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PEOPLES DAILY WEEKEND, SATURDAY 2 - SUNDAY 3, NOVEMBER, 2013
Op O p in i n io n Intergenerational Conversations: The best of both worlds
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his past August, I received an email from Roy Freed. Roy wanted to meet me to discuss ideas I had shared on edge.org on the topic of technology and innovation as a national development strategy. He introduced himself by declaring, “I happen to be 96 years young with an innate engineering aptitude and a systems approach.” He further noted that he focused his career on computer law soon after he graduated from Yale Law School in 1940. On this day, however, he was interested in having a conversation about the human mind and the potential of creative and open-minded youth. In my regular activities, I almost never have a reason to interact with older people. So I enthusiastically responded to his request and he soon invited me to his retirement home for a conversational brunch. Roy was waiting for me at the door when I arrived and he led the way to the cafeteria, frequently stopping to say hi to his friends, some of whom are 100 years young. Roy and I had a healthy meal and an even healthier conversation, talking about topics ranging from World Wars I and II, the hippie culture By Tolu Ogunlesi
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ust last week, we were caught up in the now famous Oduahgate; this week, there’s the Journey to Jerusalem. You’ve probably seen all the photos surfacing from the Presidency, of the pilgrimage – or jamboree, depending on whom you ask – to Jerusalem. From a satirist’s point of view, the photos are hilarious: Nigerian officials trying to act as if the pious faces they’ve got on are prerequisites for gaining admission into Paradise. One American friend actually sent me a message the other night: “Did you see the photo spread of GEJ – pardon me, GEJ, J.P. – and his entourage getting sacred all over the Holy Land?”; and then went on to describe the photos as “absurd.” And indeed they are. There’s an especially hilarious photo of a line of Nigerians (including Mr. President) looking all spiritual, and in the foreground a sculpted sage, head turned towards the camera, hands thrown up in a mix of puzzlement and resignation. One really puzzling thing is this: Why is the Presidency suddenly obsessed with pushing out photographs of what should ordinarily be a private spiritual affair? I don’t think we’ve ever seen these many images from any presidential trip in recent history. I recall hunting the Internet for information about the President’s activities, during a state visit to China a few months ago – and finding nothing. Now, there’s a trip to Israel and the media is flooded with images from the pilgrimage part of it; of pious-looking, prayerful officials. Clearly the Presidency understands some really key things about the psychology of the Nigerian people; and it seems to me this might be simply an experiment in how the Nigerian love for grand demonstrations of piety can be used to shape the public image of political leaders.
of the 1960’s, and the connection between open mindedness and creativity. Since then, Roy and I have exchanged thoughts especially related to the two book projects that keep him busy when he is not running his own TV show in Canton, MA or engaging with students at a nearby community college. Roy reminds me of my own grandparents, from whom I got any history lesson I wanted about my family, my community and Sierra Leone. However, while I brought to the table a new and fresh perspective, what was most important to them was that I listened and engaged with their intellectual sides; after all, they had once been professionals in various fields. These intergenerational interactions have broadened my perspective in various ways. First, older folks often share lessons that may seem unique to the historical contexts in which they occurred, but actually resonate with similar issues that we are facing today. The excitement in Roy’s eyes when he recounted to me his interest in computers in the early days parallels my own excitement today as I interact with new technology
from the Media Lab. He took a bet on the computer industry and soon left his regular legal job as a litigator. In his Authors@Google talk, Roy recounts his journey to being the first person to publish an article on computer law, before it became a recognized discipline. He was willing to dive into something he was passionate about, even if it did not have any precedent – a valuable lesson many young people would do well to heed. Second, the wisdom of our older generations is often left untapped – especially in communities where knowledge carries through oral, not written formats – because we assume that older people aren’t up to the task of
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a rigorous debate. While I am sure, given my relationship with Roy, that older folks love having conversations about the weather, they also want to be valued for the knowledge they have. About 13 percent of the US population is above the retirement age of 65 years and they have many lifetimes of experience to share. At the tender age of 72, Roy and his late wife Anne became Fulbright Scholars, pursuing their passion for social work in Bulgaria. In fact, his interest in how the human mind and the computer relate to each other was piqued during his retirement years. Third, when asked what his regrets are, Roy smiled and indicated that one thing he’s learnt
The wisdom of our older generations is often left untapped – especially in communities where knowledge carries through oral, not written formats – because we assume that older people aren’t up to the task of a rigorous debate.
to appreciate is that regrets were rarely helpful. However, he noted that having a larger extended family is something he wishes for. His relationship with his wife was invaluable to both of them and at the end of the day, what mattered least was what he did and more with whom he did it. At the end of each interaction with Roy it is clear that we are both very grateful for our interactions and it leaves me wondering: how can we regularly engage with our older generations in a way that is mutually beneficial for them and for the younger generations who have so much to learn? Interacting with the older generation can help young people understand the impact of their decisions and those of others within a broader context. While the youth must build their own experiences and perspectives, people from older generations, such as my grandparents and Roy, could be useful in that quest, much like a compass on a trail. Yes, the ultimate path we choose to take is completely up to us, but the compass will point us in the right direction. (From Linked in)
Jonathan goes to Jerusalem Nigeria is of, no doubt, a Paradise for parodists and satirists. It’s as if every morning our government officials wake up and say: “Look, how can we rile these people? What can we do to get all these yeye activists spraying saliva across the newspaper columns and on social media? How can we keep them busy?” Let’s pursue that line of thought for a moment, and imagine that every morning, a meeting is summoned in the Presidency. “That BMW matter is getting old. And the appointment of Oga “Ali-Must-Go” as the chairman of the board of the National Universities Commission doesn’t seem to have raised any eyebrows. We need to raise eyebrows, people! What do you suggest?” Ideas will pour out, until one genius says, “I have the idea. Let’s go to Jerusalem.” Slowly but steadily light bulbs will pop on in head after head, as the brilliance of the idea sinks in. “Let’s not go to Jerusalem in any ordinary way – let’s go in style. Let Israel know that the President of the Giant of Africa is in town.” And that was it. Signed and sealed. And then as soon as the news leaked, the enemies of the state – rumour-mongers and presidential-memo-stealers and assorted miscreants – wasted no time going to town to announce that the President was travelling with 19 state governors and 30,000 Nigerians, necessitating the statement from Presidential spokesperson Reuben Abati that “reports in the media that he is leading 19 state governors and about 30,000 Nigerians to Israel are a misrepresentation of facts.” That mischievous fabrication of 30,000 presidential party pilgrims (a tired tactic which the disgruntled elements of the opposition keep resorting to every time the President is travelling) recalls the famous pilgrimage, in 1324, of the Malian
Emperor Musa 1, to Mecca. It is recorded that Musa (named last year as the richest human that ever lived) travelled with an entourage of thousands of persons (slaves, aides, hangers-on). He stopped over in Egypt for three months, laden with and spending so much gold that the metal instantly lost value; its prices plunging for many years afterwards. If reports from the October 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting in Perth, Australia are to be believed, Nigeria found itself caught up in a bid to trump the swagger of Emperor Musa. As one Australia-based Nigerian blogger – who says he was an eyewitness – put it, “You could smell naira notes everywhere you turn (sic) in the shopping malls. Everyone and anyone you can think of, was in Perth for the CHOGM. From ministers to businessmen, state governors, Special Advisers, commissioners, Personal Assistants, security guards, houseboys, house girls, girlfriends, shopping buddies, political jobbers you name it! (…) Some of the Nigerian guys I came across on the streets of Perth were no different from urchins that you see regularly on the streets of Lagos. (…) The shop owners in the city must have been praying that the CHOGM shouldn’t come to an end. Everywhere you
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turned, there is (sic) a Nigerian either shopping and changing money at the Bureau De Change.” There you have it. Mansa Musa would be proud. Thankfully, as far as we know, the presidential entourage has not yet caused an upheaval in the currency markets of the Holy Land. Now, let’s take a step back, and place this Israel trip – a combination of pilgrimage and state visit, we’ve been told – as well as a number of other recent happenings side-by-side with something the President told the nation, last year. On Saturday, January 7, 2012, in the heat of the national rebellion that accompanied the removal of petrol subsidies, he announced, and I quote: “To save Nigeria, we must all be prepared to make sacrifices. On the part of government, we are taking several measures aimed at cutting the size and cost of governance, including on-going and continuous efforts to reduce the size of our recurrent expenditure and increase capital spending. In this regard, I have directed that overseas travels by all political office holders, including the President, should be reduced to the barest minimum. The size of delegations on foreign trips will also be drastically reduced; only trips that are absolutely necessary will be approved.” I’m not making that up; I
Look at everything happening – from this loud trip to Israel to the seemingly casual responses to the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the BMW scandal – and it’s deeply distressing to observe that the near-total absence of prudence or sobriety or commitment to valuedriven spending on the part of the Federal Government.
did not steal a secret presidential document, and I’m not guilty of leaking official secrets (like the “enemies” of the government did with the BMW documents). Those were the President’s exact words, in a television broadcast. Now, look at everything happening – from this loud trip to Israel to the seemingly casual responses to the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the BMW scandal – and it’s deeply distressing to observe that the near-total absence of prudence or sobriety or commitment to value-driven spending on the part of the Federal Government. How long are we going to spend as a country going round in circles, making ourselves the laughing stock of the world? As I write this, a scandal involving expense claims (worth far less than what it cost us to buy two BMWs, by the way) by four Canadian Senators is throwing up heated debate about the legitimacy of the entire Canadian Senate, and triggering intense soul-searching within the government. Actually, it’s not like we don’t sometimes have our own soulsearching moments in Nigeria. The problem is that everything feels painfully cosmetic. These were President Jonathan’s closing words in that sober January 7, 2012 speech, qualifying his vow to cut unnecessary spending and focus instead on the country’s most pressing issues: “As I ask for the full understanding of all Nigerians, I also promise that I will keep my word. Thank you. May God bless you; and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” Almost two years later, you be the judge – has Mr. President kept his word? •Follow me on Twitter @ toluogunlesi