Reality 101, for so-called Nigerians.

Last week, Ishaq Kawu published an article calling for an intensive program of historical education in Nigeria (http://saharareporters.com/article/voice-restitution-history). According to the brother, we need widespread knowledge of Nigerian history to enlighten us about our shared past and encourage a sense of national identity among so-called Nigerians. 
Another scholar, Usman Tar, suggests a complementary program of civic education – a regime of civic values and institutions to teach us to be good citizens in Nigeria (http://saharareporters.com/article/voice-restitution-civic-education-nigeria). 
Both programs have merit and both make sense but I agree with those who say that Nigeria needs something more radical and far-reaching than historical education or civic education right now. Our greatest need, above all else, is a basic education in reality. We need a good understanding of reality.

What do I mean by “a good understanding of reality”? To quote Obasanjo in the case of Bola Ige, it means “knowing your left from your right”, knowing what is what. It means having a good understanding of the problems of the world and where you fit into in that world picture, as a so-called Nigerian and as an African. It implies a basic knowledge of history - of Nigerian history, African history and world history. It assumes that you and I are aware of geopolitical realities, of international relations, of political economy and the strategic importance of Nigeria, not only as an oil-producing nation but as the largest political organisation of black people in the world. That is, in a world dominated by white Europeans. Without a general awareness of these issues in Nigerian society, or at least within a significant section of Nigerian society, you can forget any idea of meaningful change or progress in Nigeria. With a general awareness of these issues, Nigeria and the condition of the Nigerian masses will change overnight.

Let me explain.

If we understood things as they really are, we would draw the following conclusions:

1. “Today is because yesterday was”. History is the prism through which we must see the world and understand it. The world as we know it today is the offspring of the world as it was yesterday. It has been born or brought into existence in the same way that you and I were born and shaped by our parents. And our African reality today has been shaped by 600 years of relentless war and subjugation. As Malcolm X said, "history is a people's memory and without a memory, man is demoted to the lower animals.” Brother Malcolm also told us that "of all our studies, history is best qualified to reward our research."
2. Every square inch of Nigeria today is just as colonised and enslaved as it was a hundred years ago. And not just Nigeria. Every country in Sub Sahara Africa, including South Sudan which came into existence today, is just as colonised and enslaved as it was in 1911. The only difference between now and then, between the oppression of today and the oppression of yesteryears is in the sophistication of the enslaving systems used . It is basically a question of subtlety, nothing else. But the oppression remains. Because we are still not free. We are still bound and chained by false elites, false borders, false divisions, false economies, false religions, false ideologies, false realities and above all, false friends. By false friends, I mean the countries of the West and organisations under their control (including the UN, EU, Nato, World Bank, IMF, World Trade Organisation etc).
3. Economically, politically, socially, psychologically, intellectually and spiritually – 200 million so-called Nigerians and 1 billion Africans around the world are being manipulated, exploited, oppressed, displaced, degraded, killed, imprisoned and otherwise dehumanised by this western way of life, a way of life designed and maintained by white people in Europe and America.
4. In Nigeria, western interests are represented mainly by Christianity, white expatriates ("immigrants", as Westerners would say) foreign companies/corporations and the intelligence agencies of the USA, UK, The Netherlands, France, Israel and others. 
5. The neo-colonial condition of Nigeria is maintained by an elite class of traitors and collaborators in Nigeria. This class consists of so-called Nigerians from all tribes and backgrounds - military, civilian, believers, non-believers, educated, uneducated, old, young, Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa, Tiv, Ijaw, Gwari, PDP, CPC, ACN, majority, minority – everybody is there. And I do mean everybody. This class acts as local representatives or indigenous fronts for foreign interests, to control the masses and maintain a semblance of order whilst we are raped and plundered of our resources. This group of sell-outs are a 21^st century version of those Africans chiefs who sold other Africans into slavery a couple of hundred years ago. Get rid of this class and you've solved half of the problem right there. Fela broke this down on "I.T.T"; great song by the way.   
6. Externally, we must fight the white man and his systems of exploitation and genocide; internally, we must root out the traitors amongst us (the Dangotes, Otedolas, Oyedepos, Oyakhilomes, Sarakis, Nzeribes, Bankoles etc) and grapple with our ignorance. These are the most important problems confronting us - imperialism and it's African pimps on the one hand, and our individual and collective ignorance on the other hand. At least, that is what I think. And I have thought about this. Believe me, I have.
7. Ignorance is the single most important factor responsible for our condition in Nigeria. Not corruption, not tribalism, not a failure of leadership, not a lack of electricity or industrialisation, not the treacherous elite or the white man himself. Ignorance. Individual ignorance and collective ignorance. Think about it for a minute and you too will see that ignorance encompasses every single problem we face: corruption, poverty, underdevelopment, religious violence, tribalism, class divisions. They are all due to ignorance. And not just us in Nigeria but all over Africa too. And not just in Africa but all over the world, affecting all mankind. Ignorance. Individually and collectively. The ignorance of our blindness to our sameness; the ignorance of narrow minds and narrow interests based on ego, self, tribe, race, class, nationality, religion, gender – the ignorance of every man isolated and partitioned from the other like single drops of water isolated and partitioned in a sea of humanity. People who don't know their left from their right, individually or collectively, make bad decisions. And will continue to do so. 

Given that we don't know any better in Nigeria, given that "educated" so-called Nigerians have been thoroughly brainwashed by a lifetime of white propaganda, we remain in this miserable subhuman condition, without dignity or recognition as human beings. This is why we need truly educated people in Nigeria, to turn this thing around. Which is where you and I come in. With a little knowledge.