Strategies For Empowerment

In society there is what is known as sponsored social mobility whereby the progressive development of a youth is enhanced by a god father. There is also contest social mobility whereby a youth struggles on his own through fierce contest with others without help from anyone. God-fathers include wealthy and caring parents, politicians and philanthropists. Youths who show outstanding talents and abilities in football, music and other activities can be identified, picked up and sponsored by individuals or organizations and then rise to great positions in life. There are several such examples and youths of humble backgrounds have risen up and can become presidents.
Another strategy of personal empowerment common among ambitious but helpless youths involves trading off some organs in their body as a sacrifice for success. Youths have been known to sell one of their kidneys or some pints of blood in order to accomplish some goals. Sublimation is a similar sacrifice of diverting and utilizing the generative power for the purpose of making some outstanding success. Sublimation for religious purposes is quite common but enforced celibacy is not synonymous with piety, just as it is condemnable to squander the generative power and who remained single and childless in old age often adopt children or give their wealth for charity or humanitarian purposes.
A very unpleasant aspect of personal empowerment through sublimation can be described as Lady Macbeth’s syndrome, whereby an individual pledges loyalty to some dirty gods for the sake of power or wealth. Listen to Lady Macbeth: “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of divest cruelty; make thick my blood, stop up the access and passage to remorse that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose …” Youths have been known to pledge loyalty to various cult groups for the purpose of protection or advancement. Who would blame them when they see no alternative prospect in a cult like society! Adults often lure youths into “Ufemfe society”.
There is also lateral social mobility which involves expanded and large-scale sponsorship of youths of some particular geo-political zones, through scholarship awards, recruitment and appointments into strategic positions in the country. “Quota system” of appointments and promotions is a part of the strategy. People employed in state public services are given accelerated promotions and then transferred to federal civil service as Directors, such that their other struggling counterparts remain their subordinates.
This system of empowerment commonest in the civil service has been called nepotism of which the god-fathers are politicians. This obnoxious strategy of empowerment has undermined merit, productivity and promoted fraud, whereby those who feel short-changed resort to self-help. This is a principal reason why there is such unspeakable degree of fraudulent practices in the public services. An irony of the peculiar Nigerian strategy is that while the elite of some zones push up and plant their people in strategic positions, other elite take pride in pulling down their own indigenes. There are those who even encourage them to demolish as many struggling ones as they can. Thus sadism, revenge, animosity and criminality increase in some places.
We would miss much if we do not look into the situations in our universities, because, the “Nigerian factor” shows its ugly face even in that sector. For example, honest and serious research efforts are not utilized, while research grants often go to those with political connections. We may also ask why a large number of Nigerian youths go to Ghana and other countries to study. Should admissions process into Nigerian universities not be re-visited and scrutinized? Similarly, assessment and graduation processes beg for restructuring, like everything else. Can we ask why some graduates of our universities are not able to speak or write good English language?
Empowerment strategies go beyond sponsored admissions, graduations and appointments. Since professors now retire at the age of 70 and can live happily thereafter with full salaries and fringe benefits, does political empowerment strategy not play roles in the process? Can geo-political zones not produce “quota professors” under a rat-race system? The situation has become so worrisome that foreign universities are currently quite alarmed at the rate of proliferation of professors in Nigerian universities. Rivers State governor must be commended for stopping the practice of retaining retired lecturers as contractors and consultants, taking double salaries. We need a holistic restructuring.
Dr. Amirize is a retired lecturer, Rivers State University, Port Harcourt.

Bright Amirize