Vicious conduct belies desirable values

It is now common knowledge that where two or three diaspora Nigerians gather, top on their informal discussion agenda is the state of the nation. Between two strangers, a typical ice breaker goes thus:

“How are you doing? Hope you’re hearing from folks back home?”

“We thank God o! What else do we hear about than the usual: kidnapping here, cultism there, armed robbery in between?”

Of course, between friends and relations, it is the stuff that every phone conversation and/or every WhatsApp platform is made of.

Millions of Nigerians live abroad. They are students, artisans, and professionals in various fields, many in positions of leadership. They felt embarrassed and insulted when a world leader nicknamed their country as a sh*thole. But what can they do? Some even came to the defence of the man! That’s how pathetic our case is.

The trigger for today’s piece, however, came from a heart-wrenching discussion that I had with three friends this past weekend. On Saturday, two family friends visited me and on Sunday, I received another family friend. As usual the discussion quickly turned on the homeland. Since all three just returned to the US, I was the listener-in-chief. And what I heard was thoroughly depressing, raising for me the question “is there hope for the nation?”

Besides the known knowns of miscreants causing mayhem here and there, the picture painted was that of a debased mode of existence, a nation mired in vice and avarice where hustling and jostling for the frontline is the defining mark of relationships. House helps conspire with outsiders against their employers. Parents sell their babies. Clerics impregnate their members’ wives. And to get things done, in public service or private enterprise, you must deal under the table. I was told that the president is just wasting his time. Like Sodom and Gomorrah, Nigeria is irredeemable from the pit of hell.

But are we really that hopeless? Are we really that inherently vicious? What values do we really espouse? How are values reversed? And how does a nation renew its values? Has our nation really gone far astray from her original base of desirable values that motivate conduct? It used to be the case that we saw ourselves as the keepers of our fellow citizens at local, state and national levels. Even the civil war did not rip us apart as much as the present divisive politics of hate. Every religion used to celebrate its festivals with the blessings and participation of other religions. That’s now an anathema, a sacrilege.

Yet our neighboring countries like Ghana are celebrating the unity of faiths. Recently, the Chief Imam of Ghana celebrated his 100th Birthday in a Catholic Church, and the Vice President used the occasion to lecture Ghanaians about the doctrinal closeness of Islam and Christianity. A platform I am on recently also shared the picture of a new mosque in Abu Dhabi named “Mary the Mother of Jesus Mosque.” Ghanaian VP observed that there is more mention of Mary in the Koran than in the Bible. So much for our exclusive view of faith.

My effort to find answers to my questions led me to the World Values Survey (WVS) which has for many years conducted surveys on the values held by people across the world. Fortunately, Nigeria was not left out of the 2012 edition, and the results are fascinating and instructive. The survey was based on face-to-face interviews of selected volunteers across the nation. Though, it was a small sample of 1759 out of a population of 200 million according to the most recent United Nations figure, it affords us some understanding of what we truly value as a people.

Interviewers asked their volunteers more than 200 value questions ranging from economic, social, religious, and family values. Browsing through the answers which appear to me unsurprising because they do not deviate from what I have always understood as our indigenous value system, I cannot but wonder aloud, what’s it then with our conduct, which obviously conflict with the values we profess to hold dear?

A few examples will do to underscore my point. 98.4% Nigerians say that the family is very important to them. Only 0.2% respond that it is not. Yet we have disproportionate numbers of dysfunctional families. For 62.2%, friends are very important, 32.3% think friends are rather important, while only 0.4% say they are not important. Only 21.0% consider politics very important, 28.1% say it is rather important while 5.8% find it not important. But with killings, mailings and hatred in the name of politics, you would think that 100% of the population find it extremely important.

There is more. Work is valued as very important by 76.8% of respondents, while 16.3% consider it rather important, and 6.8% find work not important. This compares favorably with our age-old belief in the efficacy of work as antidote against poverty. And while I do not believe that the majority of our people choose the life of loafers, we have a challenge with huge unemployment numbers that result from many causes, not least of which is government dereliction of its duty on human talent development-education-which prepares young and old for gainful employment. Here, then, is a case of a value espousal that is consistent with desirable conduct, but which is unfortunately truncated by government policies.

Religion is considered very important by 89.8%; another 7.7% find it rather important, while only 2.5% feet it is not important. Here is another case of the inconsistency of our value espousal with outward conduct. We go to church, mosque, and Orisa shrine. Yet, however, like Pharisees of old, our practical conduct, including our relationship to others, hardly demonstrates the core values that our religious beliefs espouse.

Most striking is the response of volunteers to the question of what qualities are important for children. 78% mention hard work; 59.8% mention tolerance and respect for other people; 80.9% mention determination and perseverance; 72.7% mention religious faith; while unselfishness is mentioned by 31.7%.

78.7% of our folks are active in church or religious organization while only 12.0% are active members of a political party. On the question of interest in politics, only 24.5% say they are very interested, while 43. 4% are not interested. 15% say most people can be trusted while 85% say one should be careful with others.

As mentioned above, 76.8% believe that work is very important. However, only 17.3% believe that hard work brings success and a better life. Others believe that success is a matter of luck and connection. Here, then, is another clue to our predicament. Gone are the days when every child grew up believing that if they worked hard and played by the rule, they didn’t need a godfather or godmother. And the frustration that comes with the feeling of helplessness after you have done the part that society demands of you–go to school, acquire knowledge, and expect a good paying job–could be depressing and crippling.

Finally, in the matter of trust, the findings are not inconsistent with public chatter. Only 7.8% of respondents completely trust members of other nationality. Just 10.3% completely trust people of other religion. 21.8% trust the armed forces, while only 7.7% have confidence in the police. 8.9% have confidence in the government while 23% have none; 11.7% in the courts while 13.3% have none. 9.3% have a great deal of confidence in the parliament while 21.5% have none.

I do not believe that government alone is culpable in the matter of the vicious conduct of citizens. But I believe that, by virtue of its constitutional responsibility vis-a-vis the “Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy” chapter, government has a greater role to play in desirable value reorientation.

While other organizations including religion may have particularistic interests, government has a universalist interest in the pursuit of desirable values in citizens. To fulfill its constitutional responsibility, it must first change its approach to human development by prioritizing it. Second, it must work with nongovernmental institutions including religion, the family, and civil society organizations to break the jinx of vicious conduct.