I love China, but I'm Afraid of Betrayal

Ninety-nine per cent of my time watching TV is spent on Chinese Central Television, CCTV. This has changed my fundamentally Kungfu Image of China, helping me to appreciate the much-talked about Chinese prosperity and seeing how modern, China is. In addition to this, I have also come to watch, closely, the relationship between China and Nigeria. I can say that what obtains between China and Nigeria is reflective of the relationship between China and Sub-Saharan Africa, by-and-large. 

Each time Nigeria has a new leader, the West try to get as close as possible, showing its willingness to support his administration and help harness the growth potential there is in the country. It is believed that prosperity in Nigeria would serve as a train, conveying prosperity to the rest of the continent. While western nations play the umpire, China stands watching, hands folded. This is referred to as The Non-Interference Policy. I find this policy position itchy.  

Sadly, the Nigerian political climate is designed to give political leaders disproportionate power over the common man. This power is largely abused to the detriment of the common man. This is why common people need the voices of the most powerful nations of the world to nudge our leaders and compel them to be humane in their official personas. The Non-Interference Policy is synonymous to a neighbor who prefers to fold his hands and watch while an inferno consumes your house. The implication of the Non-Interference Policy of China to Nigeria means that if China was to be the only powerful nation, the excesses of our leaders would have been boundless. I think that the Non-Interference Policy takes away fidelity from the big Asian. 

Across Nigeria, Chinese goods have largely displaced goods from all other oversea nations. The Sino goods are attractive, ‘affordable’, but of abysmal qualities. So abysmal are their qualities that one could describe Chinese goods as The Dracula, day-by-day sucking the nation of its blood until it is utterly drained. You buy an item today, two weeks later it begins to malfunction, compelling you to buy again. So you live your life buying one item a hundred times, when you should have bought a better quality five times during a lifetime.  Most of the goods hardly come with warranties, compelling one to belief that the manufacturers are conscious of the unpredictability of their goods. My impression is that whatever China offers Africa in foreign aid is usually withdrawn by Dracula trade in just days.

There is a place in Lagos called China Town. It is home to Chinese Small Scale Businesses in Nigeria. Sadly, they flourish on piracy of intellectual property of struggling Nigerians and the rest of the world. I have listened to news from Ghana about Chinese “investors” illegally mining gold and causing problems to the Ghanaian nation. In Nigeria and Ghana, we don’t hear about Americans violating intellectual property rights or getting involved in any form of dealing that hurts the host nation. 

When China talks about its policy of sitting on the fence, the impression it creates is that it intends to set a new record ahead of the West, whose policies are loathed only by the looming figures of Nigerian leaders, but embraced by ordinary Nigerians. The Chinese authorities have a window with which it communicates with the rest of the world. This window is the CCTV. CCTV works to educate the rest of the world about the Chinese nation and its people, but also to educate its own people about the rest of the world.  I, however, see signs that give Africans reasons to vacillate each time China opens its arms. This is because there seems to be a conscious and frantic effort to ensure that Chinese people are not properly educated about black Africa. CCTV camera lenses seem to focus only on dirty corners of the continent. Abuja, for instance, is a modest but sparkling city. Each time CCTV broadcasts a report from Abuja, though, I do not see that brilliance that has made the city the pride of Nigerians. Often, I am left sad. Based on CCTV footages of the city, one would conclude that Abuja is an indistinct city.

If the Western Press had failed in giving its citizens a balanced photo of the continent, it is expected that the Chinese nation would learn from it and avoid repetition of the same mistakes. Sadly, though, CCTV (and, by implication, China) seems to view this mistake as one that must be made if a nation must become powerful.

It has often been said that dirty corners makes and sells news. But CCTV is not an organization that was set up to generate income for the Chinese nation. If it is so, then the aim of educating the people within and outside of China will not be attained.   

One phrase that has become popular in China these days is “soft power”.  Soft power is the influence that one has by virtue of his appeal and persuasion of others. This is what makes America the most powerful nation on earth. The idea of soft power is a relevant topic because the Chinese are aware they need it if they most change the global political order that makes America the most powerful nation on earth. If there is distrust of China in Africa, perhaps China would rise to become the most powerful economic nation, but not the most politically powerful. 

I envy Chinese prosperity. It would, however, be incomplete if Africa feels it was unfairly drained of its resources and reputation. After all, Africa is the cradle of mankind.

CCTV and the Image of Nigeria

Humiliated

Today, I watched a news report by Chinese Central Television, CCTV. The report had to do with the reopening of schools in Borno State as Boko Haram gets weaker and weaker. 

I view that report as humiliating to Nigeria. I was so devastated by the report, which was sent in by CCTV’s Catherina Vittozzi that I am yet to overcome the devastation, some ten hours since I first viewed the report. You can compare my devastation to that which follows after one’s nation loses in the finals of The Nations Cup.

The general mess that the neglect of education precipitates in Nigeria is what makes the report disgraceful and tarnishing. There were close to a hundred kids in one class, some sitting on the floor, others on tables and none on chairs. The kids had no uniforms, with some wearing tattered jeans, some without shoes, feet muddy as if there were no parents to bathe them at home as they got ready for school.

I do not blame the news media for this huge disgrace to the nation, as the news media is always looking for clues to insult official ineptitude and challenge the authorities. Such is one thing that makes and sales news. The authorities in Borno State are to blame for allowing CCTV to get that far into their domain. Sadly, the disgrace is for the whole nation. If you know you have dirty corners, you don’t allow the press to move freely in your terrain. You either control the movement of the press or fix the issues and allow them to move freely.

CCTV particularly has never been good to Nigeria. Their news channel, CCTV Channel 409, is a channel that I watch a lot. I have come to realize, comparing reports on Nigeria to those on other nations, how unfavorable their reports are to the nation. The bright sides of Nigeria are never seen, only those issues that have strong capacities to squash the reputation of the country are capitalized upon. 

If the authorities know there are dirty corners, they must warn heads of organizations and agencies to refrain from granting press interviews without prior approval from the top. While the head teacher thought that appearing on CCTV was a milestone, he failed to realize that he was being insulted. 

Currently, Catherina Vittozzi is in Nigeria and hopes to have a feast of disgraceful reports before leaving. The school report is enough reason to ask her to take a bow before she does enough damage.

The CCTV is a propaganda tool of the Chinese government, just like similar media are to other powerful nations. Unlike the Voice of America, VOA and the BBC, I notice CCTV don’t criticize the Chinese authorities. Rising to the status of a global super power must not always involve matching on the reputation of smaller nations. Dirty corners are everywhere!

NEPA Was Better

Saturday May 23th, I was at home, and it was quiet and eerie; there was no electricity. When I opened the main door, a folded sheet of paper fell off from the slit between the door frame and the shutter where it had been stuck. I picked and opened it to realize it was my first electricity bill, the connection being recent.

There were a number of disturbing issues with the bill. First, the name I gave was far from the name on the bill. It took my number to believe the bill was meant for me. The quality of the paper and the print on it lacked any glint of attraction. Everything was just basic. Somewhere in my head, there is the belief that “anyone who doesn’t exude quality in minor issues would not deliver quality in the primary services he provides. The image of any individual, group or organization is always seen in its correspondences. From the bill, I came to the conclusion that what the Federal Government had done on the power sector wasn’t privatization, but legalization of criminality.

 There was a fix charge of N775.00 to be paid with or without electricity consumed. The implication is that if one should travel out of town for months and switches off the supply to the house, on return, he would still pay this amount, multiplied by the number of months he has been away. Besides the cheating, the implication is that the power situation would never improve. Since there would be money to be made, with or without the provision of service, and the service provider could go to sleep. And sleeping is what the power authorities had been doing since the privatization.

There was the actual bill which amounted to N1993.25. This, also, is a bill for service not provided. Throughout the month of April, whose bill the figure represented, electricity came once in a while and when it does, it hardly lasts for more than an hour and half. To me, the figure represented the highest level of institutionalized criminality. Since there was no meter on which the reading was based, how did they come about the fraction of a naira (0.25), when they should have given a round figure? It means that somebody sat and wrote the figure, adding that fraction to make it look real. Just imagine the hangdog look on the face of the staffer at the time of writing the figure.

Then there was VAT charges of N94.92 that brought the total to N2, 863.17.

Since the electricity hardly lasted for more than an hour and half, I would try to do many things within the short period I knew it was going to last, like typing my manuscripts, ironing my clothes, charging my phone, etc. In the many days in-between the power supply, I would have to go around, looking for where to type, charge, hot-iron my wears, etc. It is usually my worst moment: going to bear parlors, barbing salons, or houses with NESCO electricity supply to use their sources of power supply.

The result of the electric power situation is the reason why I end up losing browsing data in my modem, TV subs I had paid for, buying fuel for my electric power generator … These are, actually, loses that should be paid for by the power authorities, but we all know the situation.

There are rumors that during the privatization exercise government officials had actually sold out the companies to themselves, friends, and family members. There is every reason to believe this. Nobody protects a client he intends to exploit.

Sixteen years, “reforming” the power sector without any progress, but regression, is very disturbing. The incoming government must look into this issue and ensure there is sanity in the sector.  

Muhammadu Buhari and the Other Jobs

Muhammadu Buhari

Source: http://sunnewsonline.com

During his political campaign, General Mohammadu Buhari (rtd) promised Nigerians jobs, among other things. He believes the most dire of the challenges that face Nigeria can be directly, or indirectly, traced to a dearth of jobs. The General means well for Nigeria, and Nigerians believes he truly means well, judging by his idiosyncrasy. The General had cited mining and agriculture as the areas where he thinks there are lots of potential for job creation.

Besides mining and agriculture, however, there is another area with a huge prospect and in which young Nigerians have a lot of zeal. Since the general did not mention it, it leaves Nigerians in fear. The fear stems from the fact that, in the past, governments have often cared less about this sphere of professional life and, also, from knowing that if the sector is not heeded and exploited, the General (and Nigeria) may not be able to achieve the job target, satisfactorily.

 This article aims to call the attention of the new leader to this portfolio. It is a folder that has always been left in the cold by successive governments in Nigeria. It is the art portfolio and includes the movie, music, and publishing industries, just to mention the immediate units that easily come to mind when The Art is mentioned in Nigeria.

It is often boring having to cite the United States of America each time one requires a good example of a place where good things are happening. Sadly, however, the US remains the best, and one must always look towards it when in need of cases in point. The US is a country where The Arts played an astonishing role towards its prosperity. According to Statista, the American movie industry (Box Office) generated total revenue of $38 billion in 2014. The projection is that it will generate up to $ 46 billion in 2018. From the same source, Statista, the music industry generated $16.5 billion in 2011. The books and journal publishing industry generated $27.01 billion in 2013.

Despite the potential there is in The Arts in Nigeria, we are yet to make the most of it. Our inability to make the most of it comes from piracy, the racket of people reaping from the sweat of others and going Scot free.  Nigeria is a country where the law do not seem to be aware that it is its responsibility to protect the intellectual right of individuals (that is if the Nigerian law accepts there is essence in something called intellectual property). There are instances in which members of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria, PMAN, go into the markets to seize pirated copies of works of their members out of frustration that the law is not handling the issue.

Knowing the dormancy of the law with regard to The Arts, some individuals have made a profession by duplicating and selling millions of copies of books, music and video CDs other individuals have spent their intellect, time and energy to produce.

How does piracy kill the industry? If a young man or woman, with talent, knows the result of his hard work would not be protected, and others will reap from it as a result, he will not be encouraged to venture into a profession. Thus, the job he would have created for himself and others, and the revenue the state would have earned from his venture would never materialize.

In the US, recently, there was a high profile court ruling relating to violation of intellectual property right. A jury ruled that Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams stole the melody of a song, Got to Give it Up, recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1977. The song by Thicke and Williams, Blurred Lines, generated up to $16.67 million in profits for the duo in 2013, when it was recorded. Of this profit, the jury ruled that Thicke and Williams must pay Marvin Gaye III, the son of the late singer, the sum of $7.6 million (45.6 %.)

In this case, Thicke and Williams did not simply duplicate a CD of Gaye’s music. Rather, they got a hint from the song, a hint that helped them to produce Blurred Lines. To Nigeria, this story is important as it underlines the inviolability of intellectual property rights.

In addition to encouraging young men and women to invest their talents to create, for themselves and others, jobs, fighting piracy would end that feeling that anything goes, and instill sanity in the industry and Nigeria, as a whole. Furthermore, it will help towards laundering the image of the country and restore confidence in foreigners who may want to put their money into the Nigerian art portfolio.

Given the scale of piracy in Nigeria, we cannot remember a single case of piracy-related conviction. This gives credence to the notion that the judiciary does not see any essence in the idea of intellectual property. Thus, fighting piracy in Nigeria would involve sensitizing the judiciary to see essence in the expression: “intellectual property” and, thus, the need for protecting such rights.