian populace would be conveniently classified according to the poor-rich classification carried out above it would be a blinding act to ignore one that is a lot more complex, passionate and surreptitious. It is a lot more obvious and potent form of classifying the Nigerian state.
The average Nigerian is a tribalistic-beast, and would readily carry out actions against any one that seeks to oppose his tribe’s status. Only when we see ourselves outside the shores of this country do we water down this trait and establish a psendo-comaradierie with the other , but inside the irregular borders of this land, every man is an alien on another man’s land.
The term “Nigeria’’ seems strange to many, as history, both past and present has shown us. The Kano riot of the 60’s was less a religious event than it was a tribe-prompted one. It would seem necessary to point out here that the malignation of the smaller tribes is in degree, and one sees this first from the point of South and North, then the south-East/south-south/middle-belt. The North has a much agitated “middle-belt’’ (a controversial terrain none the least), the North-West and North-East or better still the Hausa’s and Fulani’s. There are further chasms in these areas. For example, the south-south having the Edos, Urhobos, itsekiris, Ijaws etc, Each self conscious up to the point of his hamlet. This tribe-differential, important for identification purposes, poses a dangerous and clandestine decay of the Nigerian State in its exaggerated form.
This tribe segregation is obviously not in the decline, even with a greater civilisation of the country post-independence, as every father or mother daily educates his/her progeny of the dangers of inter-acting with the other tribe. The scars of Biafra are still deep, as rather than clean the wound with antiseptic lotion and dress it with antibiotic powders, the then power houses of the country simply bandaged the rottening wound and sent the patients home. Gangrene has slowly set in, and once again there may be a call to serve the fatherland against itself as recent political events are showing.
There are also popular clichés that have been placed on tribes, which further stresses the tribalisation of the state.
“As promiscus as a calabar girl’’, “stringy Ijebu-man”, “illiterate Hausa-man’’ etc....
These metaphors could be true for some individuals but have been found largely biased in the definition of a people. They are continually being used in the recognisation of a people by another. The Religious classification is but a mere tool people use in achieving their oppressive tribalistic aims. While the main religious beliefs in the country insist they preach peace, several have died during their numerous campaigns, making one stare in absurdity at the contradictions between the action and the saying. There have been several proffered solutions to the detribalisation of Nigeria, yet, like the mythical Sisyphus, we are continually cursed with re-occurrences of tribal nepotism.
CLASS ANTAGONISM
The Nigerian state (which I shall hence forth refer to as the failed state’’) sees several agitation within each class, and between each class. Both in the subclass level and in the main class levels, this agitation is quite obvious.
The wretchedly poor people sneer at the little comfort those just above them in the poverty-cadre enjoy. There is a latent acrimony for the immediate top class in their cadre. However, in relation with the other major classes, they hold forth some sort of reverence and the camaraderie they would rather have with the elites than with any of the other sub-classes in their cadre. This peculiar behaviour applies to all the other classes. However, when a major class interacts with one below it, the sneer returns, only this time in self-indignation. They feel the class below are a lazy sort and as such deserve little or no respect for their lack of achievement. The top elites, however displays that “godism’’ earlier talked about to all irrespective of their class.
There is a perpetual need for anarchy by the imperialist government the PDP represents as this would constantly provide the impetus it requires to quiet the concerns expressed by few with regards to growth and development (or the lack of it). The current form of class-antagonism expressed by the Nigerian populace is retrogressive as well as self destructive, it is self serving and short termed and as such would not be able to solve the major problem that abounds, the problem of leadership.
The major class struggle is that which exists between the oppressor and the oppressed, and it is one that sees the oppressor continually needing to exert power over the oppressed and the oppressed perpetually seeking freedom from his bondage.
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