Plenty of tyrannies but scanty common sense in Africa
Table of Contents
The political, economic, and
social situations of Africa in general and Nigeria in particular have provoked
my interest in writing about tyrannies and common sense. Africa has plentiful
tyrannies but only scanty common sense. Their leaders have
limited knowledge to process sense-perceptions, imaginations or even remember histories.
The narrative is about a
variety of tyrannical inclinations, reasonings, or duties as against what comes
naturally like common sense. To start, I would like to give the dictionary
definitions of tyranny and common sense so that you can figure out how common sense
contrasts tyrannical inclinations or reasonings.
What is a Tyranny?
Most dictionaries, such as
Britannica, Cambridge, Oxford, and Merriam-Webster consider tyranny as “any
political regime, or cruel and oppressive government, or oppressive power in
which an individual or a group rule with absolute power, or unreasonable or
arbitrary use of power, or in an unfair way.” Without falling into the informal
fallacy of cherry-picking, for the sake of this writing, the definitions by
Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries jump out in perspicacity.
For Oxford dictionaries,
tyranny is “cruel and oppressive government or rule” or “cruel, unreasonable,
or arbitrary use of power or control.” Then according to the Cambridge
dictionary, tyranny is “government by a ruler or small group of people who have
unlimited power over the people in their country or state and use it unfairly
and cruelly” or “a situation in which someone or something controls how you are
able to live, in an unfair way.”
The phrase “cruel,
unreasonable, or arbitrary use of power or control” and the clause “a situation
in which someone or something controls how you are able to live, in an unfair
way” speak volumes about African leaders.
What is Commonsense?
A commonsense is the ability
to make good judgments and always act sensibly in every situation. In his
Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), Immanuel Kant argues and tries
to distinguish between a will that is guided by inclination and a will that is guided
by reason and claims that a will that is guided by reason is a will that acts
from duty.
In the same section of moral
philosophy, he argues that the supreme principle of morality is attainable from
common sense morality. He argues that our shared common sense morality and what
we understand as common sense concepts, for example, ‘duty’, ‘the good’, or
‘moral worth’ will give rise to the supreme principle of morality, which he
called the categorical imperative (that is “I ought never to act except in
such a way that I could also that my maxim should become a universal law”).
For example, a law can be extremely good if it is enacted, given, or made for
the common good but it can be nasty, brutish, and harsh if a corrupt intention
is behind such a law.
Thus, a sound mind has the
capacity to produce good. Such a sound mind has common sense. For Kant, the
moral worth of any general truth or rule of behavior depends on its principle
of volition upon which the action is done and not the realization of the object
or goal of the action. In essence, your word is your bond that becomes a
universal treaty for everyone in the agreement.
The gradation of tyrannies in Africa
In Africa and some parts of the
world, tyrannies can be categorized into two: overt tyrannies and disguised
tyrannies. In overt tyrannies, you notice the brutal and aggressive actions and
behaviors of the oppressive regime or government. In disguised tyrannies, it is
different. The tyrants conceal their ill and hideous intentions and bleed the
people to death. Their actions are chameleonic. They are like rats that bite
and blow air on the wounds they made. The latter type of tyranny is common in
Africa and occurs in both military and civilian governments.
There are three gradations of
tyrannies, namely: the tyranny of the elites, the tyranny of grifters, and the tyranny
of ends. I will use Nigeria as an example. Briefly, let’s examine what they
are.
Tyranny of the Elites
The tyranny of the elite (which is a
select few that are deemed superior in ability or qualities to the rest of the
population) is an effective regime that has helped mould Nigeria’s corrupt
practices. They are the elites but not in the right sense of the word. As
elites, they have nothing special to give to Nigerians but heartaches,
suffering, poverty, and death.
Their tyrannical regime has
flourished since Nigeria’s independence from the British. Some have argued that
the elites inherited such a mindset from the colonial masters. Thus, the entire
country is stuck in a somewhat nija-colonial tutelage. They demand
respect which they never earned. They spend money that they never worked for. They
deplete treasuries for self-glory and have never been asked to account for them.
In 1867, John Stuart Mill said: “Bad
men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on
and do nothing.”
In a simpler language, Edmund Burke,
an Irish 18th-century philosopher said: “The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
And that is the bane of Nigeria, the
normalization of evil, the acceptance of corrupt practices, and the elevation
of corruption. By so doing, Nigerians have become apprentices and protégés of
corrupt elites. Because of this, the tyranny has transmuted into another type
of tyranny, the grifters.
The Tyranny of Grifters
Again, there is the tyranny of
grifters, a metamorphosed tyranny of the elites. Tyranny of grifters is an
effective anti-socialization regime that has moulded corrupt practices in
Nigeria from top to bottom. It is a baton of corruption handed over by the
elites.
These groups of individuals ensure
that they remain in power and rotate and exchange portfolios and portmanteau,
ministries and mansions, positions, and posts. They are picture-imperfect
images on your screens, billboards, and magazines. You hear their voices when
you wake up and go to bed. You heard the voice when you were a boy or girl and
the same voice in your teens and in your fifties. You saw the same face when
you were a boy or girl, and the same face in your teens and in your fifties.
The only difference is that the voice is changing and becoming deeper, hoarse,
and harsh and the face is becoming older, more wrinkles, and dying. So is the
country they lead, the economy they run, and the people they manage.
When they die because nobody lives
forever, like an antithetical phoenix, the same mindset resurrects in
their children who continue with the same mentality. A typical example is Gabon
before the military coup.
By extension, corruption fever has
engulfed the entire continent. No one is exempt. The tyranny of grifters has now
transmuted into the tyranny of ends.
The Tyranny of Ends
Today the continent is swimming in a
tyranny of ends, a metamorphosed tyranny of grifters. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger,
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and indeed every West African country to a large
extent experience stages of corruption.
Nigeria, for example, has reached the
extreme part of corruption. The goal of everyone’s desire is to get rich, make
money, have money, and spend money. Right or wrong!
Imagine a minister with the
responsibility of seeing that the Enugu – Onitsha Expressway is constructed,
for example. The contract is awarded to an imaginary contractor. They share the
money among themselves. Ask yourself: Who benefits from this exploit? The
minister takes the money and pats themselves on the back with a deep Machiavellian
exhalation: “The end justifies the means.” But they cannot drive on that road
because it is unmotorable. As a way out, they use the stolen money to buy a jet
for themselves and their family members. But there are limited places the jet
can take them because jets fly from one airport to another airport.
Imagine again the same corrupt
practices were carried out by another minister and again by 20 ministers in
different areas. Imagine that this type of corrupt practice had happened in
previous and different political parties’ administrations.
Imagine how those actions affect the
psyche of young people without work, fresh graduates seeking employment, and employees
working under oppressive conditions. Imagine how those attitudes and behaviors
have forced millions of Africans out of their countries and out of the
continent, both the good and the bad.
Partly, it could be argued that the
crises of African immigrants Europe and America are experiencing can be likened
to bad leadership or governance by African leaders. If Europe and America want
to tackle the problem of migration from Africa without undermining each country’s
sovereignty, they need to devise a means of monitoring leadership and
governance in Africa and stop conniving with them by exploiting their timidity
and lack of common sense.
The tyranny of ends develops from an artificially
fashioned bleak future and survivalist instincts kick in. Every day in Africa
is like returning to the Hobbesian State of Nature. Africans are driven
by an inordinate desire for power and wealth with no moral or legal
constraints. Hence, they live in fear and constant conflicts with one another;
communities against the state governments, communities against the federal
government, militias against the state, and now militias against the citizens.
To use Hobbes's words: In today’s Africa life is solitary, very poor, nasty,
brutish, and very short. How did all this begin?
Inoculation of Corruption or Inculcate Common Sense
Africa has reached a crossroads in
its tyrannical journey. With all the learnings of its people, in different
fields of study, it appears that the more they know, the less they embrace
their common sense. The continent is on a very dangerous path now. Once they
become inoculated with corruption, they will forever resist development and
growth. The political and economic freedom most people are seeking will forever
rest in the hands of the elites and grifters.
Only a realization of basic common sense will save Africa and Africans from the tyrannies of grifters. Every African should learn about common sense or apply common sense in their daily situations. Let common sense be taught again in kindergartens, schools, colleges, and universities. Teach students once again to respect culture, and the community, respect common property, respect public amenities, and not steal from anyone or the state. Learn to give back to the community. It’s a better certificate that can save Africa than any Ph.D.
