As you deliberate on the future of Nigeria and whilst we decide who should take us forward, read this! I liked it. What do you think?
To those who are advocates of the class war struggle, the mere mention of the middle class (being in charge), usually sends their blood cuddling up to the point of above boiling point.The middleclass to the class war connoisseurs, ‘‘do not live in the real world’’.
The middleclass are also charged with being snobbish and usually in the habit of feathering their nests most of the time.
These charges if looked at critically are just charges which the middle class have to live with because of the unique position they occupy in society.
The middleclass hold the levers of power and influence which is derived from their education, training and discipline.
They are unarguably the engine of any progressive society.
Hate them, loathe them or otherwise, any society that is serious about its evolution and growth would never wish away its middle class.
The middle class also have to contend with being misunderstood by the majority which often views them with suspicion and a degree of contempt. Why is this so?
The middle classes have been primed to be an unapologetic lot, often visionary in approach and usually patriotic without being jingoistic about it.
They hardly rabble rouse. Without doubt they are a special breed and need to appreciated and accepted because of the benefits society is bound to derive and often derives from them.
The United Kingdom though is a very conservative society, it has over the years recognised and come to accept the importance of its middleclass.
They, at the moment, constitute the majority of the political class and economic managers and rightly so, because the unique position they hold makes society what it is, a society which places premium on equality of opportunities and tolerance.
A very critical look of British society reveals that by virtue of the adept skills of its middle class, it has always been able to prevent a tipping over the praecipe in moments of challenges or difficulties.
For the purpose of the discourse however, attention would be placed more on the Nigerian environment.
In Nigeria examples of middle class products are the Ransome kuti, the Ribadu, the Fani Kayodes, and the Ojukwu families etc.
Their contribution of selfless service to national development before and since independence is well documented.
The common thread that runs among these families is living up to the family names. In addition individuals from middle class family have been given the best education and human development orientation to the extent that personal aggrandisement is usually repugnant to them. Rather making a positive difference is their elixir.
Hardly do products of the middle class exercise desperation in putting across their views or making their case in the arena of public opinion. Some of them may be controversial but such controversy stems from daring and opposing the statuesque, they are hardly reactionaries.
They are simply full of ideas and the energy to drive such ideas.
Nigeria has been bogged down by ineptitude in governance due to the fact that majority of those in power are not propelled by the service agenda rather they are more interested in kleptocratic tendencies because they see power as an chance to ‘‘secure themselves and their children’’ and as such they would go to any length to ensure this.
Apart from gaining free access to easy money, holding on to power requires them resorting to violence and intimidation. This behaviour is an anathema to the ‘‘full blooded’’ middleclass, it’s just inconceivable for them to stoop that low, it’s not just in their makeup.
A good look at local government administration in Nigeria reveals the near collapse of that tier of government in the country.
In some communities local governments are nonexistent and where they appear to flicker they are usually led by illiterates, semi illiterates and touts who hardly have a clue about governance.
At the national level the antics of the national assembly members provides an insight about a body which is dominated by the non middle class in the strict sense. Self aggrandisement behaviour is the hallmark of most of the members as they have shown over the years.
At the moment while the majority of Nigerians would be returning to work by the 4th or 5th of January the legislators have decided to go back on the 18th of January. Most of the actors or personalities are of the working class stock that are driven by basic survival instincts mainly and nothing else.
The issue is not about academic education, it is essentially about values which are deeper and wider than the burden of survival.
Another instance is the current electoral primaries going on across the country, which unfortunately has been ridden with violence, intimidation and in some extreme cases killings.
A school of thought would quickly argue that the elite are responsible for sponsoring such anti-democratic norms.
The elite could well be responsible in some instances for such incidents, however the elite is not a monolithic group, it is diverse consisting sub groups such as the rich working class who as earlier pointed out, are driven aggressively by the burden of survival, they could well be mistaken for being true middle class, but they are not as their attitude to life negates the true values of the middleclass.
This writer is not trying to suggest that the non middle classes are not capable within the context of running the affairs of people, the main argument is that the ‘‘true middle class’’ is best equipped to shoulder the burden of overseeing the affairs of larger societies, such as nation states.
Governance is a complex business which requires people that are well tutored in the art of reading societies and taking appropriate decisions to guarantee social and economic cohesion, this is where the true middleclass comes in.
Olugbenga Adebanjo currently lives in and writes from London, England. (C) 2011
