Where are Nigeria’s sociologists ? (I)

Irecall Nigeria’s ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo ‘slagging off’ people who studied sociology and history. I was alarmed then, because even if he was right in his concern about the fact that these professions do not manufacture anything, and that Nigeria needs more scientists and engineers, a deeper understanding of our challenges as a country requires that we mainstream these subjects. Sociology enables people understand other cultures and how cultures evolve; it just broadens the mind. We must acknowledge that a vast majority of Nigerians are of narrow minds and limited understanding of anything else apart of their immediate environments. Most Nigerians therefore indulge in a type of parochialism that places them and their ancestors at the top of the pile, and everyone else at the bottom. It’s no wonder the nation is contorting and cavorting today.

History. Well, this one is obvious. They say history not only tells a people where they are coming from, but why they are where they are, and where they must still be heading to. That is if the people are mindful enough to keep and study history, and take history serious. Nigerians are not one of such peoples. But if Nigeria was wise, ALL our university students irrespective of their major courses of study should study a lot of sociology and history.

Look at us today. In year 2018, Nigerians understand less and less about each other than they did in 1970. This is despite the availability of a myriad of communication channels and gadgets. As at 1970 there were no mobile phones. The few landlines that there were, hardly worked. There were no emails, no text messages, no WhatsApp or instant messaging, no Skype or Zoom or any of the dozens of gadgets and applications and innovations that ease communication today. Yet our people exercised more patience and understanding with each other, and had more hope of a better future together. Okay, we had fought a war. But by 1970, the war was over and Nigerians were back to being friends again. In many places, returnees from the war were welcomed back with open arms, and many had had their properties protected for them by those they left behind.

Look at Nigeria today. We have problems all over the place. Not only economic, but sociological. One could argue that the level of mutual distrust and growing hopelessness is now higher than precivil war times. Nigerians seem to have lost hope that this union could ever work again. All we hear is doom and gloom, and hardline positions. I believe that the economic aspect plays a large part anyway. A people who have been deliberately impoverished and denuded of dignity over many decades by those they call leaders, who have been deceived with nepotism, tribalism and religious fanaticism, are the worst to teach sociology and tolerance. Alas we may have also got to the point where a mere focus on economic issues can no longer solve these problems.

How do we solve the issue of herdsmen/ farmers clash without understanding the underpinning sociologies? We are talking here of a clash of cultures, a clash of civilizations, the impact of a new world economic order on farmers and herdsmen together, and our overall failure as Africans (not only Nigerians), to document ourselves properly and know who we are. We are talking of a growth in the populations of herdsmen and farmers alike, and perhaps more importantly, of cows too. All of us - humans and cows - now have better access to the gains of science, are perhaps more physically resilient than we used to be, live longer on the average, and for cows at least, their reproduction could even be better today than used to be the case. We Nigerians have availed ourselves of the advantages of science and technology, while playing no part in the evolution of those bodies of knowledge, and of course, without considering the immediate and long term effects that these bodies of knowledge will have on us.

I once listened to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at Chido Onumah’s book launch as he spoke about the fact that a Fulani man’s greatness is measured at death by how many heads of cattle he leaves behind, and not by how many houses or companies, or cash. This is a sociocultural fact. However, the upshot is that there is an incentive for the number of cows in Nigeria to keep increasing, because the owners are not totally motivated by the money to be made from selling cows. (and an unconcern about the money skews the demand and supply equation, leading to higher prices). The relationship between herder and cattle is not a transactional one. I understand that the Fulani hardly eat cow meat, and I can see why. They relate with the cows, name them, love them, protect and guide them, discipline them. I have watched herders talk to cows and I am amazed. I believe the cattle language is another thing we are not documenting which we ought to. What is more?

A proper understanding and deployment of sociological knowledge and skills at the topmost level of our governments today could really help, beyond merely acquiring guns to take to zones where misunderstanding has now led to the breakdown of peace and order. Most of Nigeria’s problems are telling us to wake up and use what we learnt in school - especially higher institutions. What is the use of having so many PhDs who don’t solve any problems? Our focus so far has been to go to university to acquire degrees with which we gain employment and earn money. Today, we are called upon to ensure that we actually use those degrees to make our country a better place to live. Where are our sociologists in Nigeria? Do we think the essence of sociology is to get a career in the police or in politics? Or become chief security officer of some oil company? Or to join the foreign service? No. Sociology’s relevance is essential to the survival of a country.

Let us try and itemize the several levels to this current crisis that is threatening to tear Nigeria to pieces:

1. There is the fact that people who herd cattle do well financially than their farming counterparts - in the medium to long term and where all else fails. This was true in Biblical times when Abel the shepherd was more favored compared to Cain his brother, leading to disastrous consequences. It was there in Rwanda when the white colonialists favored the cattle-owning, frailer Tutsis and planted them in leadership positions, while using the stouter farming Hutus as workers. This led to a gory genocide. If you see the Tutsis you have seen the Fulanis. Bola Ige once controversially described Fulanis as the Tutsis of Nigeria. Are we ready to deal with such a delicate issue? Are we wired to solve such a complicated problem? I very much doubt.

2. The incentive for herds to grow is indeed a problem as we may see cattle crowding out humans in the medium to long term. There are cultural aspects which clash with modern city dwelling. That is one. We shouldn’t be seeing cattle herds in built up cities. But we can see that the rural areas are even more dangerous for cattle and their herders because farmers see it as a frontal confrontation, and cows have been alleged to eat people’s crops. There are traditional practices in place to prevent this but my understanding is that it often fails.