African Time, The African Problem
African Time, The African Problem
A U.S. missionary just recently relocated for short-term missions in Nigeria, and came to my school and was offered a lecturing job for the undergraduate students, and he did accepted gladly.
Just few days back, he reported to me that his students were not always in class on time for lectures, and thus said:"My concern is that some of them see this as being normal. But why am not upset is because, before now, I already knew and have heard about the "African time". So due to this, I decided to initiate an incentive to get them to class earlier before class hours or at the exact commencing minutes. You know what my incentive was?" "No!" I replied, eagerly."Well, I promised them two neckties if anyone turns toclass ten minutes before the expected class time or just one tie if you are there a minute or two before lecture starts. But would you believe that even with this enticement, just few of them showed up for class before the usual lecture-time."
Few days after this, around 6: 15am in the morning, I observed the presence of another foreign missionary, who just visited the school at a corridor leading to the school library. I was stunned when I saw her in school that early. What would she be doing there by that time of the day? From there, I slopped forward to know what was wrong and decided to ask, and I did ask. Surprisingly, again, she was on an appointment waiting for some staff members and students alike, she was to have a discipleship meeting with! Gosh! What is our problem?
As I pondered, wondered, and reflected for a while, then this thought consumed me. For God's sake, what is wrong with us and keeping to time?
Is often been said that Africans are naturally wired to be communalistic. That's what evokes the joy of the African man. Corporate love is all that matters in African cosmology. Unlike in the West, where the crave for individualism (humanism) cuddled with the impetus of relativism, rules the minds of many. Their thinking is influenced by the concept that extols a person's worth -- humanism. The unique feature of the Renaissance period still rules the minds of westerners. For example, the chief goal of education in the West was to develop the individual's talents in all intellectual and physical areas; thus, neglecting the individual's social facets.
For the typical African man, individualism (the belief in the importance of the individual and the virtue of self-reliance and personal independence) is not all that matters. In fact, is alien to the African culture. This is why we keep having problems in our different sectors of life (economic, social, political, religious etc) because we want to apply the western principles in forming an effective Africa - it just can't work because the techniques we strive to use are atypical to our nature and instinct. We can only successfully climb to our prime of efficacy and power, if we can grapple only on structures and praxis that are innate in us. We need to understand these basics before we can grasp our structural crack!
What am I getting at? Time distribution when thinking of communalism is always truncated.Your YES might not always be your YES when family is involved. As you split family issues/problems, the time given in solving or resolving these alone, delays other engagements; and thus, our timing(s), jeopardized.
In thinking communalism, we float appointments. That's certain! "Family first" they say, and the Christian deposit of faith, the sacred Scripture, honors thismodus Vivendi. Christianity puts family first before any other business. The African man knows this, and thus, honors this pivotal heart-principle. Unlike the Westerners, who always think independently, nothing intercepts with their timing(s) because they are naturally configured to exert or exhort self as priority. This also has its countless demerits, just as the African man's
I indulge us to crave for structures or standards typical to our nature so that we won't always end-up misappropriating our standards through travesty. Our common behavioralbanner as Africans is what's best for us and so is yours. We must learn and embrace who we are, but first must discover who we are in order to effect that desirable innate change our past generation had yearned for, and the future, looking forward to
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