Nigeria came into existence through the fiat of the British colonial masters in 1914, in which multi ethnic nationalities were forcefully merged together by force of arms. It is a nation built on tribal foundation. You cant love a tree and hate its root. And there is no skyscraper without a formidable foundation. Her multiple ethnicity which should have added to her strength is gradually becoming a curse. But when did tribalism become a stigma?
Nigeria is a theater where we are all actors. But the British that created this artificial nation were not totally oblivious that so many people do not see us as a factor. The earlier we acknowledge this fact, the better.
We would have to recognize that Nigeria is an association of many 'nations' with different interpretation of what Nigeria is to them. Lord Lugard put cat and dog in same cage and expected nothing but peaceful co-existence. Cat wants rat while dog would go for bones any day. The North loves power but the Southerners want resources control. Sometimes we try to mend what God has already torn apart and put question mark where God has said 'period'.
If you think representing your ethnic group is no more fashionable. What is the difference between a nationalist and a tribalist? As far as I am concern the difference is the territorial size and politics. There would always be rivalry among nations. Two warring nation. Like two competing tribes.
In Africa we have Anglophone, Francophone and Islamic nations. They all have their different agenda as a nation but a common African goal. Same applies to every Nigerian tribe or ethnic group. Even between brothers and sisters their is rivalry .
However, if we ever survive as a nation to our promise land. It would be based on the collective inputs of everybody. It would be how well our politics were able to respond and applied to our needs regionally and nationally. A British in 2013 would not mind chanting "long live the Queen" but this can only be achieved in Nigeria if we respect our fellow Nigerians and regard their tradition and religion, be it an Igbo, Hausa or Yoruba man. If this cannot be achieved as we see today there shall be problem.
If it's only through splitting that Nigerians would experience genuine peace, so be it.
Saturday 30 March 2013
Friday 1 March 2013
BIG BROTHER REALITY SHOW: A CONTRADITION TO AFRICANS' TRADITION. Written by Saint-Olawale Jimoh
The idea of Big Brother is said to have come during a brainstorm session at the Dutch based international television production firm, Endemol on 4th of September, 1997. It took its name from the character in George Orwell's 1949 classic novel, "Nineteen Eighty-four". The first ever version of Big Brother was broadcast in 1999 on Veronica (TV channel) in Netherlands. Since then, the format has become a worldwide TV franchise, airing in many countries in varying adaptations.
Big Brother Africa(BBA) for instance, was first aired in 2003, the second edition was aired in 2007 and the third edition, August, 2008 and it ran for 91 days. It usually involves 12 strangers- six males and females (each from a different African nation), sharing a house for 91 days, in which their actions are monitored by close circuit cameras and relayed 24hours daily to millions of viewers via a dedicated channel and is made available to local stations all over Africa.
Big Brother symbolizes a monolithic state apparatus snooping on every aspect of its unwilling citizens' lives in order to control them. During the show, the voice of a commentator known as Big Brother by the contestants, gives out instructions and sometimes, tells the contestants to take part in activities like exercise, dance and gardening.
The cash prize for the winners puts a lot of pressure on the contestants to get involved in unwholesome activities in order to remain popular with the viewers. For example, in the first edition of BBA, viewers tuned in early in the morning to watch the shower hour where each participant was ordered to bathe at that time. Some participants had sex with each other, but they had the decency to tuck themselves under a blanket and switched-off the lights.
In 2004, Big Brother Middle East was cancelled after a few days because women in Bahrain protested against its unacceptable trend. In Big Brother Australia 2006, two male contestants were expelled for allegedly raping a female contestant. Again, during Big Brother Africa II in 2007, things got worse, more sexual scenes were revealed. One of the participants, Richard Bezuidenhout, a Tanzanian, who got married two weeks before the show, had sex openly with two females and committed statutory rape on another (a Nigerian, Miss Ofunneka Molokwu). At the of the show, Richard won!
Question is, what ideas are we selling and promoting?
During the duration of the show, all the national daily newspapers run columns dedicated to Big Brother Africa to generate interest in the show. This programme does not meet the basic criteria of a good television programme. It is not informative; it does not educate and the entertainment it provides is perverse. Whereas, Big Brother is a money spinner for its owners. There are a lot of profit for Big Brother owners. The revenue for BBA for instance comes from advertisers all over Africa, from subscriptions from local TV stations and from telecom companies that run the SMS voting for participants.
Reality show cost little to produce. The prize money for the winners is mere peanuts and it makes the participants behave like animals in a zoo or rats in a cage who make do with bananas and crumbs while the owners count the gate-takings. This programme make voyeurism, which ought to be a crime or mental illness, a national pastime.
The open display of sex and nudity is pornography. Pornography is illegal in Africa! Africa is under the threat of HIV/AIDS; promoting widespread pornography under whatever guise is counter-productive. In Swaziland, a country here in Africa, HIV is fast claiming lives. The infection rate is unprecedented and highest in the world. As a matter of fact, United Nations Development Program has written that if it continues unabated, the 'longer term existence of Swaziland as a country will be seriously threatened'. Again, according to the CIA World Factbook, Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with an average life expectancy of only 31yrs!
Big Brother reinforces the notion that one does not need to work hard to become rich or famous. All the participants need to do is humiliate one another, seek for attention (with sex or indecent exposure) and use other participants. In summary, Big Brother does not promote any useful virtue for Africans. By letting a public rapist win BBA II, its owners had reinforced immorality in a continent where such acts are abhorred!
Saint-Olawale Jimoh
Observers Reflection Int'l
©2013
Big Brother Africa(BBA) for instance, was first aired in 2003, the second edition was aired in 2007 and the third edition, August, 2008 and it ran for 91 days. It usually involves 12 strangers- six males and females (each from a different African nation), sharing a house for 91 days, in which their actions are monitored by close circuit cameras and relayed 24hours daily to millions of viewers via a dedicated channel and is made available to local stations all over Africa.
Big Brother symbolizes a monolithic state apparatus snooping on every aspect of its unwilling citizens' lives in order to control them. During the show, the voice of a commentator known as Big Brother by the contestants, gives out instructions and sometimes, tells the contestants to take part in activities like exercise, dance and gardening.
The cash prize for the winners puts a lot of pressure on the contestants to get involved in unwholesome activities in order to remain popular with the viewers. For example, in the first edition of BBA, viewers tuned in early in the morning to watch the shower hour where each participant was ordered to bathe at that time. Some participants had sex with each other, but they had the decency to tuck themselves under a blanket and switched-off the lights.
In 2004, Big Brother Middle East was cancelled after a few days because women in Bahrain protested against its unacceptable trend. In Big Brother Australia 2006, two male contestants were expelled for allegedly raping a female contestant. Again, during Big Brother Africa II in 2007, things got worse, more sexual scenes were revealed. One of the participants, Richard Bezuidenhout, a Tanzanian, who got married two weeks before the show, had sex openly with two females and committed statutory rape on another (a Nigerian, Miss Ofunneka Molokwu). At the of the show, Richard won!
Question is, what ideas are we selling and promoting?
During the duration of the show, all the national daily newspapers run columns dedicated to Big Brother Africa to generate interest in the show. This programme does not meet the basic criteria of a good television programme. It is not informative; it does not educate and the entertainment it provides is perverse. Whereas, Big Brother is a money spinner for its owners. There are a lot of profit for Big Brother owners. The revenue for BBA for instance comes from advertisers all over Africa, from subscriptions from local TV stations and from telecom companies that run the SMS voting for participants.
Reality show cost little to produce. The prize money for the winners is mere peanuts and it makes the participants behave like animals in a zoo or rats in a cage who make do with bananas and crumbs while the owners count the gate-takings. This programme make voyeurism, which ought to be a crime or mental illness, a national pastime.
The open display of sex and nudity is pornography. Pornography is illegal in Africa! Africa is under the threat of HIV/AIDS; promoting widespread pornography under whatever guise is counter-productive. In Swaziland, a country here in Africa, HIV is fast claiming lives. The infection rate is unprecedented and highest in the world. As a matter of fact, United Nations Development Program has written that if it continues unabated, the 'longer term existence of Swaziland as a country will be seriously threatened'. Again, according to the CIA World Factbook, Swaziland has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with an average life expectancy of only 31yrs!
Big Brother reinforces the notion that one does not need to work hard to become rich or famous. All the participants need to do is humiliate one another, seek for attention (with sex or indecent exposure) and use other participants. In summary, Big Brother does not promote any useful virtue for Africans. By letting a public rapist win BBA II, its owners had reinforced immorality in a continent where such acts are abhorred!
Saint-Olawale Jimoh
Observers Reflection Int'l
©2013
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