good luck, toyin. these are inspiring aspirations, and i wish you all the luck in the world. i particularly love the notion that the direction of "development" doesn't go one way! that the u.k should benefit from the nigerian cultural world. it is something that is sorely needed in a global north that hasn't begun to understand that such an idea is possible, and you are putting it forward in a challenging way
ken
On 11/28/12 4:04 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU wrote:
For some years after I arrived in England ten years ago, I was bitter at the disappointments I had earlier faced in Nigeria as a fresh, idealistic graduate.
At this point, my perspective has become more balanced.
I can see in what ways the Benin city where I spent decades is better in some ways than the Cambridge that is now a haven for me.
Cambridge might defeat Benin overall, but Benin is not a cheap contender.
I am trying to understand why the range of books that was available for sale in Benin is broader than those available in Cambridge in the seven years I have been here.
Cambridge has more and newer books but Benin had a broader range of books in terms of subject and continent of publication.
Cambridge has a formidable academic culture for both members of the university and the general public, in its university, its public lectures and its annual academic open activities.
Benin, on the other hand, has an academic culture for those affiliated with its institutions, although not by any degree equatable to Cambridge, as well as a robust classical knowledge system predating the Western institution of the modern academy. Such knowledge systems are only now being revived/cultivated by alternative communities in England and they are yet to reach the level of visibility as the system of ecology and metaphysics that shaped Benin.
All in all, I come to appreciate development better in relative terms through such observations.
I am in the process of founding a public library, research and retreat centre in Histon, less than five minutes from Cambridge. The motivating concept of the centre derives from my experience in Benin, where its academic and classical knowledge cultures motivated me to found the pioneer of this integration of learning and contemplation in the context of nature.
I bring to the Cambridge environment an interpretation of space as cosmographic form that is unique to this location, cosmography realized in terms of both the interiority of the reading and artistic space of a library and the exteriority provided by nature and human made forms.
This is an adaptation of ideas of space I first encountered in classical Benin urban and domestic planing.
Being able to introduce an innovation into the cognitive culture of an ancient European seat of learning, one of the greatest in the world, adapting ideas inspired by a Nigerian environment, I understand better the value of my decision after my BA not to study abroad but study in Nigeria.
It is all balancing out in the end.
I am eager to work at contributing to improving Nigeria and England in terms of improving their strengths and reducing its weaknesses.
I plan to open a branch of the Compcros Public library, Research and Retreat Centre in Benin, so as to export the concept to its origins.
Who knows, one could generate an idea as strong as that of Ignatius Loyola, whose Order, the Jesuits, are well known worldwide for their educational activity.
Thanks
toyin
--
On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 7:30 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <tvade3@gmail.com> wrote:
I think we should give the country a chance and wish it well.
The doomsday prophecies and perpetual lacerations are excessive.
Toyin
On Wed, Nov 28, 2012 at 7:11 PM, John MBAKU <jmbaku@weber.edu> wrote:
There is a case to be made that what is being practiced in Nigeria's political economy is not democracy--at least, not the type undergirded by the rule of law. At a minimum, the behavior of many state custodians is not in line with what is expected of public servants in a country with a fully functioning democratic system.
JOHN MUKUM MBAKU, ESQ.
J.D. (Law), Ph.D. (Economics)
Graduate Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Nonresident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Attorney & Counselor at Law (Licensed in Utah)
Presidential Distinguished Professor of Economics & Willard L. Eccles Professor of Economics and John S. Hinckley Fellow
Department of Economics
Weber State University
3807 University Circle
Ogden, UT 84408-3807, USA
(801) 626-7442 Phone
(801) 626-7423 Fax
>>> "Anunoby, Ogugua" 11/28/12 11:09 AM >>>
What do you do with a very high cost arrangement, process, or system that does not and will not deliver expected outcomes after reasonable time? Do you persevere with it infinitely? I am just asking?
oa
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ikhide
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 4:46 PM
To: Toyin Falola
Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Okay Ndibe: A case for abolishing democracy in Nigeria
"Nigerians have worked awfully hard for more than fifty years to achieve expertise in sheer badness. Even if we discounted the reports that ranked Nigeria as the most fraudulent place in Africa or the worst address for a new-born baby, we can hardly deny that Nigeria is a shadow, an inhuman space. We have lifted mediocrity to an art.
Name any sector of life in Nigeria and it?s infected by a malignant disease. Each year, Nigerian universities, private as well as public, churn out hundreds of thousands of unemployed and mostly unemployable illiterates. Too many academics sell grades for sex or cash. The Nigerian police strike fear in the heart not of criminals, but those without the cash to offer bribes. Too many Nigerian bishops, priests, pastors and imams are embedded with the politicians who daily wreck their country. For a bag or two of naira, these ostensible servants of God are willing to venerate any form of evil. The Nigerian president?s only formula for tackling serious crises is, one, to issue a hollow speech or, two, to form a committee. With either approach, the goal is to buy time for people to forget how messy the particular problem was. Most members of the president?s cabinet are in it for what they can steal and put away. Nigeria?s legislators, whether in Abuja or the state capitals, don?t have the foggiest idea how to use the legislative process to improve their environments.
Nigeria is worse and more dangerous than many other failed states. Its failure is both comprehensive and deep. It?s in a state of suspension, waiting for something to give, for an inevitable explosion to take place. Unless we act now, the roof is bound to fall on all our heads."
- Okey Ndibe
Read on...
- Ikhide
Stalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/
Follow me on Twitter: @ikhide
Join me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhide
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CompcrosComparative Cognitive Processes and Systems"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
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CompcrosComparative Cognitive Processes and Systems"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
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