There's something about us as Africans that for me is a psychological barrier to creating wealth.
It's the reason why we choose competition over collaboration.
The reason why we hoard knowledge and every generation has to start from scratch.
I call it the "Big Man" phenomenon.
It's the reason why we choose competition over collaboration.
The reason why we hoard knowledge and every generation has to start from scratch.
I call it the "Big Man" phenomenon.
The Big Man phenomenon as my brain just told me to name it is the disposition we tend to naturally have where we want to do better than everyone around us so that we become the Big Man amongst them.
Your next question is, but what's wrong with that?
In itself, nothing.
Your next question is, but what's wrong with that?
In itself, nothing.
Personal ambition is very important.
The way we go about it and how we have ingrained it into our psyche as Africans is what's wrong with it.
In order to be the Big Man, one simple fact must be the case. Everyone else MUST be lower than you and recognise you as the Big Man.
The way we go about it and how we have ingrained it into our psyche as Africans is what's wrong with it.
In order to be the Big Man, one simple fact must be the case. Everyone else MUST be lower than you and recognise you as the Big Man.
It's why we make fun of other African countries.
It's why we take pride in calling ourselves the Giant of Africa while our economy is in shambles.
Because it doesn't matter how bad things get, in so far you judge yourself as doing better than the people around you, you're
It's why we take pride in calling ourselves the Giant of Africa while our economy is in shambles.
Because it doesn't matter how bad things get, in so far you judge yourself as doing better than the people around you, you're
happy.
It's why one man will be put in charge of community funds and his entire thought will revolve around how to use that money to elevate himself above the people around him so that he becomes unquestionable amongst them as the Big Man.
It's why one man will be put in charge of community funds and his entire thought will revolve around how to use that money to elevate himself above the people around him so that he becomes unquestionable amongst them as the Big Man.
It's why when you give someone an opportunity that helps him attain levels of affluence previously beyond him.
His thought quickly becomes how to make sure he can live in that exclusive class alone and become a benefactor instead of how to make more people like himself.
His thought quickly becomes how to make sure he can live in that exclusive class alone and become a benefactor instead of how to make more people like himself.
He doesn't make more people like himself because it threatens his position as the Big Man who everyone must bow to and defer to on everything he chooses.
My grouse with this phenomenon is not the mentality itself but how it's an impediment to building a thriving society.
My grouse with this phenomenon is not the mentality itself but how it's an impediment to building a thriving society.
If you must keep people down and make them depend on you, then by definition, those people are not as productive as they can be. Their talents are not being harnessed in a way that can create the goods that every thriving society needs to feed off of.
If you'll rather have people be at your mercy because you're the big man.
By design, their access to you will generate just enough to them to continue to survive on your good will and not enough for them to thrive on their own.
It's the relationship Africa has with developed
By design, their access to you will generate just enough to them to continue to survive on your good will and not enough for them to thrive on their own.
It's the relationship Africa has with developed
economies once you zoom out.
But those economies are fine and their people are living well comparatively.
What I don't understand is why we do it amongst ourselves being the poorest people in the world.
More than half of the world's poorest people live in Africa.
But those economies are fine and their people are living well comparatively.
What I don't understand is why we do it amongst ourselves being the poorest people in the world.
More than half of the world's poorest people live in Africa.
And while the extractive nature of our relationship with the West helps them.
Our extractive relationship with ourselves keep us where we are.
The thing about keeping people down is that they are not equipped well enough by design to become contributing members of the society.
Our extractive relationship with ourselves keep us where we are.
The thing about keeping people down is that they are not equipped well enough by design to become contributing members of the society.
Wealth is built off wealth. More wealth is built on existing wealth. Knowledge is built on existing knowledge.
When our forefathers discovered how to use fire to make tools and weapons to fight.
Did they share that knowledge in a way that made it accessible to everyone so that
When our forefathers discovered how to use fire to make tools and weapons to fight.
Did they share that knowledge in a way that made it accessible to everyone so that
it becomes knowledge that can be publicly researched and built upon?
No.
They created a mysticism around it and kept it in the family and said only Ogun worshippers can be a blacksmith.
So that that makes them an exclusive class.
Same for the first people to leart how
No.
They created a mysticism around it and kept it in the family and said only Ogun worshippers can be a blacksmith.
So that that makes them an exclusive class.
Same for the first people to leart how
to cure small pox.
They kept it in the family and used the knowledge to become feared and revered.
Immediately their children lost interest, that was it. The knowledge is dead and anybody who was interested in curing small pox must start building the knowledge all over again.
They kept it in the family and used the knowledge to become feared and revered.
Immediately their children lost interest, that was it. The knowledge is dead and anybody who was interested in curing small pox must start building the knowledge all over again.
Instead of building on what's publicly existing and using peered reviewed studies of people in the same field to validate their knowledge gathering.
The Big Man phenomenon dictates that in order to be a big man, you must create an exclusive class where nobody else can enter.
The Big Man phenomenon dictates that in order to be a big man, you must create an exclusive class where nobody else can enter.
So instead of helping your neighbours and family, you'll rather they depend on you for sustenance. Because by so doing, you hold power over them.
So instead of teaching them what you know, you eliminate competition which in turn kills innovation and stall progress.
So instead of teaching them what you know, you eliminate competition which in turn kills innovation and stall progress.
If everyone around you is poor. Then they must defer to you.
But keeping people poor also means you don't get the best of them, neither does the society.
And if wealth cannot be built on existing wealth, it stalls wealth building.
Which makes it impossible for the society to
But keeping people poor also means you don't get the best of them, neither does the society.
And if wealth cannot be built on existing wealth, it stalls wealth building.
Which makes it impossible for the society to
grow.
Everyone wants to operate in thier silos instead of cooperating because they believe by being able to figure it out first, it'll bestow upon them the ability to become the big man.
So it takes longer than it would have taken if everyone brought together what they had and
Everyone wants to operate in thier silos instead of cooperating because they believe by being able to figure it out first, it'll bestow upon them the ability to become the big man.
So it takes longer than it would have taken if everyone brought together what they had and
worked on it as a group of talented individuals solving problems.
But you cannot be the big man if you're amongst equals.
The phenomenon of the Big Man dictates that you're in an exclusive class.
While talent waste away trying to make it without your help.
But you cannot be the big man if you're amongst equals.
The phenomenon of the Big Man dictates that you're in an exclusive class.
While talent waste away trying to make it without your help.
On a personal level, it might feel good to play assistant god.
But on a societal level, it's killing us.
So while we have Dangote getting himself on exclusive lists that effectively makes him a monopoly, serious countries are forcing huge cooperations to break into smaller
But on a societal level, it's killing us.
So while we have Dangote getting himself on exclusive lists that effectively makes him a monopoly, serious countries are forcing huge cooperations to break into smaller
organisations to keep them from having undue influence on a market.
They pass laws that penalise uncompetitive spirit in businesses meanwhile it's the bread and butter here.
Wealth building is faster when it's being built on already existing wealth.
Knowledge gathering is
They pass laws that penalise uncompetitive spirit in businesses meanwhile it's the bread and butter here.
Wealth building is faster when it's being built on already existing wealth.
Knowledge gathering is
more effective when it's leveraging on existing knowledge.
The impetus to remain in a protected exclusive class is against the spirit of competition which kills innovation and ultimately leads a society to wretchedness.
The impetus to remain in a protected exclusive class is against the spirit of competition which kills innovation and ultimately leads a society to wretchedness.
Oloye writing to you from the #CouncilOfChiefs
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