#SocialConsciousness

‘Human beings enter into certain productive or economic relations, and these relations lead to a form of social consciousness’’….Karl Marx.

Social consciousness is consciousness shared by individuals within a society.

My brother and I were discussing about the ills of the society which actually was in response to a post I made sometimes ago about a lady I almost knocked down by the car due to the impatience and nonchalant attitude of commercial ‘danfo’ drivers. He was of the opinion that most people lack social consciousness in Nigeria, because with it you would do the right thing at the right time. People in other climes don’t have it better than we do, but they imbibe social consciousness in whatever they do and things work out well for their society. How hard can that be for us in Nigeria?

Whistle blowing is the in-thing now to make money from government. Someone who knows where a corrupt official keeps large amount of hard and local currencies blows the whistle and viola, the anti-graft agency (EFCC) sweeps in to the location and recover the loot, thereafter 10% or 5% I think, of the amount would be given to the whistle blower. My question is: so, the whistle blower had to wait till he or she could share in the loot before reporting such nefarious act? SMH.😒

Sisi, you need to see the large amount of money being recovered, monies that could have been used for the development of the nation. Every aspect of governance in Naija is a mess, from healthcare to education downright to the economy as a whole; yet we have more churches and mosques that bind us in a religious cocoon which ought to be our moral compass….where do these leave us?

Majority if not all of our leaders and the masses themselves are socially unconscious, they are completely unaware or ignored the social injustices in their society and very complacent towards the major challenges facing the nation and the planet. They wear the cloak of entitlement and ignorance, when it comes to war, poverty, climate change, you name it, they are apathetic, lacking social and political beliefs and having few or no meaningful convictions. How do you explain someone blocking a major road accessible to both motorists and passers-by with granite and sand with which to build whatever, and just dump them on the road? Shows how callous and indifferent people are because no law enforcement to hold them accountable. I could go on and on.

On the other hand, a lot of people could not be bothered, with the pressure of working, day-to-day activities that consume a lot of time and energy, hustle & bustle to provide basic amenities for yourself and family since the government has failed woefully on that, who has time to think of corrupt officials (knowing full well that nothing would be done to them, they go about enjoying the loot after a mock court going back and forth), police ‘wahala’ and all the hullabaloo of the country after work?

Entertainment (which is a huge money-making machine right now in Naija, might as well go into acting…lolz), pop culture, shopping, social media, sports etc, are means of relief from unpleasant realities with of course cheap distractions which provide superficial means of escape.

From the very beginning of our lives, it is obvious that we are all social beings, every aspect of our being is impacted by social relations, and we should at least seek to comprehend the potentials of individual consciousness to move toward a collective well-being. Rosa Parks’s simple action in the 1950’s in America inspired the nation to question the norm. Martin Luther King Jr. also motivated people to take action. Back home in Naija, we heard of the Aba Women riots, women who change the norm. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti challenged the consciousness of the people with his songs, Gani Fawehinmi used the law to impact on the masses and put the government on its toes……these were socially conscious beings.

Even with the apathetic mood of people today, it does not mean that change would never happen. Depending on it is the health of our democracy and the entire world. Each and everyone of us can do more by incorporating positive social change in not just the way we think but also in the way we choose to live our lives.

Additional sources…. http://www.good.is, google, stelladimokokorkus.

Tee…