Removing the Debris

Abstract

When natural disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and so on affect human communities, the casualty is always severe with untold hardships. Those who are lucky to survive have to face the problem of removing the debris. Of course, government agencies, private companies, spirited individuals, and some of the people affected who still feel like saving some of the leftovers are involved in salvaging whatever is salvageable. Similarly, when there are human errors in the construction of houses and apartments, and they are not corrected, the ultimate result is the collapse of the structures. When violence erupts as a result of conflict, it sometimes leads to destruction of life and property; and when the crisis is over, there is need to remove the debris. I have used the metaphoric example of removing the debris to set the center stage for this discourse on Toyin Falola who has been in the vanguard of removing social, political, and cultural debris of Africa, and Nigeria in particular. I have narrowed down the discourse to Nigeria that I am most conversant with. I have taken cognizance of the struggles of the intellectual elites and the political class and examined hitherto the rise and fall of the country and the efforts being made to free the country from the enslavement of the middleclass and the masses by the political class. I have argued, in this chapter, that knowledge production and the rise of social movements will not stop political gymnastics and democratic somersaults without a moral mindset of the political class, which is grounded in African cultural values. I, therefore, recommend that it is when that is done that the country will be structured on a solid democratic foundation that is needed for infrastructural and sustainable development.