By Busuyi Mekusi

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From the accounts of human evolutionary developments, it is obvious that civilisation and socialisation are not naturally inscribed or foregrounded, but rather evolved through inter and intra social participations, based on collective agreement. The consensus reached to sustain the societal engineering is not always fixed, but innately fluid. It is for this that cultures are dynamic, excusable and malleable. As a result, human societies have gone through various pushes and nudging to arrive where they are at every moment of peoples’ civilisation. The globalisation of the universe into a minor space has been an irresistible elixir to the changes that taint societal dynamism. From the natural nakedness that was at creation, to the ‘nakedness’ induced by the abdication of Adam and Eve to the serpent at the Garden of Eden, one could conclude that nudity is always desired by humans.

The psychology of learning is faithful to behaviourism theory, particularly in children. Learning and reinforcement are also complementary, to the extent that one is located in the other. The experiment with the dog that salivates and gets rewarded implicitly portrays how indulgence is centrally connected to the formation of attitudes that invariably define individuals and people, either inclusively or in exclusion. I still subscribe to the notion that human beings form habits through the genetic contributions and psycho-social supports of their parents, as well as the influence of the society. The different societal departments that contribute to the; nurturing of individuals, like schools and religious centres, the regulation of their activities, imposition of sanctions when infractions are committed, like law enforcement agencies  and the court, work in partnership to sustain the unquestionable place of the holders of political offices, to the detriment of the lowly majority. That is Marxist scrutiny!

The socio-contextual influence that people are usually exposed to, most especially in onetime moralistic African societies, has been badly diminished by 21st century or postmodern orientations. This is due to, like I have argued before, the aggressive neoliberal domination of the politico-economic accelerated spatial order that liberalisation precipitated, and the embarrassing inability of the South to contribute substantially to the equations. Manifestations of competent participants are seen in the centralisation of their languages, as against that of colonisers, disrespect for peaceful accords, struck at the United Nations Assembly, disregard for the protection of global ecology because of selfish economic interests, armaments for provocative posturing and defence against enemies’ aggression. The Israel/Palestine strives, Russia/Ukraine war, North and South Korean flexing of muzzles, are some of the notations that distinguish jokers from committed players.

The imprints of the two foreign religions in Nigeria are evidently deep, virulently potent, and abrasively focused. The country has been unlucky that many innocent citizens, who were just victims of an unreasonable nation, have been lost to religious crises in the past, with even prestigious institutions like the military swayed to act along tribal lines, as evident in most of the military takeovers that occurred in the country. The coups and counter-coups that preceded the Nigeria Civil War of 1967did not just harvest victims at both ends, but it significantly ensured a pogrom on the Biafra side. Echoes from the abominable past still haunt the nation, so much that post-civil war Nigerians now sustain the hatred and divisions of the war, based on the stories their parents and forbears told them.

Nigerians practise brands of religion that are unique to their environment, which they have so domesticated to make them better than the Pope or the best of Grand Imam or Grand Ayatollah anywhere in the world. The traditionalists are beginning to find their voice in the modern constitutional democracy that allows for free speech, and they are now boldly asking for recognition from governments. Each time Christianity and Islam clash, the traditional worshippers are quick to emplace unsolicited arbitration that would, nonetheless, upbraid them as later arrivals into the Nigerian space. A friend recently argued that the alternatives desired by citizens in religious solutions to their many challenges are reflective of a failed nation, where governments could not provide the basic amenities, and solve developmental challenges. While the government of Tinubu is trying hard to reverse the unpleasant present, birthed by the troubling past, this must be done very urgently, so that we would not go down with the atrocities being visited on us all.

Characteristic of a troubling nation, the church is inextricably bugged down by commercialisation, even as the Islamic religion is multiply constructed along ethnic lines. Roads are blocked for religious activities at will across the country, not minding the constitutional right to freedom of citizens, and possibility of emergency rescue, even as other religious sects would visit their cacophonous noise on close and distant neighbours, as if the God they pray to desires they hurt others before he could hear them. We are exposed to spatial pollutions of different kinds, and the people die in instalments. It is awry that some would ‘kill for God’, as if God lacks the capacity to exercise his superior powers. Amidst our quest for a better place after our sojourn on earth, the present world entrusted to us by either nature or extraordinary Controller of the universe has been debilitated by our indiscretion.

The religious hypocrisy of Nigerians is phenomena, such that the various maladies that require inoculation are not mutating but lousily malignant. We would rather leave every protracted problem on the door-step of God through wishful prayers, as if the rationality and capacity God invested in us are mere decoration. It was rumoured recently that a boy died during marathon fasting  programme in a church in Ondo State, with the allegation that the matter was handled in a controversial manner, and mere sympathisers would want the complacent mother of the boy to take action, as if that would remedy the situation. People must wake up that nobody uses religion to mismanage their lives. Faith in God is a private enterprise, and must be left at that domain, and nobody must attempt to assume the place of the Supreme God, even though God has His own messengers with who He shares secrete things.

Two sets of Nigerians were at a time said to have been sacked at work, reprimanded and deported by the United Kingdom authorities, for abusing an old woman and praying for a sick person respectively. The first category were four health workers, Ame Tunkara, Morounranti Adefila, Danny Ohen and Bridget Aiyedan that were found guilty for allegedly physically and emotionally abusing an 89-year-old patient at a Wolverhampton care home. The second lady fired and deported was alleged to have prayed for an elderly dying patient, which is considered to be unethical, as it would have compromised the trust imposed by her position. A friend of mine who was a pastor back in Nigeria, and recently relocated to the United Kingdom, has also wondered why the prayers said in embattled nations like Nigeria are being answered in developed nations like the United Kingdom. When I asked him why he would spend so much time raising prayers points while in Nigeria, he simply responded that he was responding to the contextual realities.

There is a way domestic habits would find expression in outside spaces, causing Yoruba people to always encourage one to tame bad habits at home before one gets disgraced outside. Service delivery in most institutions, particularly publicly-owned, is very poor and SERVICOM has not been able to engrave the standard approaches to doing business. Tormenting an 89-year-old woman would pass for the intention of bandits and kidnappers that are maiming and killing endlessly in Nigeria, or those of public officers who would always use their positions to embezzle public funds. Insecurity keeps pushing the country to a pariah nation, with Nigerians fleeing the country in droves, while foreigners coming to invest are thinning out. Most of those who come around are allegedly supporting shady deals, like those believed to have stockpiled explosives for illegal mining that caused the devastation at Bodija in Ibadan.

The calls for foreign investors are still very loud, but one is not sure if the dominant news of Abuja being under siege by abductors would not deter the bravest of would-be investors. Wike and the north-central governors, as well as PBAT, should not ‘gree’ for anyone for some people to continue to decimate the citizens they are bound to protect. We need sober reflections that would help us untangle the issue of a burning homestead and rejection from outside because of ìse ilé tó báwa de ita (the home attitude that follows us outside). Most Nigerians are configured today in foreign exchanges as drug lords, identity thieves, prostitutes and internet scammers, notwithstanding the great exploits some others are doing around the world as well. No doubt, we must heed the Yoruba advice to appeal to our inner head not to taint the outside one!