Fraternities are Viruses in Nigeria 11 – Slavery?
To be in a UCGF (University Campus Grown Fraternity) member in 2017 under the terms and conditions they operate in recent times is unusual. Of their free will, you become a slave unless you are a “Slave Master” or his favoured client. The fight to be a slave master is the goal of many an unwitting ambitious UCGF member or rookie, except where does it get them? (See: Nothingness: Fraternity Ladder Ambitions http://wp.me/p1bOKH-zC).
I must remind us that slavery in the present happens in several spheres of life but is not visible like the times’ people were bound in chains; They perpetuate it today as mental bondage, and too many fall for it. Masters of such practices abound in arenas where profit and obedience are the chief goals.
Delusion, denial and decompensation twisted into varying arrangements of convenience characterise the self-perception of the vast majority of UCGF members. They are always right regardless of the crimes, abuses or misconduct they engage in or support. The public and those that challenge such acts or practices from within are always wrong.
Delusion is a delusion, nothing more. Denial is the dopamine that enables the UCGF member to get further mired within an organisation that would often discourage his continued participation, especially educated ones. Denials and counter-denials spin such webs of self-deception around the UCGF member. He has no arguments left to shrug off the unrelenting realities that are closer to him than the left nostril. Decompensation is the excuse used by members to mask the stultifying learned helplessness towards the range of several malpractices, evils and excesses occurring as routine within the UCGF.
Imagine the mentality of someone who is wrongful or disproportionate when he punishes a brother. Nevertheless, he expects that same person to embrace, respect them or take no offence at experiencing such blatant injustice. The abuse of the rules does not matter; what matters exercises power and the reign of the brotherhood. That is a classic case of the delusion that permits slavery. Countless people in real life, when they receive disproportionate punishments, may dispute the measure of punishment meted upon them.
To expel a member for polite disagreement with a “boss” over an issue where the leadership is in the wrong. I.e. in an organisation where Truth undergoes shoddy venerated, and they claim to abhor Egotism] is injustice itself. It is common, though. However, the inflicting boss and his supporters will expect the expelled one to embrace his unfair isolation. More so, with love, grace, happiness and honour for a punishment that is evil, vulgar, distressful or dishonourable. Surprisingly, the majority do. There is even the overriding element of “how dare you to complain?”, injustice or not, by the leadership. Delusion does not go much further than that.
Figure the ground-swelling beliefs that members of the public and every other UCGF. They, with conviction, somehow know how perfect their very fraternity is. Some given UCGFs will claim the whole of Nigeria knows they are not corrupt. Well, even though accounts and audits of their significant money handling are non-existent or will shock any competent forensic accountant beyond belief. UCGF members are proud that members of the public respect their levels of discipline and sterling qualities. In reality, 99% of the Nigerian public see UCGFs as dens of robbers, hitmen, rapists, and drunkards.
A growing further truth is that UCGF members believe the same about their fraternities. They know core leaders fleece them with no end and their usefulness focused (unrewarded) on the political, social, and economic objectives. Protests against such practices are rare and attract severe punishment. Leaders of UCGF use members ‘gratis‘ for electioneering (at the polls), debt collection or intimidation, hits (retaliation/revenge). But it is taboo to discuss such tactics and practices among members. Exploitation in practice!
Contemplate the sensibilities of the man who knows his membership is sheer slavery but cannot do anything about it. He obeys mindless and ill-thought autocratic “orders” from leaders as routine. He pays dues to leadership that steals the money with a constant sense of entitlement. Hence, he accepts any manner of unjust punishment meted out to him only to reapply for membership after the pain of it all has subsided. Is that not slavery?
He spends one-sixth of his annual time rendering valuable hours, effort and resources that only a few at the top of the pile benefit from both, which are handsome and exclusive. The benefits they get in return are rare and abstract. This subtle but thorough brainwashing of a man is unusual. He has to adopt the agnotology necessary for the perpetuation of the UCGF. Even when this man can no longer tolerate the ‘hide and seek’ game, perpetuating his sore ignorance and acknowledges the system is wrong or rotten. His best defence is “if a change emerges, everything will be alright.” Or “you cannot change the system from outside”.
Such are lame excuses for enduring unnecessary suffering voluntarily. The instances of [voluntary] decompensated slavery among collective of educated men in the 21st Century might somewhat explain a little part of why slavery so captured the West African centuries back. Why would learned African men agree to be slaves voluntarily and for no reason other than belonging? One has to endure the conditioning to think like a slave to be one.
The “core leaders” and their adjutants live in a “delusional bubble” financed by the belief that they are mighty within and in society. They despise other members as “goons”, “loyalists”, “peasants” or “plebs”; fools in a nutshell, who can argue with that? Being a core leader is determined by one’s ethnicity and obsequious proximity to the supreme core leader, never merit. The power of core leaders never exceeds the “virtually determined” not real boundaries of the UCGF unless they have earned it enough elsewhere in the real world.
Many wannabe core leaders imbibe the delusion of society-wide power and are quick to get intoxicated by it. The wannabe core leaders with histrionics distinguish themselves by from the ordinary member, who is a mere dues-payer, penalty payer, free labour provider and cannon fodder. Leadership is a craft which, when misplaced, ensures they can weave selective delusion and denial and but astutely into all fabrics of governing of the UCGF.
Some members of UCGFs are successful in life, social and economic, but these are a minority within. Most members are average or struggling men (without or without families to support). Moreover, at least a third of members are struggling at the bottom end of the income ladder. One member who joined in the UK went to Nigeria for an annual convention. When he saw the members entering buses at a popular Lagos motor park, he went back home. His discouragement was the apparent wretchedness of the “elite” members of his elite UCGF. They discouraged another member whose initiation was in the UK but moved to work in a multinational oil company in Nigeria from continuing UCGF membership. Because of the rampant begging he experienced from members.
Men much older in age and membership would treat him like an unqualified newbie at their social gatherings, but in private would beg him for loans or handouts. These are the same people who claim to be “elites”, yes elites. It is an unfortunate reality because if Nigeria were a much better-managed economy, these struggling men would be in good jobs. So no one intends intention to mock or condemn their socioeconomic circumstances here.
Let the core leaders continue to boast about the elite status and greatness of UCGFs in public. These leaders should never forget that they are slave masters and racketeers. No more deception!
Grimot Nane