By MA Illiasu
Hard work, they say, is the input of success. The same way reputation has been proved as the measure of competence. Human society doesn’t entirely work on speculation, as Maynard Keynes would say, but it greatly gets affected by it. And so, the renditions of social culture have dictated that a well-reputed hard worker would have better chance of earning college degree, securing bank loan, recording a good bank balance and winning woman’s hand for marriage than any other person termed the opposite. This what’s familiar. And familiarity, to an extent, determines the norm. Therefore this is the norm. Which mainly points to on thing; the society appointing people and any other social institution as the managers of their social image by owing them a debt of consistency upon their actions and inactions; the paying back of which will determine whether their social image is painted in agreed stature or not.
Shehu Jaha, the protagonist of the famous satirical Hausa-folktale, would every day scream to his neighbors that he was being attacked by a Tiger. But when the neighbors arrived to his help, they’ll discover that he was clownishly joking. The same occurrence happened regularly until people grew tired of been played by Shehu. His reputation stood as a clown. One day, a Tiger ran loose from the wild and attacked Shehu while he was relaxing. When he first saw the beast, he screamed to his neighbors for help. But the neighbors, having known his reputation, laughably ignored him. To their common knowledge, he was just being clownish as usual. And the Tiger did what it had to do to the man.
Shehu Jaha, as we shall learn, was owed a debt of consistency by his society, which he paid back by becoming a clown. And therefore the society, courtesy of it’s over sensitivity to reputation and over expectation of consistency, took him for a clown that he had proven to be. Regardless of when his fate, as determined by his actions and inaction, wish to break the barrier. That same debt of consistency the society was owing Shehu Jaha is the same one me, you, Femi Fani Kayode as both an individual and public figure, National Bar Association (NBA) as both social and legal institution, journalism as both media and social endeavor, are being owed by our societies. And how we choose to pay back would surely determine how the society treat us as it’s members.
Less than a week ago, the National Bar Association cancelled it’s invitation of Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Ahmad El-rufa’i, for a reason I don’t wish to disclose here. And as a social institution carrying the debt of consistency, the image of the association falls victim of poor backlash, very similar from that of Shehu Jaha, from the other social actors. After all, that was not familiar, and so, not a norm. Likewise the students of tertiary institutions all over the country who grow tired of staying at home since the earlier days of March, that decided to initiate a social media hashtag to pressure the government into opening schools. The hashtag didn’t trend longer, and it fades without any sighting effect. Mainly because the students have failed to payback the debt of consistency in a manner that’ll fulfil their wishes. Pressuring the government was not their own norm, in Nigeria at least, and so, they couldn’t do it at a required level. When the schools were running as usual, the wish of the majority of the students, especially the ones that aren’t graduating any sooner, was the occurrence of any event that’ll rattle a prolonged break. And they subconsciously out of blind laziness pledged fealty to that illogical wish, which the society accept and respect wholeheartedly. But was ready to strike back during abnormal situation as it’s currently, and it did, even when they decided they’ve changed their minds. That they want nothing but schools to get reopened. To this day, even among the students, none is taking the hashtag that aims at pressuring the authorities seriously. There’s this kind of: “You know I know you always wanted a prolonged break, and I know you know that I always wanted a prolonged break, so who are we joking with this hashtag?” mutual consciousness among the students. And so I do not blame the authorities by feeling zero pressure to do the needful. Even though they should reconsider out of their own capacity as people tasked with a demand of competence. But if it’s down to the collective logic and consistency of students, they do not earn being pressured by.
The heated public dilemma between Mr. Femi Fani Kayode and the endeavor of journalism indifference. By all standards and capacities, what the former minister portrayed in negative response to a faultless question was very unbecoming of both a public figure and social actor tasked with a debt of consistency. But that’s hardly a one-way fault. The endeavor of journalism too has not paid back it’s debt in a manner that’ll warrant the understanding of it’s current frustrations of the former minister’s miniature. By normalizing easy and elementary questions to public figures that deserve only technical and logical questions, like Shehu Jaha, the endeavor of journalism had painted it’s image in the sight of the society, that of public figures inclusive, and had reduced the depth of it’s mission into a simplistic phenomenon that everyone can cross without thinking twice. Just like Shehu Jaha reduced himself into an unexpected clown, which had later cost him everything. But unlike the protagonist of the satire, I believe the endeavor of journalism still has time to rectify it’s actions by initiating a fresh mission to create a new norm, which will payback the societal debt of consistency in a manner that’ll bring any social and political actor that wish to act without guidance.
Individually or collectively, any person or institution that wish to impose it’s ego of expectation should carefully study what it makes very familiar out of it’s own actions and inactions. A clown can’t demand a treatment of Priest, though it may happen unnaturally by luck. But counting on it would certainly make one twice the clown. The same way the society is still saner than to treat a Priest with the instincts of clown. And that’s why it’s better for one’s actions to portray him in the sight of the society as a Priest and not for once a clown. Because unpredictably might arrive the unfortunate days.
Iliasu writes from Kano State
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Sky Daily
