By Ade'Tope Adeniji
Realistically, civilization means the gradual transition from a crude condition of living to a more refined and sophisticated way of life.
There can be no civilization without measurable values evident in the lives of the people within a given society.
We often misconstrue civilization to mean having gone to school, having money, owning material things, or having privileges over others — without evaluating the true standards and intrinsic value of the word.
Civilization cannot exist without clear evidence in the lives of the people and in the prevailing conditions of society.
Too often, we celebrate backwardness instead of progress. We celebrate regression instead of innovation.
To be truly civilized, everything we use to measure civilization must align with the standard of our operations and way of life.
Civilization is not proven by speeches, epilogues, or abusive arguments in its defense. It is proven by what is transparent, glaring, and identifiable to the people, without any room for doubt.
No nation can claim to have "arrived" at civilization. Civilization is continuous growth and development aimed at making life more meaningful. It requires evaluating present and future needs and planning to make life better than it was.
It is better to have a society that is not civilized than to have a society that _assumes_ it is civilized. Because when a society cannot correctly diagnose its present status, it cannot know what is essential to move toward true civilization.
We have deceived ourselves for years, and we can no longer manipulate the results. The consequences of uncivilization are now our daily confrontation and hazards.
A wrong conception of civilization leads to perpetual imitation of civilization, to the detriment of the right way to live and to truly experience life.
The level of uncivilization evident in the lifestyle of many African countries has made us insensitive to irrationalities and irregularities that should never have occurred if we had embraced civility.
Civilization is never achieved without visible results: improved quality of life for the people, economic vibrancy, and productive capacity.
Being able to speak good English or attend school is important. But if one cannot reason with what they have learned, that is not civilization.
The more we deceive ourselves, the harder it becomes to think ahead about what should lead us to where we ought to be as a people.
Wearing ties, expensive suits, good shoes, and living in mansions is not civilization. Civilization is the capacity of a system to cater for the collective well-being of the people.
Civilization is not about turning our world into heaven. It is about ensuring that no one comes into this world without experiencing life and having a taste of what life truly means.
When we send many young people to school and there is no visible change around them, that is a failure of both education and civilization.
The younger generation should be trained based on societal needs, not just to attend school and end up wasted.
Many now say young people should not be forced into any field of study; they should choose based on competence. I am not against that. But candidly, the distrust between the people, society, and government has blinded many from making the best choices.
Virtually nothing is working in the African system. That is why young people are confused. Who does not want a good life? Who does not want to be successful and have something to offer?
But uncivilization and the mismanagement of human capital have become a calamity that shapes the wrong decisions of our youth.
The kind of world we have structured has distorted the choices and reasoning of our young people. They no longer understand what path leads to greatness or how to integrate into society’s needs.
The so-called leaders are disconnected from pathways to economic prosperity. What they know is outdated and has no place in the development of today and tomorrow.
Serious attention must be paid to the affairs of society to ensure that civilization is not just a statement, but a reality in the way we live.
THESE ARE SIGNS OF UNCIVILIZATION:
1. Continuous experience of a difficult and deplorable economy
2. Prioritizing religion over humanity
3. Tribalism instead of unity in solving collective problems
4. High rate of school dropouts
5. Graduates who are unemployed, underemployed, or redundant
6. A workforce still operating with outdated logic
7. Weak technological capacity among the population
8. A non-productive economy
9. Extremely low level of industrialization
10. Job opportunities far below the population, causing mass unemployment
11. An economy that only focuses on services, not production
12. Locally made goods costing more than imported ones
13. Government that fails to strategically harness the population’s capacity
14. Politicians richer than the nation they serve
15. Leaders chosen for greed, not selflessness
16. Extremely high school fees
17. Lack of affordable housing
18. Extremely low per capita income
19. Widespread and visible hardship
20. Social amenities that are obsolete and inaccessible
21. Citizens living in fear of their future in their own country
22. Graduates produced for survival, not for national necessity
23. Exporting raw materials and importing finished goods
24. Mass exodus of people seeking to leave their country
25. Insecurity and economic uncertainty
26. Hopelessness due to lack of platforms and encouragement
27. Politicians deceiving the people who elected them
28. Graduates and capable people reduced to drivers, apprentices, or unskilled labor
29. Illiterates, half-baked individuals, and touts leading the machinery of state
30. Citizens celebrating failure and hardship because of "bread and butter" politics
31. Young people concluding that schooling and skills are a scam, while fraud and criminality are seen as the right pathway to success
32. An upcoming generation that believes politics is only about grabbing, sharing the national cake, and destroying others
Our inability to correctly identify our major problems and our wrong evaluation of what our world means has denied us a clear pathway to achievement.
There must be a critical review of current issues to accurately determine what is chiefly required to trigger development and civilization.
Otherwise, we will continue to live in the illusion of being civilized, while reality shows the exact opposite.
Ade'Tope Adeniji
Realist | Economist | Political & Public Analyst | Author
N.D. Urban & Regional Planning | http://B.Sc Economics | http://M.Sc. Political Economy and Development Studies
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