The Share Culture

When we combine our interests, the things we love to do and our expertise, the things we’re really good at. We find ourselves in a realm of constant innovation; something Sir Ken Robinson refers to as being in ‘The Element’ in his book of the same title.

More than likely we will find ourselves working together with people who have similar interests, even if their disciplines are different, towards a common objective.

These collaborative endeavors are usually driven by the need to inspire some sort of change.  It could be a change in attitude, perception or more practically a change in social and/or economic conditions.

Any collaborative group shares a set of similar non-inherent qualities, essentially making them interconnected ‘tribes’ of individuals whose association is not based on shared lineage or language but on shared interests; a fact noted by Swedish professors Ridderstrale and Nordstrom in their book Funky Business Forever.

The culture of sharing has been promoted in large part by modern communication technologies and systems which have facilitated a shift in the position of individuals from mere users into producers and from passive receptors of information into active contributors to public discourse.

With this rise in the culture of sharing, we can thus more realistically envision a future in which whatever work we do for a living is not only something that earns you a paycheck but also something you enjoy or something you can combine creatively with your whatever interests you.

In an atmosphere of shared ideas innovation becomes the norm, thereby making the task of problem solving much easier. Sharing increases our catalytic potential to successfully deal with challenges. It’s not about one person with an idea; it’s about collective intelligence. Sharing ideas has already begun to create new ‘tribes’ of trendsetters and innovators. You know who you are.

The potential of our shared energy to effect real and positive change on the continent is unlimited. To all the change agents out there, here’s to a collaborative future.

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Seun Aladese is a student of Communication and Media at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He is a member of the Albert Dorman Honors College and can be reached at saladese@gmail.com

The Impending Democratic Revolution in Nigeria

by Wilson Idahosa Aiwuyor

Signs of revolution are in the air in Nigeria, but not the kind of revolution that Prof. Ben Nwabueze recently argued for. During the launching of his book in Lagos, Prof. Nwabueze, member of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) asserted that only a bloody and violent revolution would reverse the pervasive decadence in governance in Nigeria. One could understand Prof. Nwabueze’s frustration over the looting spree and corruption among the ruling class who have neglected the welfare of the ordinary Nigerian. But if history remains a good teacher, there is no certainty that any bloody revolution would solve Nigeria’s problems. All the retrogressive military coups that have taken place in Nigeria as well as the country’s three year civil war (1967-1970) were executed in the name of bringing about revolutionary change. Yet, none could solve the country’s problems. Nigeria should and would have a revolution, it ought not be violent.

If the necessary preconditions are fulfilled, Nigeria’s impending revolution could be through the ballot boxes at a crossroad - possibly by 2015 - where there would be a convergence between divine force (force majeure) and the determined efforts by Nigerians to make a break with politics as usual. This revolution need not conform to the old sense of revolution, which is often a violent and bloody change executed by self-proclaimed revolutionaries.

A New Sense of Revolution

The conventional notion of revolution, which suggests that it must be violent or bloody, is being epistemologically and ontologically challenged. In "Barack and 21^st Century Politics: A Revolutionary Moment in the USA," veteran peace activist and pan-Africanist Horace Campbell “interrogates the traditional sense of revolution, which is often the violent overthrow of existing order by self-proclaimed revolutionaries." Campbell draws on contemporary realities to "relocate revolution within the context of fundamental transformation in the society, sustained by a consciousness of the challenges of the moment bound to a new form of thinking among the rank and file of the society." The democratic revolution that could take place in Nigeria come 2015 would be characterized by a fundamental shift in the nation's polity orchestrated by a change in the thinking and political consciousness of the rank and file of the Nigerian society as it relates to leadership and the obligations of elected officials.

Besides Nigeria’s polity being awash with corruption and misrule, the country, since its return to democratic rule in1999 after decades of military dictatorship, has passed through many turbulent times that threatened to tear it apart. The most recent of such turbulences was witnessed when former President Yar’Adua was ill. It could be argued that what Nigeria has experienced over the last ten years has been democratic transitioning. Having survived this turbulent transitioning, Nigeria’s democracy has now gotten to a point that could launch the country into the next level of democratic governance.

This next level of democratic rule would be made possible by a dramatic change in the political realities of Nigeria, marking a break with the old paradigm of leadership in the country. This change would be reinforced by a renewed sense of optimism and confidence, among Nigerians, in the possibility of realizing a better Nigeria through a people-centered participatory democracy. This may not be easy to come by, but patriotic Nigerians will be more than ever willing to transform their optimism into reality and reclaim the country from the stranglehold of those politicians and remnants of the military era who have held the country hostage for so long. This change could usher in a new generation of leaders and technocrats who have a better understanding of how to prioritize the welfare of the people and reposition Nigeria in the global arena in the 21^st century.

It important to note that this revolution would not produce a utopia, neither would it solve Nigeria’s problems overnight. But it has the prospect of opening up the political space for addressing the grievances and the needs of the people within the confines of democracy. In essence, it holds the potential of transforming the relationship between the government and the people. But there are preconditions for this revolution to materialize.

Preconditions for the Revolution

The ability to translate the imminent democratic revolution into reality is predicated on a divine factor and two human preconditions. The divine factor (force majeure) was once seen in action when the supposedly invincible dictator Gen. Sani Abacha, who was an obstacle to Nigeria’s return to democracy, was taken down by the divine power of God in 1998. This same force came as the deus ex machina (hand of God) that rescued the country from the machinations of elements who, for selfish reasons, did not mind the implosion of the country instead of resolving the constitutional crisis that fell out of former President Yar’Adua’s sickness.

The human factors are hinged on first, the forerunner of the revolution - President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and its ability to carry out the reforms that will prepare the ground for the change in leadership paradigm. This shifting paradigm would infuse confidence in Nigerians that the realization of a better Nigeria within the confines of democracy is within reach. The build up to this confidence would be the practical assurance of the people through the conduct of the 2011 elections that their votes count.

The second human factor is the prerequisite change in Nigerians’ attitude to strongly espouse an action-backed optimism for the possibility of a democratic revolution in the country. The reference memory for this optimism and action could be found in Nigerians' relentless struggle against military rule, a human struggle that was complemented by the divine force culminating in the eventual enthronement of democracy in 1999. In this renewed struggle to take democracy to the next level, Nigerians should put into consideration the words of Alex Steffen:

Where no one believes a better solution is possible, those benefiting from the continuation of a problem are safe. Where no one believes in the possibility of action, apathy becomes an insurmountable obstacle to reform. But introduce intelligent reasons for believing that action is possible, that better solutions are available, and that a better future can be built, and you unleash the power of people to act out of their highest principles. Shared belief in a better future is the strongest glue there is.

Indeed, at the core of this attitudinal change is Nigerians’ ability to look at the little progress that is being made and acknowledge that the glass is half full, while vigorously working to make it full; Nigerians must avoid the dangerous alternative of seeing the glass as half empty, they must desist from the rhetoric and actions of cutting corners for cataclysmic changes in an attempt to make the glass full overnight.

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lWilson Idahosa Aiwuyor is a researcher, consultant, and strategist. He could be reached at aiwudaho@gmail.com.