Why the Negro/African/Black Man/Nigerian is the Way He Is (Thoroughly Random Musings!)

I have often taken time out to try to understand why the black race or Negroes or Africans or Nigerians or what-you-will are the way we are. I mean we’re so backward while the rest of the world, even Asia, is far far ahead of us. I have had cause to almost regret being born African in this Dark Continent/Country where the ‘light’ refuses to ‘shine’. I’ve lived twenty nine long years in this country and in that period we have not been able to have uninterrupted power supply, potable water, smooth roads, etc.

I watched the Obama inauguration and marvelled at that nation called the United States of America. I watched the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and was tripped by the performance of the Chinese, a race of people we Nigerians mock but still a nation using its great population to make themselves relevant! So much so that they have now become a threat to the existing super power clique of economically-superior nations. A few years ago, Nigeria and Singapore were both termed ‘third world nations’…. Oops my bad! I meant to write ‘developing nations’. A few years later Singapore is now categorised as a ‘Developed Nation’, with Singapore Airlines winning best airline in the world twice in a row! I also understand that oil was discovered in Nigeria and the UAE around the same time… today Dubai is a tourist haven, an expanse of sand turned into paradise on earth. Nigeria? Go figure.

There’s a book “Capitalist Nigger: The Road to Success, a Spider-Web Doctrine" written by a Nigerian, Dr. Chika Onyeani which tries to educate the black man for the need to change his ways of thinking, his ways of seeing and doing things. Dr. Onyeani mentions "Blacks are economic slaves because they lack the "killer-instinct" and "devil-may-care" attitude of the Caucasian, as well as the "spider web economic mentality" of the Asian." The black man is said to be innately naïve – another word for ‘fool’; thinking that everyone has his best interests at heart being ready and able to dish out aid just because we are our brothers’ keepers!

For years the Negro has tried to live down claims of inferiority to these other races with some success – mainly in sports, music and entertainment in general. Whites and Asians do not have two heads, do they? So why are we at the bottom of the developmental ladder? A continent always on the look-out for international aid? A continent unable to carry out free and fair elections? A continent ravaged by war, disease and hunger? A continent whose people flee in droves in search of a better life? What has the black man achieved or contributed to the world? But that’s not the question I attempt to answer in this uneducated write-up. No, I seek to postulate two reasons as to why we are so underdeveloped socially, intellectually, culturally, financially, technologically, etc.

The Curse.

Personally, I believe that our problems as to why we are the way we are can be traced to the beginning of the Bible. Yes, the Bible. In Genesis Chapter 9 the story is told of Noah and his sons after the deluge. We are told that only Noah, his three sons - Shem, Ham and Japheth - and their wives were spared by God during his destruction of mankind. Now post-deluge, Noah plants a vineyard and upon harvest makes wine (probably the first distillery!) proceeds to drink his fill and promptly gets drunk ending up naked in his tent. Ham one of his sons happens along and spots his naked father in his stupor and laughs at the old man’s nakedness. To make matters worse he goes off to find his brothers to ‘tatafo’ to them. Shem and Japheth do not see anything funny and leave their disrespectful brother to tend to their father. The Bible says they took a sheet between themselves and walked backward so as to avoid seeing their father’s nakedness and covered him up. They probably cleaned him up too!

Waking up with a blinding hangover, Noah is told the events following his drinking binge and immediately dispatches curses and blessings among his sons. No points for guessing who got cursed! The Bible says in Genesis 9 v 24-27 in the New Century Version:

24 Noah was sleeping because of the wine. When he woke up and learned what his youngest son, Ham, had done to him,25 he said,
"May there be a curse on Canaan!
May he be the lowest slave to his brothers."
26 Noah also said,
"May the LORD, the God of Shem, be praised!
May Canaan be Shem's slave.
27 May God give more land to Japheth.
May Japheth live in Shem's tents,
and may Canaan be their slave."

And so in this way, Noah effectively cursed his son Ham for dishonouring him. Now guess what? The black man, the Negro or ‘Cush’ as written in the Bible is a descendant of Ham! Read your Bible it’s there in Genesis. Now gbam! Therein lies the cause of our congenital problem of underdevelopment! We were cursed due to an offence committed by our fore-father. Which race became the slaves of the white man ‘Japheth’ and his Asian brother ‘Shem’? (Abeg, make una no condemn me for this o! LOL). Yes, I admit that the link is a bit tenuous but the Bible does not lie! Or how else do you want to explain the reason we are the way we are and where we are? I invite you to try.

Living the Life of Riley in a Non-Hostile Environment.

This alternative reason as to why the black man is so laid back in his thinking and development was actually postulated by my boss (Dr. M. Nzeribe) following a discussion on the remote and direct reasons for our lack of self reliance. My boss likes to talk but his explanation was surprisingly short so I had the job of building on his premise.

Blacks as situated on the African continent have never had it so good. Relative to the hostile climate of Europe, Asia, Antarctica, Australia and the Americas ours is quite literally a stroll in the sun (pun intended!) He says that due to our clement weather the African never really felt challenged by his environment. The tropics were just ideal. It lacked the fierce colds of the temperate regions like Russia; the flood prone lands of south-east Asia; the biting heat of the desert day and the freezing cold of the desert night. In short, shelter and clothing were not a problem. He could live in trees like the apes and go about in a loin cloth without a care in the world.

Transportation? No problem, as a three day stroll to the next major market would not kill him as the sun was friendly. Besides, he did not have horses so the idea of inventing the wheel did not occur to him, why should it? The white man had to think of ways to get to his destination faster because if he stayed out longer than necessary the elements would get him!

Food. The African had it good, with fertile soils, ample rains and good old tropical sun, he didn’t have to stretch himself to plant and harvest. The food simply grew and he simply harvested. Barns and storage sheds if any were basic as there was no need to construct elaborate structures to store grain.

Technology. Wetin concern tortoise with 5-bedroom mansion? There was simply no need for tools other than those used to hunt and gather. I still stifle a laugh whenever I read or remember that our fore-fathers sold their brothers as slaves for mere trifles like mirrors, glass, marbles, guns (without gunpowder), etc.

There were no real challenges that the African had to overcome; life was good as the gods had been good to him. And this he acknowledged by ‘blindly’ worshipping different gods. If one was sick, it meant that the gods needed to be appeased. No rain? Appease a different god. No children? Appease the god of fertility. Plague, pestilence or pillaging marauders? Appease the gods. So nothing was developed as the man refused to think for himself as everything that could go wrong was out of his hands, the gods were to blame! (Er, I think I’m just about guilty of this same attitude to our problems as explored in the first part of this write-up! Sheesh, talk about the apple not falling far from the tree!)

Meanwhile, the other races on the planet were fighting earthquakes so they built stronger houses; were fighting cold so they discovered ways to heat their homes; were fighting darkness so they developed electricity; were fighting disease and death so they discovered advanced medicine and drugs; were fighting oppression and conquest so they invented diplomacy and weapons (of mass destruction?); were fighting delays so they invented fast cars and airplanes; were fighting boredom so they went to the moon, invented the television, the radio, cinema and Facebook!

I ask again what has the African invented? Nothing, so "We've become a sheep-like consumer race that depends on other communities for our culture, language, feeding, and clothing. We've become economic slaves in Western (and now Eastern) society,” (quoting the good Dr Onyeani again!)

So where do we go from here and what might be the solution to our underdevelopment?

I haven’t the faintest idea (or maybe I’m just too damn lazy to think about it? : ) )


Copyright 2009 TJ O'karo