Creating Positive Impunity For
Critical Thinking
When you converse with a lot of people who view themselves as socially
aware, knowledgeable and/or politically conscious, there is one common point of agreement:
impunity is gaining ascendancy in Nigeria, especially in the corridors of
power!
IMPUNITY – what does it mean in the lay man’s language?
Impunity means a culture where anything (wrong) and everything (wrong) goes
(usually unpunished). Not so good. Where there is impunity, anything can happen.
Now I am fed up of impunity, like a lot of people, and I want change.
At one time or the other, you must have heard this statement uttered
– "In this
country, anything goes."
Usually a terse statement, followed by angry expletive and appropriate show of exasperated
disgust. The statement is never cast in positive light rather it comes in a foul
mood of deep disgust or even angst.
Until now!
Here is this writer’s proposition: since we indeed behave as
if anything goes (for this read people with prevalent culture of impunity) why
do we not also achieve some things in the positive sense. Is there something
like POSITIVE IMPUNITY? Or is that an oxymoron . . . like the GOOD THIEF?
If anything negative can happen, then it means with enough
wit and gumption then anything positive can equally happen. This is sound
logic, if logic works for you.
When this writer realized that indeed anything can happen in
Nigeria, he took the bulls by the horns.
When this writer was dutifully informed by the guidance and
counsellor supervisor in secondary school that as a "science" student (euphemism for
secondary school students offering physics, biology and chemistry) he could not
also offer "arts" subjects. This writer thanked the guidance
and counsellor supervisor and promptly joined the school’s Drama Club as well
as the Literary & Debating Society for good measures. He took up reading Wordsworth
and went through Dickens with great expectations. Later, he tackled Soyinka and
Shakespeare for leisure. He stocked his personal library with Ngugi Wa’ Thiongo
and Achebe. During school vacations, he would watch Baba Sala (Moses Olaiya,
the master of the slapstick comedy of his generation) and Sam Loco Efe and
Laolu Oguniyi and Ishola Ogunsola (I Show Pepe) and Leere Paimo (Eda onile ola)
and Jacob and Papalolo.
Today this writer can discuss Einstein’s
(General and Special) Theory of
Relativity and Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart and Soyinka’s Beatification of
an Area Boy in the same breadth and, if necessary, dissect the aesthetics / stylistics of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti's musical compositions.
Anything can happen in Nigeria.
When this writer got swamped in the university with tedious courses in
Biochemstry, Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry and such others, he decided whenever he
was free he would go to the Theatre Arts department and watch Tunji Sotimirin
and the Solankes perform in any of Professor Adelugba’s productions. There was
always something happening at the university’s Arts Theatre. If lucky, Odu
Themes may even have a production to stage. The Orisun Iye Company may also put
up a show. Also there might be one Osofisan, Sowade or Zulu Sofola’s fare or
the other on offer.
Now he can discuss the
pharmacology of analgesics and spirituality in the writings of most black
authors of African descent.
When this writer discovered that
there had to be value in eclectic learning, he decided to teach himself
History, Archaeology, Social Geography, Sociology, Anthropology, Behavioural
Psychology, Development Psychology and International Development. When he got
access to online libraries he started learning Political Economy and
Development Economics.
When this writer found out that
Nigerians loved certificates above competence, he decided to task his own personal competence and share his learning/experiences.
If he could not be a university lecturer (yet), he could become a professional
trainer, sharing knowledge through informal and adult education platforms. The
opportunity came to learn Environment and Community Development and this writer
seized it with both hands.
This writer had motivators along the way though. Including
people like Issac Asimov. Let me tell you a little about Asimov.
Wikipedia describes Isaac Asimov (born Isaak
Yudovich Ozimov; circa January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) as an American author
and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of
science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most
prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and
an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His books have been published in 9
of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Biography.com records that scholar
Isaac Asimov was one of the 20th century's most prolific writers, writing in
many genres. He was known for sci-fi works like Foundation and I, Robot. Born
on January 2, 1920, in Petrovichi, Russia, Isaac Asimov immigrated with his
family to the United States and became a biochemistry professor while pursuing
writing. He published his first novel, Pebble in the Sky, in 1950.
Asimov died in New York City on
April 6, 1992. Isaac Asimov was born Isaak
Yudovick Ozimov on January 2, 1920, in Petrovichi, Russia, to Anna Rachel
Berman and Judah Ozimov. The family immigrated to the United States when Asimov
was a toddler, settling into the East New York section of Brooklyn. (Around
this time, the family name was changed to Asimov.) Judah owned a series of
candy shops and called upon his son to work in the stores as a youngster. Isaac
Asimov was fond of learning at a young age, having taught himself to read by
the age of 5; he learned Yiddish soon after, and graduated from high school at
15 to enter Columbia University. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in
1939 and went on to get his M.A. and Ph.D. from the same institution. In 1942,
he wed Gertrude Blugerman. In 1949, Asimov began a stint at Boston University
School of Medicine, where he was hired as an associate professor of
biochemistry in 1955. He eventually became a professor at the university by the
late 1970s, though by that time he'd given up full-time teaching to do occasional
lectures.
What is truly
remarkable about Asimov's body of nonfiction is not only its sheer volume, but
its great breadth and diversity, and this is reflected in the essay subjects.
Though he concentrated on the sciences, and especially loved astronomy, you
will find that there aren't many areas of human knowledge that he ignored. The
subject groupings here begin with the broad bibliographic categories, and end
with some somewhat more specialized areas. Sometimes Asimov wrote more than one
essay on the same subject, in order to update an essay once new information
became available, or simply revisit a topic that he had written about long ago.
The essays within each subject area are arranged so that, to the extent
possible, essays about the same or related topics are grouped together.
Isaac Asimov wrote essays on subjects
including psychology, society, history,
geography,
anthropology,
economics and
overpopulation, fine arts, literature, writing,
issues in science, mathematics and computers, astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology,
biology, zoology, physiology, microbiology, robotics, technology, religion and
creationism, women, rationality, intelligence, politics, speech, television and
film, science fiction, fantasy and miscellaneous topics.
“If you want to be a prolific writer, you have to be a single-minded, driven, non-stop person. Sounds horrible, doesn't it? Well, then, concentrate on being a good writer, and leave prolific for those poor souls who can't help it.”—Isaac Asimov
I do not necessarily want to
become Asimov but I draw inspiration from what he has accomplished. Actually
you are reading this because when this writer discovered that there was no
university in Nigeria offering undergraduate or postgraduate course(s) in CREATIVITY
and INNOVATION, I decided to blog about it.
How about you?
This writer is not advocating that
you must be become a bookworm or an intellectual ALL-ROUNDER, but there must be
value to whatever you can do – just go ahead and do it well.
PLEASE ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN
NIGERIA. IMAGINE. CREATE. INNOVATE.
POSITIVE IMPUNITY?
Well, let’s give it a try, by doing something.
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