When Life Becomes a Balancing Act
By Olusegun Adeniyi
(Text of the review of ‘Dis Life No Balance: An Anthology of Nigerian Diaspora Voices’ at the public presentation of the book, ‘Dis Life no Balance’ in Abuja on 14 December 2023)
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I think we can, and indeed should, dispense with protocol on a day such as this, especially when the organisers of this event are Americanas who may not understand our ways. But I must begin by thanking the authors for considering me worthy to review their book. These are no ordinary men in the literary world, so it’s odd that instead of going for one of their own, they settled for a reporter like me. But then, as the title of the book says, ‘Dis Life no Balance.’ Meanwhile, I am sure there are a few people in this room who would ask, what does that even mean?
It is a question over which I have also ruminated until I came across the 2020 hit song by the same title; released by a lady with the name, Omoh, who waxed philosophical about the oddity of the Nigerian life where people bear names that do not reflect in their material conditions. Joy, the lady sang, ‘no get joy’, Patience is almost becoming desperate, Goodluck can still not pass JAMB after five attempts, Balogun (warlord) runs away from battles and Oluwadaunsi (God answers my prayer) has been praying without receiving any answer from God. I also know of a politician whose first name is Winner yet has contested elections seven times and never won one!
To extrapolate from the song, it is obvious that life indeed ‘no balance’ in Nigeria with all the contradictions that have held us back from fulfilling potential and that much is also reflected in this book. So, we inhabit a country where life ‘no balance’ for most citizens, a country where the whole is far less than the sum of its parts. That perhaps explains why, despite all the prose, anecdotes and stories in ‘Dis Life No Balance’, nothing captures the essence of the book better than the conversations between the authors as recorded in Part Two.
The three chapters in this segment speak to the ‘Japa Syndrome’ and its implications, the never-ending restructuring debate and the argument about which system of government is best suited for Nigeria: the current presidential system of government borrowed from the United States or the post-colonial parliamentary system that we inherited from the British before it was toppled by the military. I consider these three chapters the most important not only because of the profundity of thought (since they capture conversations between the authors) but also because they represent fresh insights. As I will reveal later, the other parts may have been cleverly edited and repackaged, they are recollections from earlier published materials.
However, the main take-away from Part Two is that with education, exposure and financial resources, Diaspora communities can be a catalyst for the development of our country. But it is also evident from the exchanges between the authors that transforming brain drain into brain gain is difficult in a society where policy makers and political office holders do not make long-term plans. Yet, as we can glimpse from the examples of countries that have successfully leveraged on Diaspora networks to develop their societies, trust and institutional structures for constructive engagement are important. In Nigeria today, neither is available since what we are talking about goes beyond creating another bureaucracy.
Before I continue, it is important for the audience to have an idea about the calibre of men whose work we are gathered here today to present. Let’s start with my brother, Farooq Kperogi. A tenured professor of journalism and emerging media at Kennesaw state university in Georgia, United States of America, Kperogi is a media scholar, newspaper columnist, and blogger who has lately added political activism to his calling. Before leaving for the United States, Kperogi had practiced journalism at many Nigerian newspapers including the Daily trust, Daily Triumph and the now defunct New Nigeria. He also worked as a researcher at the presidential research and communications unit in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration and had taught journalism at Ahmadu Bello university and Kaduna Polytechnic. It is the totality of this experience and exposure he brings to bear on his public interventions and most readers know he takes no prisoners.
Moses Ochonu is also an academic, historian, author and professor of African History at Vanderbilt University, Nashville Tennessee. He has been the Cornelius Vanderbilt chair in History since 2017. Ochonu received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and was twice a fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). His research has also received support from the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, the British Library, the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH), The Ford Foundation and the American History Association.
Finally, we have Osmund Agbo, a medical doctor, social justice advocate and a newspaper columnist based in Houston, Texas, USA. He is a Pulmonologist in concord, North Carolina and is affiliated with hazard ARH Regional medical centre. Agbo studied medicine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe college of health science before JAPAing like others to the United States where he has been in practice for more than two decades.
In ‘Dis Life No Balance’, each of the authors takes a segment containing 12 chapters with Ochonu having the first shot in Part Three which essentially deals with Nigeria’s challenges and institutions. Issues addressed in this section include a potential classification of Nigeria as a failed state, the crisis of tertiary education in the country, the ‘Federal Character’ policy and the multifaceted dimensions of corruption. But as I stated earlier, these are no new writings. For instance, chapter four, ‘Nigeria as a failed state and the Adichie Effect’ was first published on 27 July 2021 while chapter five, ‘What’s in the Nigerian name?’ was first published on 13 January 2019. Others are, chapter six, ‘Nollywood and the functional logic of mediocrity’, (23 July 2014); chapter seven, ‘ASUU and the Nigerian Public University’, (6 November 2018); chapter eight, ‘The “Federal Character” Conundrum’, (23 July 2014); chapter nine, ‘The Other problems of Corruption’, (14 April 2012); chapter ten, ‘The limits of Electoral Reforms’, (17 July 2019); chapter 11, ‘The Benefit and Language of Restructuring’, (16 July 2021); chapter 12, ‘Helicopter Escapes and the Common Good’, (17 November 2008); chapter 13, ‘My Oga is Bigger Than Yours’, (23 July 2014) and chapter 14, ‘The Patriotism Blackmail’, (23 July 2014). Most of these publications were part of an ‘Africa in Fragments Essay’.
Despite being old publications, they nonetheless speak to our current challenges. In fact, one would assume all were written just yesterday. For me, the pick in this section is ‘What’s in a Nigerian name?’ It is an entertaining piece that provides insights into most of the names we bear and how people from different regions in the country come about these names. Of particular interest to Ochonu are names from the Northcentral state of Plateau and the Niger Delta region, especially among the Ijaws and Urhobos. Before readers begin to wonder whether the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri was born with a bottle of beer in his hands or Government Ekpomupolo, aka Tompolo, was destined to take the law into his own hands, they may need to read Ochonu.
What the writer reveals in delving into Onomastics is that toponyms (name of places) and anthroponyms (personal names) not only intertwine but are also sometimes combined in the process of coming up with names in our country. Identities, locations, occupations are also part of the naming process as Ochonue reminds readers while taking a dig at those whose names do not bear the reality of their existence, almost like the lyrics in the song earlier referenced. Nigerian names, the writer concluded, “are windows into a realm of social reality and symbolic action that might otherwise remain inaccessible.”
The next segment, part four, also contains 12 chapters, all written by Kperogi. The social fabric of Nigeria takes center stage in this section to which I am more familiar because I read most of the articles when they were first published. And talking about when they were first published, here are a few details: Chapter 16, ‘Top 10 Popular Nigerian Lies with Enormous Staying Power’ was first published on 24 July 2021; chapter 17, ‘Can Arabs and White People be Real Africans?’, (23 July 2009); chapter 18, ‘Multilingual Illiteracy: What Nigeria Can Learn from Algeria’s Language Crisis and India’s Language Policy’, (7 July 2013); chapter 19, ‘Tribe, Detribalized and the Other Racist Words Nigerians have Internalized’, (30 Sept, 2018); chapter 20, ‘Ethnic Identities of Nigeria’s Presidents and Heads of State’, (15 February 2020); chapter 21, ‘Why Nigeria Needs to Elect a President that is Igbo’, (2 April 2022); chapter 22, ‘Discourse of Sacrifice by Diasporan Returnees and Intellectual Fraud by Diasporans’, (10 July 2020); chapter 23, ‘Buhari and the Fascism Rigoracy Birthed’, (29 May, 2019); chapter 24, ‘Victims of Xenophobia Abroad, Culprits of Xenophobia at Home’, (7 September 2019); chapter 25, ‘Voyage to America’s Most Patriotic Town’, (17 October 2007); chapter 26, ‘Buhari’s Unprecedented Familocracy and the Little Known Facts About Him’, (24 November 2019); chapter 27, ‘Prince Charles Symbolic Violence Against Nigerian Monarchs and Africa’s Self-esteem Deficit’, (10 November 2018.)
While all the offerings are enjoyable, as you would expect from a master of his craft like Kperogi, the stand-out for me is ‘Top 10 Popular Nigerian Lies with Enormous Staying Power’. In the intervention which I recall reading when first published two years ago, Kperogi dispels some of the enduring myths in our country on which many would almost stake their lives. For instance, many Nigerians still believe that History was banned from the curriculum of our schools and that the United States, at the turn of the century, predicted that Nigeria would break up by 2015. Up till today, there are still those who would swear that the 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Professor Wole Soyinka, had a Third-Class degree from the University of Ibadan. These are some of the myths shattered by Kperogi who argues that “the stubborn persistence of lies is no reason to give up on correcting them.” The ultimate lesson of course is that, separating facts from fiction can be difficult especially in a society that relies on oral tradition and where assumptions that are not evidence-based often get passed around without being questioned.
This now brings me to the final part of the anthology where Agbo expands the scope to offer global perspectives on how Nigeria has failed to harness its potential. This section examines intricate topics such as global conflicts, the Boko Haram insurgency, and Nigeria’s international relations as well as the writer’s understanding of events leading to the 2023 general election in Nigeria. Like the earlier parts, these also are no new writings for those who follow the author and are conversant with his works. For instance, chapter 28, ‘Peter Obi, the Obedient army and the audacity of hope’ was first published on 18 June 2022 and chapter 29, ‘The enemy as a friend: Nigeria’s steady march to Yugoslavia’, (28 January 2022). Others are, chapter 30, ‘Global conflicts and the shadowy world of guns-for-hire’, (8 April 2022); chapter 31, ‘Boko Haram: On the road to Damascus or making a beeline for Kandahar’ (27 August, 2021); chapter 32, ‘The Wild Wild (North-)west: Nigeria’s Waziristan’ (18 September, 2021); chapter 33, ‘Nigeria kills a Mockingbird’ (17 July, 2021); chapter 34, ‘Nigerian oligarchs and the goldfish metaphor’, (18 Jan, 2021); chapter 35, ‘Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo: The portrait of an African despot’ (28 December 2021); chapter 36, ‘Juneteenth: Black Americas Long Walk To Freedom’ (16 June, 2020); chapter 37, ‘The Talibans: Pakistan’s proxy government in Afghanistan’ (August 2021); chapter 38, ‘Of Good and Evil: The Duality of Human Nature’ (28 November, 2020) and chapter 39, ‘Haiti: A black nation’s struggle in the Americas’ (17 December 2021).
Divided into distinct sections, ‘Dis Life No Balance’ offers a nuanced analysis of various topics, providing readers with comprehensive insights into the complexities of Nigeria and its Diaspora populations, especially those in the United States. The anthology critically analyses Nollywood, explores linguistic challenges, and questions prevailing ethnic identities, advocating for a more inclusive and diverse national identity that transcends divisive narratives. From conflicts and insurgency to Nigeria’s international relations, the authors seamlessly integrate these elements into the overarching exploration of Nigeria’s Diaspora experiences.
In ‘Dis Life No Balance’, Farooq Kperogi, Moses Ochonu, and Osmund Agbo combine to present an anthology that is both informative and thought-provoking. Whether exploring corruption, dissecting governance models, or delving into the issue of identity, the book stands as a testament to the richness of Nigerian voices in the Diaspora. And it is a must-read for those seeking a deep understanding of the challenges our country currently grapples with and the resilient spirit that defines our people.
Spanning just 381 pages, this is a book worth having in our private and public libraries. Arranged in thematic order rather than by the period each of the pieces was written, if there is anything that ‘Dis Life No Balance’ demonstrates, it is the factthatwhen the quality of content combines with tight editing and brilliant production, the resultant collection becomes fresh even for those who may have read some of the works before. Besides, what all the articles have in common is the attention to detail and curiosity you expect from seasoned academics. At the end, they invite an honest confrontation with the stark reality of the Nigerian condition.
As Professor Toyin Falola reminds us in the lengthy and thought-provoking foreword, this is not one of the usual books of lamentations, even when the authors may have expressed their disappointments by the turn of events in the country they love and still call their own. But Falola also sends a warning, especially to those in power who arrogate to themselves the monopoly of patriotism as well as other enablers who benefit from the status quo. “The premise of these essays is that only deep, critical analyses of the issues confronting Nigeria in her nation-building process can produce an ameliorative and reconstructive agenda,” Falola wrote. “Denial, deception, and escapism only exacerbate the calamity.”
Overall, ‘Dis Life No Balance: An Anthology of Nigerian Diaspora Voices’ stands out as a unique and compelling anthology that transcends genres. Whether you’re a fan of political literature or cultural exploration or you just simply enjoy narratives that challenge conventional perspectives, this book offers a rewarding and enlightening experience. I commend the trio of Kperogi, Ochonu and Agbo for writing it.
Thank you for listening and good morning.
