Africa, Sweat Your Brain Cells Or Remain Slave to the Rest of the World!

Africa, Sweat Your Brain Cells Or Remain Slave to the Rest of the World!

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” ~ Proverbs 14:23 NIV

The Presbyterian Church of Biafra was constituted in 1858 - twelve years after the Church of Scotland Mission arrived Calabar.

About 50 years later, the Presbyterian Joint Hospital was built at Uburu, Ebonyi State. I was born in that hospital. The ward in which I was born still stands as built by those Scottish missionaries to Biafra, well over 100 years ago.

Today, buildings in Nigeria collapse and kill people within only months of their building.

In the course of my career and consulting, I have worked and still work extensively with Europeans and Americans. As I pondered over why the West holds mastery over Africa, I came to one and only one conclusion:
These races are not more intelligent than the black race.
The ONLY difference is rigor - intellectual rigor. And this is another strange discovery: Africans keep ideas in their head but the Western world generally write things down!

The Europeans and Americans sweat their brain cells far more intensely than the typical African. I know I am generalizing. I have also seen low-grade Europeans and Americans - who don’t have a bath in the morning before going to work. But don’t forget the Bell curve.

The Caucasians have an insanely high return on neuron (RON) compared to Africans. ( RON! I just invented that one nice!)

Their work ethic is also different. While they focus on getting the job done on time, our concern is more with having nice feelings. As soon as the black man receives project activation payment, he heads to the bar and pepper soup joint. But the American or European will drink to their success only AFTER the project has been executed successfully. We drink before work. They drink after work.

"The Feel-er will forever be slave to the Act-er"

Napoleon Hill, who wrote the "Think and Grow Rich classic" conducted the book research on the subject for 25 long years without pay!
The late Stephen Covey studied the subject for 15 years straight before coming out with his enduring work of the "7 Habits".
Thomas Edison, according to Napoleon Hill, relentlessly tested 10,000 different materials for the "incandescent light bulb" before succeeding.

Rigor!
How many of us will carry out a research on a single subject, without remuneration, for 15 or 25 years?
How many of us will continue an experiment that requires 10,000 iterations of failures?

The Caucasians have a structured process for sound decision making and problem solving. Most Africans have none. Decisions in the present administration in Nigeria are based on moods and feelings of the President and governors. Policies are based on whom they like or dislike.

These days, everyone raves about the endless streams of innovation from the Silicon Valley, Israel and China. We enjoy them but we’ll never commit to the rigor of the innovation process. We are content with having them do the hard work for us, while we spend our poverty budgets importing toothpick and rice from them. Talk about the vicious cycle of poverty!

Decisions in the West are based on sound intellectual frameworks. Ours is based on superstition. Every personal, social, political and business problem is a “spiritual” problem, with a “spiritual” solution. Witches and wizards are responsible for every misfortune. Never us. Never our own stupidity. Never our own poor choices. The fault is in the stars, not in us.

Stanford University has contributed in making the state of California one of the largest economies in the world. With sound intellectual frameworks and work ethic. No vigils, no Holy Ghost Camps, no “miracle crusades.” No "Solution Mountains."

We actively avoid any- and everything that will make us task even one single brain cell in our head. Yet we have billions of neurons begging us to engage them and give them a chance to amplify our lives!

There’s no rigor.

I don’t know where to begin. A rigorless Nigerian educational system produces graduates who have no exposure to structured thinking. Many Nigerian undergraduates don’t conduct research anymore. They take an old thesis report, wipe out the matriculation numbers, insert theirs and submit!

Many Nigerians merely carry their heads as accessories. They don’t use it!

Parenting has lost rigor. We don’t go the length to teach our children life skills and values. Parenting requires rigor and patience. Some Nigerian parents hire people to write qualifying exams for their children, instead of making them sweat the exam preparation. That single act sends a damning message that sets the child up for failure in life.

I remember our days - the seventies and very early eighties. I recall seeing students at Government College Okposi study almost all night with their feet soaked in buckets of cold water. Not giving a damn to the buzzing mosquitoes all around them. That generation of Nigerians is significantly different. They are appalled by this lazy and fun-loving generation.

Again, where there is no rigor, there are no ethics. Because people want things the easy way, they do not take the time to design and develop good and ethical products and services. Quote me: 90% of the edible consumer goods in Nigeria are not fit for human consumption. Do you have confidence in products not made with the utmost rigor, ethics and care?

Farmers and sellers apply calcium carbide to quickly ripen the pineapples in their farms. Sellers use calcium carbide to ripen everything from mangoes and oranges to plantain and bananas. Edible hide sellers (kpomo) inject poisonous formaldehyde into it to make it swell. Most honey in our supermarkets are white sugar heated into caramel - which is more dangerous than white sugar.

Others pour water from untreated backyard streams into water dispenser bottles and sell. Still, some sell vultures disguised as chicken in suya joints. And the evil result? Many Nigerians fall sick - they don’t know where their cancer, diabetes and fibroid are coming from. Many die premature.

Until we regain rigor and attention to detail, the black race is permanently doomed economically and politically.

Let me bring it to a personal landing - let’s zoom in on you. Are you involved in work that challenges and expands your intellectual capabilities? Do you know the meaning of grit?

God gave you your mind (the epiphenomenon of the brain) to navigate the physical world, and your spirit to navigate the unseen realms. If you fail to sweat your brain, you’re doomed to mediocrity - no matter how much you pray.

You’ve got to commit to the love of rigor. Extricate yourself from those lowly paths of morbid entertainment and least resistance. Free yourself from the curse of the easy life.

Any problem that has persisted in your life is a loud call to rigor. What do you need to practice that you are not? Rigor is the answer to persistent problems in your life. Rigor is the path to the crown.

“All hard work brings profit …” What exactly are you currently working hard on?

What is currently consuming your brain power? Telemundo? Entertainment? Comedy? Or some high quality work?

Is your head a ceremonial head or an engaged head? Touch your head right now and say, “My head, you shall not be a ceremonial head! You shall not be a mere biological accessory. I shall use you from today!”

I love you. Be healthy, wealthy and wise!