By
Obododimma
Oha.
Anyone
attentive to contemporary Nigerian social life, particularly as coloured by
religiosity and Hollywood Ezemmuo
syndrome, would realize that there is an orientation to gullibility, naivety,
and dependence on other people's thinking other than that of self. That
gullibility and dependence on what other people think mean that one hardly
considers what one does again but lazily borrows the minds of others, even
their mouths, in looking at issues. It also means that one can be swayed in any
direction easily, can be pocketed and used as a currency, and can work against
the interest of self.
Gullibility
tells how far one is from thinking, civilization and its contentment. The
gullible, as an instrument and a "thing," has little to contribute to
the expansion of the coast of the human mind and is much as a dead soul. The
gullible can accept just anything, even if the contrary is as clear as
daylight! For instance, a brainless gullible can easily agree to the claim that
a snake swallowed billions in the treasury in the office of a corrupt
government! The gullible would also accept that the snake later disappeared
after shots were fired at it from an automatic weapon.
Just as a
monster has to swallow an animal in order to grow, the gullible surrenders self
to be swallowed in order for the other to grow. In other words, the gullible is
needed for the growth of contrary thinking, especially the inglorious! Is that
not part of the idea of being available for use? And who can find the gullible
usable than a trickster?
The
trickster, whether in religion, education, politics and commerce, looks for the
gullible and such a gullible one can easily feed on and supply it. The
trickster knows that gullible hardly thinks and so encourages this tendency.
More fuel to the raging flame! More narratives that deceive or mislead! In
short, the trickster claims ownership of the gullible easily, doing things through the latter.
Hardly does
the gullible know this disadvantage of being in the hands of the other. That is
perfectly in line with the role! It is like being blindfolded, but being asked
to lead the way!
Gullibility
is total blindness! Worse still, the gullible believes that gullibility is the
best way! The gullible invites us to gullibility and the trickster applauds it!
What a brainless magician!
If you see
the gullible anytime anywhere, there is a trickster nearby clapping hands.
Somebody is encouraging gullibility and reaping from it. That reaper is a trickster.
Is anyone
still in doubt about the gullible confusing fact and fiction, sometimes taking
fiction as fact! Look at the simple representations of human conflict in
Nollywood films. The gullible would see what is represented there as reality,
not something imagined or acted. If a husband slaps his wife, the simple conclusion: “Oh,
he is wicked and is under the influence of one evil spirit!” Also, that proves that husbands are wicked these days and need deliverance. If a mother-in-law
visits the couple, “Oh, she has brought village trouble and must have come with
some charms!” And the superstition and fear return to the hearts of people in
the postcolony!
Gullibility
comes with embarrassing thinking and poor logic. These two are killing society
in the postcolonial world!
There was a
time that I went and Ghana and boarded a taxi for Legon. I started conversing
with the taxi driver. At a point he said, “Oh, you Nigerians could be
terrible!” I was shocked at the observation and asked him why he said so. “Look
at all the human sacrifice and terrible use of supernatural power in your films!,”
he said. I was surprised and laughed aloud. “Those are merely acted!” I observed. Even though you can find Nigerians
who carry out human sacrifice and make evil use of supernatural power, it is
not every Nigerian that do these, apart from the fact that a film is just an
imagination, designed to exploit prevalent fears for money-making. I hope that
there are not some people whose reasoning or judgment is as weak as that of the
Ghanaian taxi driver, even if they have gone to school and should know better.
Both
gullibility and tricksterhood promoting it are destructive forces in
civilization. They get hold of the human mind and render it inactive!
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