Fatal Consumption

While walking through the woods back to where we started out from, I had a conversation with Justin, the American, who was on a solo expedition to the Lekki conservation centre. Being that his first trip to Nigeria was ending in 2 days and his best friend was out the whole day, he thought it would be fun to see a few animals and to walk a few metres in the sky. 

The conversation in question was brief but as usual, my mind drew connections. I asked Justin what his favorite Nigerian song is and he said he's heard a few good ones but coincidentally havent stored any names in memory. He continued "Ironically, everywhere I went, anyway, I've heard a lot of our songs from the US and sometimes it feels like America for a second." 

I laughed and said, yeah, we are generally consumers and Justin echoed "Yup, and we are generally exporters", referring to the United States. I wasn't surprised because I knew the whole world knows that Africans, especially Nigerians, ARE [generally] CONSUMERS!

But this is what happened in my head after that brief conversation.

I remembered the disappointment Justin, as well as the rest of us who formed a batch felt upon winding up at the centre. We got disappointed because we were sold a good time viewing animals with an added option of walking a few metres above sea level but what we received was no animals in sight (except for some monkeys at the reception area), preceded by a mischievous smiley disclaimer only AFTER our order - "This isn't a zoo, the animals may be sleeping or somewhere in the bush doing, well, whatsoever." 

We all got that warning and proceeded into the woods. Nobody questioned the guide or protested that light scam. Atleast, we should have received that warning before making payment. We got disappointed after and still didn't make trouble. We didn't leave reviews. As a matter of fact, we would go on to recommend the centre to a friend or two. No doubt that I enjoyed the sky walk and the tree house climb but the first promise at the centre isn't those two. It's the animals that roam free. Matter of fact, you couldn’t even access the sky walk, which has its own charge, without first paying to access the centre/woods.

Consumption and Innovation:

What has this done to us as a nation on a larger scale? It has killed our creativity, it stifles innovation on a daily basis and it has killed our desire for and to create value. After all, why stress on being genius when all you need to do is just produce and ship. It has created a culture where should-be innovators, and influencer's alike, live for the short term without a regard for tomorrow. That, coupled with no consumer protection laws, has turned Nigeria into a dump yard. 

Let me explain this madness with a few examples;

1.   I've been to a music producer with an upcoming artiste who's style of music was different from what we generally consume in Nigeria and what I heard immediately was "this won't sell, we'll change you and your style up. Take it or leave it." He took it.

SIGH!!!

2.   Photographers in Nigeria getting alot of buzz. From? The single ‘genre’ called WEDDINGSSSSSSSSSS and PARTIESSSSSSSSSS.

Mind you, ‘good cameras’.

3.   Then there are really successful business men who instead of creating real impact, would rather invest in showmanship, wasting tens of millions of dollars on non-sustainable projects like boreholes, operation feed the nation, non strategic grant series/schemes for SME's and entertainment

'A GOOD NAME IS BETTER THAN RICHES" right? Riddle me that!.

4.   Or the marketer that says any publicity is good publicity.

You’re FIRED!

5.   Then there is the government at every level that feed the masses whatever information they like because masses...

Won't do a damn thing about it. They just consume!

But?

Did the music producer and upcomer have the option of referring and moving to another producer who deals the not yet so consumed genre rather than make a quick buck? Weve so much patronised and consumed rubbish so much that one of Nigeria's music greats acknowledged in a podcast that recently went viral that he had to switch up a verse one time because he knew it was too intellectual.

Do these photographers know about Nat Geo or the Travel Channel and the likes or have they simply learned to 'BOW' for a quick buck since the 'OVATION' is still the loudest?

Can the masses demand better universities of technology instead of boreholes, jollof rice and pocket [grant] money?

I could go on and on but that would be an overkill. Our ready to consume anything attitude and culture could actually be part of why we aren't innovating or innovating enough. The more we consume without producing or innovating, the closer we are to extinction (not the scary Hollywood doomsday scenario) afterall, the world as it is today is a product of innovation.

While we stay consuming anything let us remember that consumers remain at the bottom of the food chain - or at least under producers.