By Udo Silas
In the news is the celebration of Ibom Soft Rolls, produced by the Akwa Ibom State Tissue Manufacturing Factory. Social media was agog as pictures surfaced of the State’s Commissioner for Trade and Investment, presenting this new achievement to the state governor, Udom Emmanuel during the State Executive Council meeting, Wednesday.
As is usual with the Akwa Ibom State information apparatchik, dissemination of news, on this mammoth achievement was devoid of value beyond the photo-ops. For example, there was nothing on the number of indigenes/youths employed by this factory or their remuneration thereof. There was nothing on the production capacity of the tissue making plant. There was nothing, no pictures of the plant, nor its history, make or type. There was nothing on the share or ownership structure of the factory. These are however beside the point of this conversation.
In truth, yesterday’s celebration of the state produced/owned Tissue factory, was not only the lowest of lows, but also brings home the truism that arrogance is the evidence and presence of nothingness.
When people in leadership positions display arrogance in attitude, arrogance in knowledge, arrogance in corporate or job attainment, arrogance in matters spiritual and/or temporal, and indeed arrogance in everything and nothing, then you know immediately, that their arrogance is but an expression of their inbred timidity, veiled primarily and deliberately to obscure their dim wit and vision.
A caveat though. In putting down my armchair psychological profile, I have not looked up the dictionary meaning of the word arrogance. I write from observations collated pre and post 2015, some at close official quarters then, others through empirical analysis of the individual and events through this period.
There is a particular encounter that would have brought home the poignancy of my exposition above. I would however resist the urge to delve, because some of the witnesses are still in service and have remained ‘friends’ as best as they can be, especially in the intervening years.
But the arrogant fellow is mean, not necessarily because he wants to, but because he has come to misunderstand meanness as decisiveness or toughness. The arrogant fellow is brilliant but not intelligent, especially where brilliance is a function of scholastic aptitude and intelligence remains a function of everything arrogance is not.
Arrogance struts his or her chest forward. It is condescending to humility. The physical adumbration of body parts becomes a mere gait that accentuates the ingrained misconception in the arrogant that he or she is an embodiment of all knowledge. An earthly repository of Solomonic wisdom if you care. But this in itself is a reflection of abject shallowness. The intellectual does not sing superiority in any sphere. The intelligent one does not only recognize his or her fallibility but indeed bows to superior reason.
So I cringe at this celebration of Akwa Ibom made tissue papers. No, I would not talk about the over N10B worship center. I refuse to talk about the coconut factory. I would not talk about the Ammonia factory. I still would not talk about the Syringe factory. I insist on not discussing the Meter factory. I would not talk about the Ibom Air. I would not discuss the Ibaka Seaport.
The celebration of Akwa Ibom made Tissue paper is eloquent discourse of the stammer and stutter of the haphazardness and purposelessness of the examples above. There is indeed nothing else to say.
One would have thought that the ‘Etok Etok Philosophy’ that defined our attitudes and ambitions in times past was dead and buried. But here we are, in this age and time, celebrating tissue paper production as a worthy achievement.
But that exactly is what arrogance does. It amplifies the I and belittles the we. So, the we, who normally is the pivot for constructive idea jaw-jaw and scrutiny, suffers. Arrogance becomes keen to celebrate self rather than posterity. Where altruism sees the future as posterity, arrogance sees self as the messiah. The arrogant leader soon stews in his or her shortsightedness while innovation takes a back seat. That is why it is easy to construe a smart building instead of deep thought that would prepare the youths in the state for opportunities in the emerging technological world order. Arrogance can never allow itself understand this distinction.
“Innovation does not happen by chance or in a vacuum. Innovation cannot be legislated; it takes deliberate policy actions, enablers, positive incentives and entrepreneurship to make it happen…to leapfrog and sustain the resurgent Africa requires smart solutions anchored in knowledge and innovation”
The above was Eugene Owusu, the UNDP Resident Representative for Ethiopia, speaking far back at the Africa Economic Conference, organized under the theme “Knowledge and Innovation for Africa’s Transformation”, November 1-3, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2014.
“We need skills, technology, knowledge and innovation to ensure democratic and responsive governance that can deliver effective public services and to facilitate universal access to basic services such as food and nutrition, water and sanitation, shelter, health and education”
That was Nkosanzana Dlamini Zuma, then African Union Commission Chairperson at the same conference, far back.
So how would the new tissue factory help prepare our youths for the emerging technological order? When people deride the so-called smart building as an example of arrogance writ large it is because the present government had a surplus of visionary leadership to learn from. You can draw up the list if you care.
As far back as 2012 or thereabout, Samsung South Africa, through its partnership with Wits University, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, launched her second group of youths that entered her APP factory Internship programme. Excerpts from news story that explained this partnership, said then
“Following Samsung’s R280milion Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) investment last year, Samsung and Tsimologong continue on the journey of building software development skills for unemployed youth. The APP factory is an essential learning ground for teaching the language of technology, which is coding. Interns get to work with experienced senior developers over nine months to grow competence and hone their skills- an education that can translate into a successful career in a rapidly expanding industry”
This was over nine years ago. In 2021, Akwa Ibom State continues to display the vicissitudes of arrogance. We celebrate Smart buildings instead of preparing Smart youths. We celebrate Tissue paper production as a potent roadmap that would guide our youths to the marvel of Artificial Intelligence, software development or technology driven skills in a new world order of technology super highway.
Sad. But that is the price a people pay when arrogance bestrides the political space.
As usual, paid hirelings would set out to earn their keep. That is to be expected. But fact is, they know in the belly of their pay, that the truth as put forth here would remain constant despite their recourse to Afghanistanism.
But I challenge them to stick to issues and would be ready anytime to a debate a no holds barred sectorial analysis of this government’s industrialization agenda, successes and failures, where they should be ready, as government spokespersons, to provide accurate and verifiable data on ownership structures, employment of Akwa Ibom indigenes, investment profile of state government, including profit and loss statement, from takeoff of these stated industries till present day.
Akwa Ibom surely deserves better. What do you think?
