₦36b on parties marks failure of the Nigerian bourgeoisie
Author(s): Ijeoma Ekoh
http://telegraphng.com/2013/09/%E2%82%A636b-parties-marks-failure-nigerian-bourgeoisie/
Two weeks ago, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State reported that residents of the state spend ₦36 billion (US$224 million) yearly on partying alone. To put that figure into context, ₦36 billion is ₦6 billion short of the health budget of Lagos State, and more than half of the ₦65.944 billion it spends on education.
This level of expenditure on partying is logically and largely the handiwork of the economically advantaged members of society. And the obscene nature of this spending by the elites is magnified by the outrageous fact that close to a 100 million Nigerians live on less than US$1 per day.
According to a Reuters news report: "The percentage of Nigerians living in absolute poverty – those who can afford only the bare essentials of food, shelter and clothing – rose to 60.9 percent in 2010, compared with 54.7 percent in 2004."
Now, bearing in mind the unreliability of statistical data in Nigeria, there are at least three possible ways to understand or respond to the entertainment spending of those few in Lagos.
1. As a demonstration of our fortitude
This is the argument usually put forward by those who falsely marvel at the resiliency of the people. For those who make this argument, Nigerians are a strong group rather than just another nation of African peoples who must cope with horrific social, economic and political conditions.
But there is a local proverb that says that one can only drink tea when one has eaten well. Hence, with some of the poor in Lagos constantly under the threat of housing demolitions, arrests and deportation, and with more than half of Lagosians living in poverty, one wonders if their fortitude contributes to that ₦36 billion in any significant way.
Further, why is the tolerance of economic injustice our mode of operation as opposed to perseverance in fighting against the forces that oppress us? With ₦1.2 billion spent on Aso Ebi or uniformed clothing for these parties, are we enduring or simply distracting ourselves from our problems?
2. As one stimuli to Nigeria's expanding service and entertainment economic sector? But is it sustainable for Nigeria to continue at this pace? What about developing a manufacturing and technology based economy? What about the diversification of the economy? What about the development of an entrepreneurial mindset and culture?
Is it not apparent that having helped themselves to the public purse, or slavishly executed their role as agents or middlemen of Western corporations, exorbitant parties become another avenue for this group to ostentatiously demonstrate their wealth and set themselves apart from the wretched masses?
Rather than "tap into" the party market as he purports to do, Mr Fashola would do better to tap into the potential of Lagos' vast human resource. He would do better to prioritise physical and social infrastructural development. And he would do better to consolidate a robust and free public education system that emphasises and privileges critical thinking, research, innovation and ingenuity.
3. As evidence of the failures and ineffectiveness of the Nigerian bourgeoisie
How does one describe the current state of affairs where a national bourgeoisie, to borrow from Frantz Fanon, lacks the dynamism, inventiveness and pioneering spirit of their Western bourgeois counterparts but unabashedly celebrates itself in its mediocrity? And that these members of the political and economic elite do so to the tune of N36 billion a year!
Immortalised in popular phrases such as the "Lagos big boy" and "Lagos big girl," the self-indulgence and frivolity being exhibited by this group is increasingly alarming and offensive to people of good conscience.
Moreover, their hedonism and contentedness with the distressing economic and social impacts of the country's continued cuts on national health, education and social programmes; and their complicity in Western economic domination of Nigeria should be worrying for anyone committed to the political, social and economic progress of our country.
In solidarity
Ajamu Nangwaya
Membership Development Coordinator, Network for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity
"We must practice revolutionary democracy in every aspect of our...[organization's] life. Every responsible member must have the courage of his responsibilities, exacting from others a proper respect for his work and properly respecting the work of others. Hide nothing from the masses of our people. Tell no lies. Expose lies whenever they are told. Mask no difficulties, mistakes, failures. Claim no easy victories ...." - Amilcar Cabral - Revolution in Guinea
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